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I ignore him, staring straight ahead as he clears his throat and goes on.
“How can I make this up to you?”
“Get me the hell off this island.”
“I will,” he promises. “Someone will be looking for us.”
I want to roll my eyes but what he says next has my whole body freezing.
“I love you, Laylin. I’ve been falling for you over the past few days and I was worried that vacation would end and I’d lose you. I don’t want to go back to the real world and be in charge of that company but I didn’t want to go back to my life and lose you even more. I’m so sorry. I just didn’t want to lose the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
I don’t know what to say to that and luckily, I don’t have to say anything because at that moment, a boat comes into view.
I leap to my feet, waving my arms to try to flag it down and relief fills me when it gets closer and they wave back. I sag with relief when they get close enough and we can wade out into the shallow water and climb on.
“Thank god you found us,” I tell them and they nod.
“Mr. Bakeman sent us out to look for you,” one of the men says and I sit down as far from Rowan as I can as they turn the boat around and head back to the mainland.
I can feel Rowan watching me the entire ride back but I ignore him. As soon as we’ve docked, I’m climbing off and practically running up the dock. I pass an older man who looks just like Rowan and I know that it’s his dad. I nod my thanks as I rush past but he ignores me, his eyes locked on his son. I can feel Rowan’s eyes on my back but I ignore him as I run back to the hotel.
Luckily, it’s not that far from the marina and I still have enough time to shower off really quick before I throw everything into my suitcase and call a cab. We race to the airport and I do my best not to think about anything except catching my flight.
The tears start as soon as we take off and I know that I should be embarrassed but I’m just too tired to care. I doze on the plane, waking when we finally land back in Los Angeles. I grab my bag and trudge off, waiting in line at customs before I finally make it out.
I spot Nora right away and she takes one look at me and opens her arms wide. I rush into them, crying on her shoulder. Sher grabs my suitcase handle in one hand and my hand in the other and leads me out to her car.
I tell her all about what happened as we battle traffic on the way home and she stops and grabs us a pizza and some ice cream before we head home to our small apartment. I can tell that she’s worried about me but she lets me cry and eat junk food with her for a few hours before we both pass out on the couch.
I don’t know what I’d do without her.
EIGHT
Rowan
How many Laylinscould there possibly be in California?
It’s been a month since I got back from Italy and I hired a private investigator the second we landed. So far, he hasn’t been able to find her.
I had gone back with my dad to my hotel and gotten the lecture while I packed up. I finally told him why I was hesitating to take over and we had a heart to heart. He told me how he had had the same fear when he first took over and how he had planned to stay on with me until I was comfortable. I felt dumb for worrying so much after that.
We headed to the airport right after that but I managed to convince him to go by Laylin’s hotel to check on her before we took off. I was informed that she had already checked out and my heart sunk when they told me she hadn’t left any messages.
Panic didn’t really set in until a few weeks ago. I figured it would be simple. Hire a P.I. and a few days later I would have her phone number and we could work this out. A few days turned into weeks though and still, nothing. I’d even wondered if maybe she had given me a fake name or something.
I’m stuck in New York until they can find her though and I pace around my office, my mind on my curvy angel instead of the mountain of paperwork I need to get through. I loosen my tie as I make another pass around my office.
It’s been a month since I’ve seen her last. What if something happened to her? What if she met someone else? That last thought makes me want to put my fist through the wall but I hold myself back.
She’s the first woman that I’ve ever said I love you to and she didn’t even acknowledge it, didn’t even respond. I know that I fucked up, but she couldn’t even put me out of my misery?
My phone rings and I dive for it.
“Rowan Bakeman,” I say, desperate for it to be news of my girl.
“Mr. Bakeman. It’s Arthur from Macneill Private Investigations. We’ve found her, sir,” he says and my whole body sags with relief as I grab my pen and a piece of paper and scribble down her phone number and home address.
I thank him and hang up before I pick up my phone again. I debate if I should call first but my body demands that I see her in person. I want to hold her, kiss her, look into her brilliant green eyes as I beg her to forgive me and to give us another chance.
