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I nodded. “I am aware that her past was a difficult one.”
Draven raised a brow. “She shared with you what happened?”
“Very little, but yet enough for me to know it was bad. I’m...glad she has people who care about her.” It wasn’t easy for her to start all over with a baby not even a year old. I knew she had money but that didn’t provide everything you needed, like someone to cry on when you were tired or sick and no one to help you with the baby.And I fucking left her. Damn it. I’ll never forgive myself for that even if she does.
Draven probably wouldn't be so damn understanding of me if he knew about that. I might not be a bad guy, but I’m no hero either.
“She has us, and I guess she has you now too,” Draven said.
“That’s why I’m staying,” I replied, firmly. Even if she sent me away, she’d always have me. I didn’t think I could stop caring for her if I tried. From the moment she got on my boat with her eyes filled with tears, I knew it didn’t matter if Michael hadn’t given me a cent. I would’ve taken her anywhere she asked. I’d have protected her, and her baby, with my life.And I still will.
He nodded. “To answer your question from earlier, Alex sent me here to tell you that you can stay at the resort.”
I laughed.You should’ve just started with that instead of all this bullshit. “What makes him think I want to stay here?”
“Venus.”
“I’m talking about the resort. Why should I stay here?” I asked.
“Not that I am going to tell you what you should do, but I have no problem telling you what you shouldn’t. People in this country like to talk. I mean, you might not care what anyone says about you, but Venus is the one who will be talked about. It’s already been hard enough for her to come back here after being away for so long. MaKayla said Venus doesn’t feel like she fits in here,” he stated.
Is that a bad thing?
“Why is she here then?” I asked, not meaning for the words to be spoken out loud.
Draven said, “I can only guess it has something to do with MaKayla. I know her parents are here, but MaKayla doesn’t think that is going to hold her here either.”
This is something she and I hadn’t spoken about. It sucked that I was getting more information from Draven about where she was in her life right now than from her. Maybe she hadn’t forgiven me. Maybe she didn’t trust me with her feelings and thoughts like she had before. Maybe I was pushing her when really all she wanted was for me to go, and I was not hearing it.Because I don’t want to hear it.
“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked. Draven didn’t strike me as someone who shared for no reason.
“Because if I’m right and you’re here not just to be her friend, then you should know what is going on.”
“I haven’t seen her in many years.”I have no idea what we are. Friendship was a good place to start, but my feelings for her had always been more than that. I could never commit to another woman because no woman would ever have understood why I needed to sail off to Halifax every year to see Venus. And I wasn’t about to let anyone tell me that I couldn’t.
Huh. First time I admitted that to myself. What else have I been ignoring?
“Are you telling me that you’re not friends?” he asked.
“I’m saying it’s complicated. We have a lot to talk about and hopefully tomorrow I’ll have a better understanding of where her head is at in regard to Tabiq.”And me.
“She’s a really nice person, but she’s a closed book when it comes to sharing anything, at least with me. I hope you have better luck.” He chuckled. “What am I talking about? She practically threw me out of the car so the two of you could be alone after dinner. If I wasn’t going to go surfing, I’m sure she’d have come up with something else for me to do.”
Venus had made it clear that she wanted us alone, but not for the reason Draven thought. She needed answers from me. I gave her the most honest replies I could.
“As I said, we hadn’t seen each other for a long time. We needed time to catch up.”
“And since you didn’t want anyone to know that you two had a past, you needed to kick my ass out,” he replied.
“Something like that. Does anyone else besides Alex know about me and Venus?” I could only assume that he shared the information with his brother.
“Not that I know of,” he said. “I know I’m supposed to check-in with Damien about everything, but I figured I'd do so if there was a problem. Since I don’t see one, there’s no need for me to call.”
I had misjudged Draven. He might be here to watch over Venus, but he gave her the respect and space she asked for as well. Many people wouldn't have done so.
“Does this mean you’re heading back to the States?” I asked.
“Hell no. This means that I’m actually going to go surfing tomorrow instead of just saying that I’m doing it. But I want you to promise me something,” he said.
