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Dani didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t having fun, she was beating herself up for stupid mistakes, but that was personal. “Sure,” she said, hoping Claire would just leave.
Claire’s mouth pulled down into a frown. She put her hand on Dani’s arm. Her long, red fingernails looked stark against Dani’s pale skin. “Oh, sweetie. You should be careful. I wasn’t going to say anything, but you look like you really are starting to fall for Austin.”
She hadn’t been expecting that. “What? Why would you say that?” Had she seen the kiss?
“Listen, I know he’s handsome, but he’s not interested in you.” Claire sounded like she was speaking to a young child again. It annoyed Dani. Plus, she was pretty sure Claire was completely wrong. Austin had practically come out and said he wanted to persue a relationship.
Dani pulled away. “How do you know?”
Pity filled Claire’s expression. “At the miniature golf place Austin told me that he was hoping to get more sponsorship contracts, especially now since he won’t be able to play for a while. He specifically mentioned Adidas.” Claire paused, as if that meant something to Dani. When Dani didn’t say anything, she continued. “Didn’t your father do some Adidas commercials a few years ago?”
A sick feeling entered Dani’s gut. Had this been it the whole time? Had Austin wanted to get an in with her father so he could do shoe commercials?
Claire folded her arms. “At least, that’s what he said before he ran off to find you.”
The room began to spin and Dani grabbed onto the sink. Had Austin followed her to Grand Cayman? No, that didn’t make sense. He was there already. Maybe they had met on accident, but it made complete sense why Austin would have lied to her and followed her around, if he thought he could get a sponsorship. The food in her stomach turned to stone. It sat cold in her gut.
“Oh, honey.” Claire clicked her tongue. “Don’t be too disappointed. He was like that back in high school as well. It’s not you. It’s him. He’s a really good actor.”
Dani couldn’t say anything because her throat was too tight. She simply nodded and left the restroom. Her ears rang as she walked back to the table. Austin stood to pull out her chair for her, but she shook her head. “I think I’m done here.”
“No dessert?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not hungry anymore.”
“How odd. I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth.” He gave her a wink.
Ugh. How could she have thought he was sincere? He was acting so cringy. It was too much for her and she turned from him. “I need some air.”
“Sure. Let’s go out on the deck.”
She stalked toward the door, not caring if Austin was able to keep up. She kind of wanted to lose him in the crowd anyway. She was so naive. When would she wake up and see people for who they really were?
The last thing she wanted was to fall for another scumbag like Rafael.
Chapter 24
Austin had to rush to keep up with Dani. He lost her for a moment on the deck, but spotted her a minute later standing at the railing, looking out at the setting sun. The clouds in the sky were lit with orange and purple. He stood for a moment to take in her silhouette.
She was angry at him. That was obvious. He just had no clue as to why. It couldn’t still be the kiss, right? They’d moved past that. At least, he thought they had. It had been hours ago. Sure, things had been awkward since, but she hadn’t been acting angry.
He joined her at the railing. There was nothing left to do but get it out in the open. “You’re angry.”
“And you’re a fantastic detective,” she spat out.
“What did I do this time? Offering dessert? Did I upset you with my comment about food?”
She huffed, but didn’t say anything, which was infuriating. Why was it so hard to understand women? He leaned on the wooden rail. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.”
She turned to him, her gaze burning. “If you don’t know what you did, how can you be sorry?”
“Easy. I don’t like upsetting you. So no matter what it is, I am deeply sorry for it because you’re severely agitated.”
“Huh. Agitated. That’s an understatement.” Her lips turned down into a scowl.
“Okay. Ticked off. Is that better?”
“Getting closer.”
