AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Do what?" Isla's brows furrow in confusion.
"Call her Marion. You're allowed to call her mom. Just because I don't doesn't mean you can't," I say.
"I know," she whispers. "It's just weird. She's trying to be a better person, and I want to give her that chance. I want to forgive her, but Jenna is our mom, you know? Marion never wanted us. I can't help but think she only wants us now because she's lonely and has no one else."
"Maybe, or maybe she's tired of being a problem too."
"Youaren't a problem."
I smile, more grateful for my twin than I know how to put into words. "I miss you."
"I miss you too." She frowns. "But don't you dare think about coming back here because of me, Bella. If your heart is there, that's where you belong. Once it's safe, I'll come visit. And you can come to visit. We'll make Uncle Ian put that ridiculous private plane to use every week if that's what it takes."
"Promise?"
"Pinky promise." She touches her pinky to the monitor and then waits for me to do the same. "I should go. You havethingsto do."
We both giggle.
"Wait. What did you want to talk about?" I ask before she can end the chat.
"What? Oh." She waves a hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. "It's nothing. We can talk about it next time."
I narrow my eyes, suspicious. One thing Isla is not is a good liar. She's hiding something. But she blows me a kiss and quickly ends the chat with a rushed, "Love you!" before I can demand answers.
I close the lid on the laptop and then sit there for several long moments, replaying our conversation. For the first time in days, I feel completely whole. As if all the missing pieces of me have stitched themselves back together.
Isla isn't angry with me. My dad and I are…well, he's not on a plane right now. He’s giving me space to make my own decisions and choices, even knowing that choice could mean losing me to a bossy giant in Texas.
I never imagined I'd want to stay when I got on the plane to come here, but I never expected to run headfirst into love with my bodyguard either. My family is in Tennessee…but my heart is here. Maybe I'll be bad at love. Maybe I am all the things I fear. But maybe, like Isla says, I'm none of those things.
I want to find out.
When we get home, I'm telling Cormac how I feel about him. I'm diving in with both feet.
"Where are we?" I ask, lifting the helmet off my head and staring in wonder at the waterfall cascading down into a clear blue lagoon. A thick tangle of trees grows all around us, shutting out the rest of the world.
"The Falls," he murmurs, climbing off the bike behind me. He wraps an arm around my waist, dragging me back against his chest. His lips touch the side of my throat. "This place is magic."
I can believe it. It's a perfect oasis of tranquility, far removed from the activity of the sprawling town.
"It's beautiful."
"I'm serious," he murmurs against my throat. "The water is magic."
I turn to look at him over my shoulder.
"It brought you to me."
"Uh, I'm pretty sure a plane and your cousin did that, Tiny."
"Nope." He nips my throat, slipping his hand beneath the hem of my shirt to splay it across my belly. "The water in this town did. I've been drinking gallons of the shit, waiting for it to bring my soulmate to me." He inches his hand upward to cup my breast. "Now you're here. Magic."
I moan, dropping my head back against his chest. I'm pretty sure he's crazy, but I don’t care. We can be crazy together.
"Now, I gotta get you on the same page as me," he says. "Get naked and swim with me, Mischief."
My eyes flutter open. "Here? Now?"
