“No.” At least that was the truth. But when she’d seen Jason Burnes, her brother’s best friend from college, in that New York City bar, she had thought it might be fate. Foolishness had never burned so hot, and she pressed her lips together as she tried to tame her thoughts.
“So you weren’t really friends.”
“We were friendly.”
“And you did tell everyone about my relationship with him.”
Luke met her eye. “Yes.” At least he wasn’t lying about it anymore.
She wanted to rage at him that his decision had altered the course of her life drastically. She’d hired a bodyguard after that, fallen for a cruel man who knew how to show only his good side in public, and given up her entire existence in her home state.
She wanted to be mad at him, but in the end, she couldn’t. Without all of that, she wouldn’t be in Getaway Bay, wouldn’t be part of the clubs she enjoyed, with the friends she’d managed to find.
“For what it’s worth, he’s a good bodyguard,” Luke said, getting to his feet and returning to the kitchen for more to drink.
The next day, Luke left in the morning and Lexie called Sasha and asked if she could find someone to cover her shift.
“You okay?” her friend asked.
Of course Lexie wasn’t okay, but she wasn’t going to admit it quite yet. “I’ll be fine,” she said. “I just want to go sailing today.”
“Maybe you need a friend to go with you.”
“I’m chartering,” she said. And she’d already paid for the whole boat. Her and the three-man crew, a reef, and an afternoon of snorkeling. She loved being under the water, where she couldn’t talk to anyone anyway, where she could experience a whole new world.
“Did you break up with Jason?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Sasha repeated. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“Sure it is,” Lexie said. “Haven’t you ever heard of on-again, off-again relationships?”
“So you’re off-again? Are you going to wait seven more years to give him a third chance?”
“Very funny.” Lexie gazed out the window, partially wishing Steve was there to keep her company. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up and went to pack her bag for her afternoon on the reef.
There was nothing quite as cleansing and freeing as snorkeling. She floated on the surface of the water, a world above and a world below. Caught in between. Hovering on the surface. How she’d felt for the last several years but didn’t know how to fix.
A school of yellow and black fish swam below her, and relaxation filled her whole body. She kicked around and saw fish, flora, and even an eel, as pointed out to her by Henrietta, the best snorkeling guide in Getaway Bay.
By the time Lexie returned to land, she felt ready to make a decision. She pulled her photo albums out from underneath the television and started leafing through them. In each picture, she found smiles, but her memories conjured up how plastic they were, or what her father had said just before the photo had been snapped.
She didn’t like any of these pictures. None of the memories. And her vow to never have alcohol in her life intensified.
She closed the book, wishing she could close that chapter of her life as easily. But there was Jason, trying to elbow his way back in. Literally, as her phone chimed and Jason’s name popped up, asking about the car and how he should return it to her.
I can get a shuttle back to Sweet Breeze.
He must be working tonight, so Lexie typed, Sure, bring it tonight. I’m home, and sent it She should’ve known Jason better. Should’ve known that he wouldn’t just leave the keys in the console and head back to work.
Oh, no. Jason rang the doorbell, and Lexie had no choice but to answer it. He wouldn’t go away, not until he’d said what he needed to say.
“Hey, Lex.”
“Jason.”
He held out her keys, and she took them. It seemed impossible that it had only been a week since she’d glared at him near the palm tree and then he’d snuck up on her while she waited at Fisher’s private elevator.
“Is there something else you need?” she asked.
The things streaming through his eyes said volumes, but he settled his weight onto one foot and said, “March nineteenth. The accident happened on March nineteenth.”
Lexie must’ve looked as confused as she felt, because he reached up and ran two fingers across her eyebrow, a small smile touching his mouth. “All I ask is you read a little bit about it before you decide to cut me off again.” He backed up a step and then another. “You know where to find me.”
He turned and went down the steps and then onto the shuttle. Lexie gripped the doorway, the date he’d given her rolling around inside her head. She really didn’t like the sight of his back, but she needed to get all her facts laid out before she made a decision that could once again alter her entire course of existence.
Chapter Sixteen
Jason couldn’t go back to his place. He wasn’t even sure why, only that he didn’t want to be there alone, and Steve was still at Jasper’s. Tyler had also offered to take the dog, and Jason thought the two men might come to blows over who got to keep Steve.
Finally, Tawny had told Tyler, “Get another dog if you want one, Tyler. It’s not like you’re too busy,” and that had ended things. Jason hadn’t been able to stay in the presence of other humans for very long, if only because all of his friends on the island had significant others and they were a constant reminder of how precarious his relationship with Lexie was.
He thanked the shuttle driver and went inside Sweet Breeze, intending to find Sterling and make sure he was okay. He’d gone to the hospital the day before, but they’d patched him up and sent him home. Thankfully, he only had a head wound with a mild concussion—nothing too terribly serious to require him to stay overnight.
Fisher DuPont, the owner of the hotel, had put him up at Sweet Breeze, because Sterling lived alone. He’d been caring for his disabled sister, and Fisher had brought her over too.
He spied Owen leaving the hall that led to his office and detoured toward him. “Hey,” he said when Owen saw him. “I can be back on security any time.”
“How about in an hour? Rhett quit.” Owen looked half-hopeful and half-angry.
“Absolutely.” Then Jason wouldn’t have to go home. Wouldn’t have to wonder if Lexie had looked up the accident and read the reports, the family statements, his own apology and commitment to an alcohol-free life.
He’d kept that promise, and he had no idea what he’d do if his stupid actions and mistakes from almost twenty years ago cost him Lexie. Deep down in his heart, he knew he should’ve told her when they started dating seven years ago.
He’d apologized for that, given reasons, but was it enough?
“Great.” Owen clapped Jason on the back. “Oh, there’s Gina. Excuse me.”
Jason noticed the hint of interest in Owen’s voice and saw the way his whole face lit up. “What’s with you and her?” he asked the general manager.
“What? Nothing.” Owen pulled at his necktie and strode away, the tips of his ears turning fire engine red, causing Jason to chuckle.
Now that he was working in an hour, he hurried away from the cavernous lobby and down another hall that led to the handful of guest rooms on the first floor. Sterling and his sister were staying in the largest one in the corner, and Jason knocked, calling, “Hey, Sterling. It’s Jason.”
His fellow valet opened the door a few seconds later, looking completely normal. “Hey, Jason.” He smiled, and that was when Jason saw the exhaustion in the man’s face. “Come on it. Paulette, Jason’s here.” Sterling stepped back. “You remember him, right? He helped you into the car once.”
Jason entered the room and Sterling closed the door behind them. He passed Jason, who caught sight of the bandages in the man’s hair, his throat suddenly narrowing. “How are you feeling?”
Sterling’s fingers drifted to the injury.
“Tired.” He sat on the couch and gave another faint smile. “Come sit down. Paulette has her murder mysteries on, and they’re not half-bad.”
“I can’t stay long,” Jason said. “I guess Owen is short-handed with security tonight.”
A flash of remorse moved across Sterling’s face. “I’m surprised you’re not at the valet podium.”
“He got Bill to do it.”
Bill didn’t normally work nights because of his three kids at home. His wife had died the year before, and the man didn’t have many people he could get to sleepover with his children. “I think Owen offered to pay his triple the rate.” Jason smiled and sat beside Sterling. “He needs the money, so he took it.”
They watched the murder mystery in silence for a few minutes, and then Sterling turned toward Jason. “Thanks for all your help yesterday.”
Jason blinked at him, trying to remember the day before. The altercation with Victor and his men felt like it had happened a lifetime ago, not just twenty-four hours ago. “No problem,” he said. “I’m sorry you were caught in the middle of it.”
“Did you figure out what happened?”
“Most of it,” Jason said. He’d hung around the interviews Luke had given, gave his own testimony, and asked the detective in charge to send him anything public he could. So yes, Jason knew as much as anyone else. “Me showing up and pretending to be the valet really threw their getaway driver for a loop. He bolted, so even if we hadn’t been in the lobby when they’d burst out, they wouldn’t have gotten far.”
“You always seem to be in the right place at the right time.” Sterling smiled and the action looked a little easier, a little happier.
“If only that were true.” Jason chuckled, wondering why he’d had to be in the exact wrong place at the complete wrong time on March nineteenth.
“How’s Lexie?” Sterling asked next, and Jason flinched away from the sound of her name.
“She’s fine,” he said, standing. “Sorry, but I have to get to work. Owen didn’t seem like he’d be very happy if I’m late.”
“Yeah, go, go.” Sterling waved toward the door. “I’ll be out to get some dinner in a little bit.”
“Make sure you say hi.” Jason paused with his hand on the doorknob and said, “Bye, Paulette. Good to see you again.”
The woman’s eyes left the television for a minute, and the briefest of moments of recognition entered her expression. She smiled too, and Jason turned to go, knowing that was all he’d get. Still, it was something, and Jason could use every smile thrown his way.
No one else was going to grin at the bulky, beefy security guard who stood next to the registration desk, that was for sure. He kept his arms folded as he watched the comings and goings at Sweet Breeze, the crowd swelling at dinner time and dwindling the later it got.
By midnight, when his shift ended, he’d booked the cheapest room Sweet Breeze offered and when he finally made it to the fourteenth floor, he found a tray of food waiting for him and a handwritten note from Fisher DuPont himself.
No charge for the room, Jason. Stay as long as you want. Thanks for all you’ve done for my hotel and my friends. ~Fisher
Jason’s heart softened and he removed the cloche to find a meatloaf dinner waiting for him. And it was somehow still hot, which made Jason wonder how Fisher knew when and where to orchestra things so seamlessly.
His phone chimed, and he’d just gotten a message from Owen. Everything okay in the room?
And Jason knew—it wasn’t Fisher who’d done anything except write what Owen had told him to.
Thank you, Owen, he texted back. Everything’s great.
She’ll come around, you know.
“Maybe,” Jason said as he typed the letters and sent the message. But he didn’t want to talk about Lexie with Owen, not yet anyway. So he silenced his device and picked up his fork. What he wanted to do right now was eat. So he did.
He stayed at Sweet Breeze for a week, until the walls in the standard room felt like they were closing in on him. He collected his dog from Jasper and Sasha, dozens of questions about The Straw and Lexie and her work schedule burning through his mind. Sasha took forever to find the dog’s leash, and when she finally did, she wouldn’t relinquish it to Jason immediately.
“She’s miserable,” she said. “You haven’t asked, but I know you want to.”
“I don’t want to,” Jason said, reaching for the leash. He also didn’t want to be rude to Sasha, who might be his only lifeline to Lexie. “But I’m sorry to hear she’s unhappy.”
“She’s processing.”
“She’s very good at that.” Jason wound the leash around his hand and looked at the blue canvas coils, his own unhappiness like a scent on the air. Steve seemed to be able to sense it, because he kept nudging Jason’s hand with his nose. “Thanks for taking care of Steve this week.”
“Oh, he’s a sweetheart.” Sasha dropped into a crouch. “Aren’t you, you sweet thing? Yes you are. Yes you are.”
“Are you talking to that dog like a baby again?” Jasper came down the last few steps, grinning at his wife. She straightened and giggled as he pulled her into his side. Jason wanted to bolt and never come back. Frankie, Jasper’s dog, came bounding down the steps too, his tail wagging like he and Steve had become best friends that week.
“Thanks, Jasper,” he said, extending his hand to shake Jasper’s. “You guys are great.”
Jasper shook his hand silently, but the man had keen eyes. Reporter’s eyes, and Jason turned toward the door to leave. The last thing he needed was to be sized up. Fleshed out. Judged.
“See you around the island.” He stepped outside and Sasha gave a chorus of goodbyes before she closed the door.
Back on his tiny patch of beach, Jason watched Steve sniff something in the sand, dig, and sniff some more. He eventually gave up on whatever he could smell and flopped down, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
He wore a smile though, and that was more than Jason could do. Had Lexie read the articles yet? It had been seven days since he’d dropped off her car. How long did he have to wait?
As the sun sank into the ocean, Jason told himself to wait a little longer. Just a little longer….
By lunchtime the next day, his patience had snapped. He put Steve’s leash in his pocket and headed down the beach. The Straw sat around the top curve in the bay, and it took him a good half an hour of walking through squishy sand to get to it. Just enough time to work up a real thirst.
The line in front of the drink stand was non-existent, so it only took one glance and two seconds for him to see that Lexie wasn’t working. She often worked afternoons, and perhaps he was too early.
“Raspberry lemonade,” he said to Sasha, whose eyebrows zipped up underneath her visor.
“You want lemonade?”
“I mean, I guess.” Jason took a few seconds to examine the menu. “I think I’ll come back later for a smoothie.” He met her eyes, his unspoken question very, very clear.
“Today’s not a good day,” Sasha said, earning her a look from Maddy.
“What kind of code are you guys speaking?” she asked.
“He’s Lexie’s boyfriend.” Sasha indicated him with the flick of her washcloth.
“Nope.” Jason shook his head. “That’s the wrong B-word.” Though he supposed he couldn’t be labeled as her bodyguard either. “When should I come for the smoothie, then?”
Sasha leaned against the counter, a sly smile on her face. “Maybe tomorrow night?”
“Is that a question?”
She seemed to be enjoying this way too much. “Maybe you should come everyday. Keep me in business.”
“In that case, give me the Cancer Killer,” he said. “That one sounds delicious.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lexie picked at the plate of food Ira had put in front of her twenty minutes ago. Whenever he hosted the Nine-0 Club at his house, he served a full meal, complete with an appetizer, a soup course, a main dish, and dessert.
He didn’t cook, and he wasn’t married, but he had the best personal chef on the island. Lexie usually looked forward to his May Day celebration more than another other time of year. But tonight, all she could think about was how everyone had brought someone with them, and her plus-one had been Owen.
Not only that, but Owen had hardly spoken a word to her once he’d discovered Gina Jackson, another new member of the billionaire’s club just down the table from them. She hadn’t brought a plus-one, and it seemed like Owen was going to play double duty tonight.
Lexie could tell they liked each other from the way Gina kept twirling a curl of her dark hair around her fingers and Owen had just sprinkled so much pepper on his mashed potatoes they were surely inedible.
Sure enough, he lifted a forkful to his mouth while chuckling over something the beautiful Gina had said and promptly made a choking noise before spitting them back out.
Lexie couldn’t help laughing, and that brought every eye at the table to her. “Sorry.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin, but all the women in the Beach Club kept their gazes on her. Her fellow Nine-0 Club members went back to their boring conversations about taxes or the stock market, but Lexie couldn’t escape Sasha’s eyes.
And when she did, she had to look at Gabi. Or Stacey. Or Tawny. Or Esther.
It felt like her worlds had collided completely, and she really didn’t like being her by herself. It was an odd feeling, as she’d spent forty years doing things by herself. Making big decisions. Billion-dollar decisions.
And yet, she couldn’t decide whether Jason was worth risking her heart. Problem was, she’d already given it to him, which meant she’d been drifting for days and days, hoping a particularly strong wind would come to the island and push her in the right direction.
So far, no luck with the ocean breezes.
She’d stopped dreaming of a hunky, handsome man to come through the line at The Straw. In fact, she barely saw faces anymore. Just heard drink names and calculated the cost, made change, and blended fruits, flowers, and flavorings.
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