by Addison Cole
“That works!” Daphne said. “But that means someone has to check things out first.”
“Me!” Emery chimed in. “I’ll send a text to Des. Did you get it good, or are we scrounging this morning?”
“Okay, on that insane note…” Violet reached for a change in subject. “Did you get the party figured out?”
Emery grinned. “Yes! In fact, Justin, you should come to our party next weekend. It’s a welcome-home party for Des, Rick, and Harper, and a—”
“Harper?” Andre asked.
“She’s a fictional blonde they wave in front of single guys to get them to stick around,” Gavin said with a smirk. “I don’t believe she really exists.”
“She does, and she’ll knock your socks off,” Chloe said.
“You mean Harper Garner?” Justin asked.
“Yes!” the girls all said at once.
“Dude, she’s real, and she’s hot,” Justin said.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Gavin said. “You’ve got to come, Justin. I might need a wingman, and all the guys around here are too taken to do a good job of it.” He lowered his voice and said, “But I’m still not banking on there being a real Harper.”
“Oh, shut up,” Emery said. “Harper is hot, smart, and isn’t here because she’s working on a movie she wrote. The party is also going to be a send-off for Andre.”
A pang pierced Violet’s chest at the thought of leaving Desiree if they followed Andre’s plans.
Justin glanced at Violet with a confused expression, and Andre held her a little tighter with a hopeful look in his eyes. Did he think she was going to tell everyone she might be going with him right this second? She hadn’t even talked with Desiree yet. She forced herself to say, “Good idea. You should come, Justin.”
Emery filled him in on the details.
“I’ve got to run.” Drake gave Serena a quick kiss and said, “Babe, don’t forget Hagen’s spending the night tonight.” He looked at the others and said, “We’re practicing.”
Serena choked on her food. “We are not practicing.”
“Yeah, we are,” Drake said as he walked out the door, sparking more laughter and snarky comments.
“Thanks for coming last night,” Justin said to Violet and Andre.
“Last night?” Emery asked. “Where’d you guys go last night?”
“The suicide-awareness rally in Harwich,” Justin said before Violet could respond.
“Lots of bikers,” Violet said. “Not really your scene.”
Daphne’s jaw dropped. “Hot bikers and you didn’t invite us? I see there’s no love for the single ladies over here. Sheesh.”
“You have a baby. You don’t need a biker,” Chloe said, popping a piece of a muffin into her mouth. “You need someone like Gavin, or Dean’s brother Jett. He’s hot.”
“Hey,” Gavin interjected. “I’m sitting right here, thank you very much. I’m hotter than Jett.”
“Keep your pants on. You’re not banging Daphne,” Violet said with a glare.
“Chloe, have you ever seen a big, protective biker holding a baby?” Daphne looked up at the ceiling with a dreamy expression.
“Justin’s a biker,” Serena pointed out.
Violet leaned down and whispered in Andre’s ear, “Remind me again why I’d miss them.”
Chapter Sixteen
AFTER VOLUNTEERING AT the hospital Friday afternoon, Violet stopped by Justin’s studio to check on the sculpture. Justin was getting ready to leave the studio when she arrived. He was covered in stone dust.
She tossed her keys on the table and said, “Hey. You and your goodies were a big hit this morning.”
“That was an interesting breakfast. Is it like that every day?”
“That depends. Do you mean that loud? That presumptive? That—”
“Fun.” He shrugged and said, “It was loud, and yeah, they seem to be all up in each other’s business, but you have to admit they’re entertaining.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“Are we going to dance around the whole Andre’s leaving thing?” Justin leaned his hip against the table as she inspected the sculpture.
She kept her eyes trained on the butterfly. “Do I look like I’m dancing?”
“Vi,” he said softly. “Look at me. What’s going on? Are you leaving with him?”
She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms. “I want to.”
“But…?”
“I don’t know. I need to talk to Des. She’s back, but I’ve been at the hospital all afternoon.”
“And now you’re here, which means you’re procrastinating.”
Yup…
He frowned. “Okay, look. Maybe you just need a swift kick in the butt. You ran once. Don’t jerk the guy around again.”
“Way to have faith in me,” she snapped. “I won’t jerk him around. I love him, Justin. I want to be with him. It’s just that Des has been gone for weeks, and my leaving will crush her.”
“She’s always been your soft spot.” His eyes warmed. “What can I do to help? Anything?”
She shook her head. “I could never repay you for all that you’ve already done for me over the years.”
“Hey, you saved me from getting into drugs and stuff when I was younger. We saved each other.”
“Thanks, Jus.”
“You know you never needed my help to figure things out, right? You wanted me there, and I’m glad for that. You’re one of my best friends. But don’t fool yourself into thinking you can’t handle your own problems. You’ve always had a pretty clear picture of what you needed to do to survive.” He put a hand on her back and said, “Want to talk it out?”
“No. I’ll figure it out.”
He winked and said, “You always do. I’ve got to go. Hit me up if you need anything.”
She chewed on what he’d said long after she finished inspecting the sculpture. Maybe Justin was right and she’d always known what she needed to do to survive. But Andre had made her see her life much more clearly than she ever had before, and she no longer wanted to just survive, living every aspect of her life in a separate bubble. She was being offered a second chance at love, and she couldn’t be the partner Andre deserved if she couldn’t even be honest about who she was to her own sister.
She locked up the studio and headed back to the inn, determined to make things right.
She found Desiree in her bedroom folding clothes. Cosmos was asleep at her feet.
“Welcome home.”
Desiree squealed and threw her arms around her, sending Cosmos into a flurry of barks. “Oh my gosh, I missed you! I have so much to tell you about our trip, and pictures to show you, and everything!”
How could her sister’s happiness get her all choked up? “I missed you, too. Where’s your new husband?”
Desiree sighed. Her skin was bronze, and her eyes twinkled with happiness. “My husband. Does that sound as nice as it feels?”
“It does.”
“He’s probably with Drake and Dean at the resort. It feels like we’ve been gone forever, but, Vi, we had the most amazing trip!”
“I want to hear all about it.”
Desiree grabbed her phone and spent the next two hours catching Violet up on every moment of her honeymoon, sharing pictures and relaying stories about every place they went. Violet had never seen her sister so happy.
“Now I understand why you love traveling so much. Rick says I’ve caught the traveling bug because I want to plan another trip for next fall.”
Bug made her think of Andre. Didn’t he deserve to be that happy, too? Didn’t she?
“Listen to me going on like I’m the only one who matters,” Desiree said. “I saw all the plants in the living room. Dean said Andre bought them and had him and Drake set up a tent, candles, lights on the ceiling, all in an effort to bring Ghana to you. That sounds so romantic. Does that mean you guys are serious?”
You could say that was on the tip of her tongue, but she
stopped herself. She’d been hiding behind quippy comments for long enough. “We are.”
Desiree squealed again. “That’s great! I want to hear about everything!” In the next second the excitement drained from her face, and she put her hands in her lap and said, “I mean, whatever you’re willing to share with me.”
Geez, I’m such a witch. You just went from being elated to worried in the space of a breath because of how I’ve always treated you. That cut like a knife.
“I want to tell you everything,” Violet said. “But first I need to explain a few things.”
“Okay,” Desiree said tentatively. “Did something bad happen?”
“Not bad, maybe just unfair?” She stood and paced. “You know how I take off sometimes and say I have to get stuff done?”
“Yes.”
“Well, sometimes I go to the hospital, where I volunteer.”
Confusion rose in Desiree’s eyes.
“Using art as a form of therapy, I help children deal with anxiety. We work with Play-Doh and clay mostly. It helped me when I was young, and—”
“Wait, Vi. That’s great, but how long have you been volunteering?”
“Since my third week on the Cape.”
Desiree’s entire body seemed to deflate. “You’ve been volunteering this whole time?”
“Yes, and there’s more. I help my friend Rowan’s daughter, too.”
“Rowan…? I don’t know a Rowan.”
Violet crossed her arms and said, “He’s a friend of mine. His wife died and he’s raising his little girl on his own. I’ve been helping her with anxiety, and she’s just been diagnosed with dyslexia.”
“You work with kids,” Desiree said flatly.
“Yes.”
“Why haven’t you told me? I was a preschool teacher, for Pete’s sake. I’ve been teaching art to children here at the Cape practically since we came here.” Her voice escalated and she got up, worrying with her hands as she crossed in front of Violet. “How often do you go there? Is it just a once-a-month type of thing?”
Violet shook her head. “In the spring and fall I usually go four or five times a week for a few hours each day.”
“Four or five times a week?” Desiree said angrily.
“Yes, and in the summers I cut back to two or three times a week, depending on our schedules here.”
“Geez, Vi. I don’t even know who you are, do I? And here I thought we’d grown close and we trusted each other.”
“We have, and I do trust you, Des. Explicitly.”
Desiree’s eyes filled with tears. “No, you don’t. People who trust each other don’t keep secrets or lie about where they’re going.”
“There are reasons,” Violet started to explain, although she was so upset, words were evading her, making her appear hesitant.
“I don’t care about your reasons. Do you know how much it hurts to know you’ve been hiding that from me for this long? I tell you everything! Everything about me, and Rick, and…oh my goodness. What else don’t I know about you?”
Violet tried to speak past the emotions clogging her throat, but her voice came out strangled. “I sculpt at Justin’s studio. I’m making a sculpture for the family of a little girl who passed away last year. Her name was Erin.”
“Did you work with her, too?” she asked in a shaky, reluctantly empathetic tone.
The pain in Desiree’s voice, the hurt in her eyes, made it almost impossible for Violet to think. She nodded, tears burning again.
“You lost a child you obviously loved, and I never knew?” Desiree sank down to the edge of the bed. “How does that even happen? How can my own sister, who I see every single day, have that much of a secret life? Do you have any idea how much that hurts?”
“I never meant to hurt you. It’s my issue, Des, not a reflection on you.” Violet stepped toward her.
“Don’t,” Desiree snapped, holding her hand up to warn Violet off. “Please.”
Oh no, what have I done? “I’m sorry…”
“You’re sorry? We grew up with a mother who built her life on lies and whims, and she didn’t give two cents about us. She had a whole life I never knew anything about. You know how much that hurt me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I thought…” Sobs stole her voice and she covered her face. “Just go, please. I can’t do this right now.”
“Just let me explain.”
Desiree lifted her tear-streaked face and glared at her. “I said I don’t want to hear it. Not now. It hurts too much. Please just go.”
“But—”
“Go!” Desiree yelled. “Now!”
ANDRE HAD BEEN on a high all day. After their magnificent night, and their conversation about the future, he was ninety-nine percent sure Violet was going to come with him to Cambodia. He was still buzzing as he turned onto the road that led to the inn on his way home from the clinic and could hardly believe it had been almost a month since he’d arrived. It seemed like forever ago that he’d first seen Violet standing in the hallway of the inn, looking gorgeous in that sexy black dress with the enticing zipper.
The roar of a motorcycle pulled him from his thoughts as Violet sped down the driveway and across the road, flying past him in the opposite direction. Her reckless entrance and the hunch of her shoulders and dip of her head sent his protective urges surging. He turned his bike around and raced after her, wondering what had happened.
He spotted her turning off the road and kicked up his speed even more. Trees and houses blurred as they flew down a number of streets. She turned off the pavement and onto a narrow and bumpy dirt road, slowing just enough for him to catch up. He followed her for at least a mile down the woodsy road to a dead end. He cut the engine, ripped off his helmet, and ran to her, slayed by her puffy red eyes and tear-soaked face.
“Babe, what’s wrong?”
He reached for her, and she twisted violently out of his hands, stalking toward a sandy path, her arms flailing. “I mess up everything!” she shouted.
“No, you don’t, babe. What happened?”
“I told Desiree everything! About the hospital, sculpting, Erin!” She stomped across the sand in her boots, tears falling like rivers down her cheeks. “Now she hates me. And you know what? I don’t freaking blame her. You were right.” She spun around, glaring at him with so much hurt in her eyes he had to reach for her again. “I’m all the bad parts of Lizza wrapped up in one freaking witch of a person.” She fell into his arms, sobbing.
“No, babe, that’s not true. You don’t have a bad bone in your body. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed you to talk to her.”
“This isn’t your fault! I should have been honest with her from the start. This is on me. I don’t even deserve to be around her. She’d never hurt anyone the way I hurt her.” She gasped a breath between sobs and said, “She’s good and sweet.”
“So are you, baby.” He kissed her head, wishing he’d never urged her to tell Desiree the truth. He lifted her face, brushing her tears away with his thumbs, his chest constricting so tight it was hard to breathe. “You are a loving, kindhearted person. I’m not going to let you villainize yourself. You were hurting when you came to the Cape. You needed space to deal with it all, and you acted in the only way you knew how. The only way you’d ever been able to survive. Did you tell her that?”
She clung to him, shaking her head. “She wouldn’t even let me explain.”
“Then I’ll talk to her. We’ll make this right, babe. Desiree loves you, and she knows how much you love her.”
Violet looked up at him with the most defeated expression and said, “I can’t stand this. It hurts so bad…”
She collapsed, burying her face in his shirt, and they sank down to the sand right there in the middle of the path. Andre held her as the sun disappeared behind the dunes.
“We’ll make this right, babe,” he vowed.
He held her until she had no more tears to cry. And then he continued holding her, whispering his love for her as co
ld air swept over the dunes and night fell around them.
Chapter Seventeen
VIOLET SAT ON the edge of the bed Saturday morning, trying to shake the fearful images from her nightmares. She pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt and pushed her hands deep into her pockets as Andre came out of the bathroom with wet hair, a towel riding low on his hips. She’d gotten up before the sun and showered while he slept. It was only the second time since they’d reconnected that they’d showered separately, and she hated it.
He knelt before her, worry hovering in his eyes. “I missed you in there.”
“Sorry.” Her entire body ached with sadness, despite the loving way Andre had cared for her last night. He’d held her on the path to the beach until she’d begun trembling with cold. Once they’d gotten home, he’d drawn a warm bath and climbed in behind her, lovingly bathing her and holding her, making her feel safe and adored, but still she’d ached for the pain she’d caused Desiree. He’d wrapped her in his arms and held her all night in bed, whispering the sweetest memories about their time in Ghana, reassuring her that things would be okay with Desiree, and doing everything possible to make her feel better.
She’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep safely nestled in his arms. But when the nightmares hit, she’d woken up in a cold sweat, panicked, and she knew what she had to do.
“I have to talk to her,” she said.
“Of course you do. I’ll go with you.”
“No. I have to do this alone.” She put her hands on his face, struggling to stave off the tears that had plagued her on and off all night. “I love you so much.” The words she needed to say dug deeper, refusing to come out, so she said, “I had nightmares about trying to talk to Desiree, but she hated me too much to give me a chance. She said she never wanted to see me again. And then it was like she just disappeared. I was searching for her at the inn, opening door after door, and she was gone.” She pulled back, looking away as she said, “It brought back all the guilt about leaving you. I hope you know how sorry I am, and how much I regret—”
He pulled her against him and said, “Stop it, babe. We already forgave each other. Now it’s time to forgive yourself.” He lifted his head, smoothing her hair back from her face, and said, “None of those things are going to happen today. Desiree loves you just as much as you love her. She was just in shock.”
