“Why?”
“You wanted to go to Lizard Island, take your mum.”
“Ew!” Liv sits bolt-upright as if struck by lightning. “Can you imagine anything more pathetic? Taking my mother on my honeymoon? No thanks. I’ll cancel the reservation and Mitchel can lose his money.”
Damn. I need to tell her the rest. Mitch didn’t use one penny of his own to pay for the wedding or the honeymoon. It had all been mine. I paid for the honeymoon, and after today, I doubt he’ll be in any mood to pay me back any time soon.
“Liv, I have a confession.”
“Are you screwing Lina, too?” At least I get a classic eye-roll with her sarcasm.
“Nup. Worse.” My smile has to belie my words. How could I be so stupid? It should have been the first thing I told her, or at least told her father.
“You secretly got married to my fiancé and forgot to tell me?”
“Worse.” Can it wait until we get back into the dock?No.
She thinks for a moment, “You’ve secretly hacked into his social media and updated his profile from a video still.”
“Worse, but I like where you’re going.”
“I know his password!”
“Liv, don’t.” While I work out how to tell her, I tease, “just because it’s a good idea, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
“Don’t worry, I think my family and our friends will do enough to make it go viral.”
“Hey, Hunter!” My mooring neighbor calls out as we pulled into dock, “Who’s your gorgeous girl?”
“Bailey,” I barely acknowledge the thirty-year-old wanna-be media mogul. I need to tell Liv more of Mitch’s secrets before the asshole can ruin the rest of her life.
“Bailey Hudson.” He jumps aboard without warning or invitation, taking Olivia’s hand and kissing it. “You are living proof that my friend here keeps punching above his weight.”
“Bailey, not a good time, mate.” I want to do more than punch him for insinuating that he’s seen me with gorgeous women. We move in the same circles, and the last time we caught up I was entertaining a client—female and stunning, but so was her girlfriend. Baily probably assumed a menage—which couldn’t be further from the truth.
“What do we have here?” Suddenly, he notices the dress underneath Olivia’s purple cardigan. “Did you two, get hitched? Congrats! We should celebrate!”
“Um, no.” Olivia yanks back her hand as if stung. “I was supposed to get married today but my groom had other positions to try out with my bridesmaid.”
Her fragile composure crumbles like a pack of cards. Tears trace damp paths down her cheeks, and I almost shove Bailey overboard in my rush to pull her back into my arms. “Shh, sweetheart, it will be okay.”
“I don’t want him to see me like this.” Liv’s words are muffled into my chest and I don’t know if she’s is talking about Bailey or the rest of the world.
“Like I said, not a good time, mate.” I hiss through clenched teeth.
“Sorry, really, sorry.” I’ve never seen Bailey speechless, flabbergasted, or with the emotional intelligence to exit a situation before being pushed overboard while fully clothed. And yes, we’ve partied hard on occasion and usually one of us ends up in the Harbour hoping someone tosses us a rope to climb back on board.
“Babe, oh, babe.” This time, I don’t resist kissing the top of Liv’s head, trying to convince myself it’s for her benefit, not mine. “He didn’t understand.”
The peace from being on the water evaporates as Liv cries in my arms whileLife Boatgently rocks in its mooring. I should call her parents, my parents, her friends. This beautiful girl is hurting beyond my capability to soothe and comfort her. It’s not that I don’t trust myself, but she deserves better than I have to give. But my cell isn’t in my pocket and the only way I can look for it is by letting go of Liv, and she’s still crying. I refuse to be the first to let go.
Out of guilt or love?
Do my reasons matter? Liv comes first—she always has.
Tickets for Two
Olivia
