“I plan to. Bright and early. I’ll have your double vanilla latte ready.”
I looked at him. “I’m serious August.”
His smirk faded. “I am too Harper, I’m here as long as you are.”
“Why? Why can’t you just let me…”
Heal.
“Move on,” I finished.
“Because I can fix this. If you would just let me.” It was the first time in weeks I heard that sharp edge in his voice again.
My response was soft and resolved. “I’m not letting you.”
He swallowed and waited for a moment. “When you change your mind. I want to be close.”
I pressed my lips together, deciding on a different approach.
Honesty.
“Do you know why I struggled so much with us at the beginning? Why I was so upset in that parking lot after you kissed me?”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you were Troy. And you were stealing my heart again and I liked being with you. I was so angry for letting myself go there again. But when I found out you weren’t him, everything changed. My feelings madesense. The way my stomach fizzed when you were around, the memories of you looking at me like you wanted to say something all those years ago but couldn’t. You weren’t the one who broke my heart, August, so you deserved it. And you had it more than anyone ever could.” Tears pricked and my voice broke. “Until you handed it back to me and turned away.”
“I know, I know, I’m asking you to please—”
“I won’t make that mistake again,” I cut him off. “So please stop wasting your time.”
I turned and walked back to my room, hoping that for the sake of my sanity, when I came down tomorrow—he would be gone.
32
Itrainedallthenext day so all outdoor activities and facilities were closed. I didn’t feel like joining my new friends at the spa, so I bought some pencils and a new sketch book in town and went back to the indoor lounge.
I wanted to ask the office if August had left or if the bar was just closed because of the rain, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask about him.
Instead, I snuck my phone to the lounge and read and reread his messages. Already missing him.
I made the right choice.
He couldn’t just follow me to the Bahamas and tell me he’d made a mistake and expect me to throw myself at him.
I couldn’t think of a bigger gesture than all the things he’d already said and done, but somehow, it wasn’t enough.
Either that, or I was truly moving on.
The sun was out most of the day and even though I stayed in again, my vanilla latte found me when a staff member brought it over.
I hadn’t seen him, but I knew he was still here.
There was a beach party on Friday night since it was the last night for a lot of the guests. After dinner I changed into a pale green spaghetti strap dress that hung just over the knees, a pair of low heel sandals and left my hair down. I was only here for two more days and needed to make the best of it, so I dolled up a little and planned to enjoy myself.
Respecting my wishes, August kept away from me, so I doubted he was going to be around tonight. Especially since the tiki bar was closed for this event.
I walked down to the deck and the steps that followed onto the beach. There was a stage set up and a dance floor. Chairs, beverages and barbeque spread around. The sun was setting and I breathed in salty ocean air, knowing it was only moments before my hair started to curl in random places from the humidity.
