Chapter 3

Hazel

Last night had been a dream, not a nightmare. Maybe a wet dream, ha, but a dream nevertheless.

Sex in a penthouse suite with a mystery stripper. Perhaps, the whole troupe of them – was that what strippers were called in a group? – had rented out the place together.

It didn’t matter. I glowed.

I strolled down the white sand beach, just underneath the line of trees that rimmed it, camera in hand. The wedding party was ahead, bridesmaids and groomsmen gathered, wearing jeans and t-shirts – with the wedding set for tonight; everyone was in high spirits.

God damn it, I am too.

This was the last thing I’d expected.

Jacob had dragged my heart through hot lava. He’d stomped on it right after.

But last night, the mystery stripper, Bain – man, what a name – had erased thoughts of that from my mind. He’d scoured Jacob right out and replaced all the pain with ecstasy.

I’m not this person. I don’t have one-night stands.

I snapped a few pictures, not really focusing on what was in the viewfinder of my Canon but swinging it left and right, just clicking the button at the trees, the ocean, the folks on the beach, the resort hotel that reared in the background, a white-gold palace.

For the longest time, all I’d wanted was to be loved, as pathetic as that seemed. I’d longed for something stable. A guy who’d love me for me. I’d thought that I’d had that with Jacob. Boy, had I been wrong.

“Maybe, that was what I needed,” I whispered, to myself and lowered the camera. “Just one night to –”

Footsteps swished through the sands behind me, and I quit talking to myself like a crazy person.

My heart skipped a beat. What if it was him? Bain. Don’t be ridiculous. It was one night, and he probably doesn’t want to see you again. But still, hope unfolded in my chest.

I turned and those hopes crashed down so hard they penetrated the crust of the earth, fell straight through the mantel and buried themselves in the core.

Jacob stopped in front of me, hands tucked in the pockets of his chinos, and that oh-so-smug Jacob-smile ensconced on his lips.

The one I’d fallen for. The same one he’d shown me two days ago during that epic breakup speech.

“There you are,” he said. “Glad to see you’re doing okay.”

“Doing okay?” I stiffened.

“Yeah, you know, after what happened.” He tilted his head to one side. “I heard that you skipped out on the bachelor party last night. Carly was really worried about you.”

Carly happened to be one of Jacob’s best friends. It was the reason her groom had taken him on as the best man. Worst man in my opinion, not least because he’d dumped me but because he’d alluded to the fact that there was definitely someone else during the gut-wrenching conversation.

You were a way to pass time. Why do you think I never took you to meet my family? We weren’t even living together, Hazel. Get real.

His words rang through my head, but I didn’t tear up this time. I shrugged. “Jacob, what do you care what I do? It’s over between us, remember? You’re the one who ended it.”

He blinked chestnut brown eyes at me, and didn’t say a word. Likely, because he’d expected me to grovel at his feet. Or at least cry.

Not today. Today, I wasn’t just Hazel the plain Jane who’d been lucky enough to be with him. I was Hazel, the woman who’d had a one-night stand and couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

Bain. The stripper. I forced away the flicker of doubt. “Is there anything else you want to talk about?” I asked, then lifted my camera. “I’m trying to snap some pictures for the wedding portfolio and you’re in my shot.”

“You’re different,” Jacob said, brow wrinkling up like crepe paper. “You take a Xanax this morning or something?”

“Charming as ever.” I sidestepped to move past him and he followed me, blocked my path.

“Hazel, I know you’re putting up this front because you’re hurting and that’s okay. I just wanted you to know that this is an important weekend for Carly, okay?”

“Yeah, it’s her wedding. I’m aware of that.” I fiddled with the dial on my camera, flicking it from photo mode to playback mode again and again. “What are you insinuating?”

“That you’re not stable, right now,” he replied and brushed fingers through his wavy brown locks. The front of his white button down rippled in the ocean breeze. “I don’t want Carly’s weekend ruined by what you’ve got going on.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”

“No. You left her at the bachelorette party last night, and she got super drunk and things could’ve gone badly for her. You should’ve been there to help her. You’re her bridesmaid,” he said.

But I wasn’t the Maid of Honor, and he had no right to lecture me about my duties to my friend. I opened my mouth to tell him as much, but the words wouldn’t come out. A mixture of anger and shame swirled through me.

He’d always had this effect on me. He managed to make me feel like I was in the wrong, all the time. I’d be so confident of my convictions, ready to defend my decisions, and he’d waltz in and twist everything on its head and make me look like the bad guy.

“I’ve got to go,” I said and spun on my heel, tracking across the sands as fast as my feet would carry me. Not exactly a mic drop, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with him right now.

Jacob didn’t call out for me, didn’t follow, and I didn’t look back.

He wouldn’t be standing there if I did.

Tears blurred the sand into a long fuzzy white strip, bordered by a fluffy blue ocean. I blinked and lowered my gaze, focusing on my bare feet and pink painted toenails.

For a second there, I’d almost been confident enough to tell him to get bent, but he’d done it again. Reduced me to the weepy annoying chick I despised, and he did, too. Ugh!

I passed a line of palm trees, and a shadow moved toward me; a hand took hold of mine and flooded me with warmth.

“There you are.” The voice, that same rumble, slid through my ears and sent a shiver down my spine. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” I said and scrubbed the tears from my cheeks. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Bain drew me into his arms and squeezed me against his chest, enveloping me in light, citrusy cologne. “I’ve been looking for you all morning. You ran out on me.”

“I didn’t want to overstay my welcome,” I said and cleared my throat. This was ridiculous. I wasn’t some weepy wretch who couldn’t keep it together. Except, right now, you are. And who can blame you?

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Hell no! Could anything be more embarrassing than that? Yeah, uh, I only fell into bed with you because my heart is broken and the guy I was in love with is here, possibly with some other chick.

That’d go down well.

I pulled out of his grasp and brushed the front of my lemon-yellow dress, then tucked my hair behind my ear. “Listen, you don’t need to do this. I know how these types of things work. Maybe not super personally, but I know that a one-night stand is a one-night stand. You don’t need to pretend to care just because we’re trapped on the same island.” And I didn’t particularly relish the thought of him whipping off his pants for another bachelorette party tonight, either.

“Huh?” His ran a finger down that slightly crooked nose. “Trapped?”

“Yeah, I’m here until the wedding’s over and you’re here until whenever you and your stripper guys have to, um, leave. I don’t know how it works or how long you’ll be here for, and let’s face it, this is just a –”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “Quiet. Stop overthinking things. Walk with me instead.”

“What, now?” I asked, keenly aware of his presence and the way his gaze swept up and down my body, landed on my chest, and flicked to my face again.

“No, next week,” he replied. “Of course, now. Come.” He held out an arm.

I stared at it.

What could it hurt? This was harmless fun, and I wasn’t some snob that I’d turn up my nose at his profession. It wasn’t a problem for me that he did what he did. I didn’t enjoy watching that, but –

Ramble, ramble, ramble! Just do it!

I slipped my arm through his, and he rewarded me with a toe-curling smile.

“Let’s go,” he said and guided me out across the beach, my camera flapping on the end of its strap.