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Present day.

GARRETT WATCHED THE WOMAN he loved leave with the man she’d lived with and had been intimate with. It was a tough thing to witness and feel that he had no right to intervene on.

Why didn’t he stop it—shield her from what was sure to be more pain?

Once the door closed behind them, he looked to Robin as she paced her foyer, wringing her hands.

Garrett sighed, leaning against her wall. Two days back in Laguna and the drama was there waiting for him. “What’s his deal?”

He frowned at Clark’s response to him. The guy was aggressive. Overly aggressive for no reason. He thought of what he’d have done in the same situation if his girlfriend dumped him and was with another guy the next day. He wasn’t sure but knew he’d be less crass.

But then again, this was Isla he was thinking about.

Robin wrung her hands. Her tanned cheeks were oddly pale at that moment. “He’s going to propose to her.”

Propose. Garrett’s heart raced. Those words made his blood run cold.

“What? Where are they going?”

Robin shook her head. “She’s not going to say yes. I know that for certain.”

“Do you?”

“Of course. You’re back. Why would she go to the man who hurt her when the man who loved her more than any other is back?”

Garrett’s pulse quickened. “He hurt her?”

Robin pursed her lips, pausing her pacing. Her black cat meowed and she picked it up. “Let’s have a seat,” she said, avoiding his question.

“Tell me, Robin,” Garrett said, his jaw clenching.

He had a mind to go after Isla and Clark and send him away. He knew that the scenario in his head wouldn’t go that smoothly. He could tell from the way the guy talked and stood there like an arrogant asshole that he would want a fight—and Garrett would give him one.

“I will. Let’s just have a seat and keep calm. He’s not that crazy to hurt her in public. I know that much.”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, from what Isla tells me. He acts much differently when others are around. Civil.”

Garrett followed Robin from the foyer and past the kitchen to the open living area where cream-colored sofas shaped like rectangles lined the room. Tense, he sat down on the supple leather and folded his hands across his thighs as he leaned over, ready to get up and rescue her if he heard any raised voices.

He’d just gotten her back. He hadn’t expected to fight for her, but he would.

In a heartbeat.

“Tell me everything.”

Robin covered her face with her hands and groaned. “You know Isla just as well as I do, maybe even better. You know that she has her issues. She can’t stand to be alone. After you seemed to vanish, she went on a binge of sorts, just partying every night—”

Garrett stared at her, knowing what that pause meant. He knew where she was going with that statement. People called Isla a slut because they didn’t understand her.

Garrett knew why she did it. She was desperate to be loved, to feel something—some kind of acceptance and affection that she didn’t get from her parents. It hurt him to think of her falling into that pattern again. It turned his stomach to think of different man using her.

He squeezed his eyes closed. “You don’t have to say it. Isla slept around. I get it. Now, skip to the part where Clark enters the picture.”

“When she met him, he actually pursued her beyond a one-night stand and they started to date. She moved in after a few weeks, and I thought that, finally, Isla is going to be okay. But after about a month, he started to be controlling, telling her what she could wear and who she could talk to.”

“Did he hit her?” Garrett didn’t care about the rest. But if that man put his hands on her, Clark’s life was over.

Robin nodded, tears in her eyes. “From what I’ve heard, and what I saw one time...he is a violent man.”

“Bloody hell,” Garrett said under his breath as he saw red.

He stood. His pulse quickened. His face grew hot. Without a word, he walked to the door and stepped outside. Just as he stood on the front walkway, he watched Clark storm to his car and get in.

Garrett wanted to rip him from the driver’s seat and smash his face in the white pavement. Instead, the man who hurt his woman pulled off and vanished down the road.

With all of his teeth.

Isla’s voice came from behind him as she entered the house from the back door.

She walked right up to Garrett, seeing the look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Isla said, wringing her small hands.

He frowned. “About what? What do you have to be sorry for?”

“That you two had to meet. I had no idea he would come after me and try to win me back. I don’t even know how he found out where Robin lived. We won’t see him again, though. I promise.”

“Are you okay?” That’s all that he cared about.

Isla nodded, but something was different about her. She looked fragile, broken.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” She took a step back when he reached for her. “I just want to take a long shower if that’s okay.”

He didn’t like this change. What did that bastard say to her that made her revert from a strong woman to a timid girl?

“Of course,” he said, softly. All anger dissipated, replaced by concern for her.

She faked a smile and turned to Robin. “Guest room, okay?”

Robin nodded. “Yes, hun. There are fresh towels in there, and your favorite bodywash.”

“Thanks, Robin,” Isla said, her voice sounding drained.

Robin and Garrett watched Isla disappear around the corner to the east wing of the one-story house. They shared a look, both worried about her.