Something was bothering Autumn, and Balen feared he knew what it was. She hadn’t been herself since he’d kissed her on the beach. The whole trip back she’d been quiet and reserved. At first he thought it might have been motion sickness getting to her after all. The wind had picked up, making the paddle back a bit rough, but she’d refused the ginger drops he’d offered her, insisting she was fine when he knew she wasn’t.

He knew without a doubt that something was wrong when she ignored his hand to help her off the board. She hadn’t hesitated to take it earlier. Instead, she’d jumped into the knee-deep water and trudged up the beach like she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. She didn’t stop until she’d reached the Jeep, where she stood waiting for him while he returned the rental.

As they headed back to the villa, his efforts at conversation were mostly met with silence. And by the time they arrived, her walls were up in full force. Shit, he shouldn’t have kissed her back on the beach. This was his fault. He shouldn’t have let things get out of hand. It was the only explanation he could think of that would cause her to pull this one-eighty on him. God as his witness, he hadn’t meant to touch her like that, but she just felt so damn good beneath him, tasted so delicious he’d lost control of himself.

He hadn’t meant to scare her, but obviously he had. Autumn was pretty easy to read, it was one of the many things he liked about her. What you saw was what you got, and after dealing with opportunistic wave runners and his manipulative shrew of an ex, Autumn Harris was a breath of fresh air—and he’d possibly just fucked it all up.

But damn it, something about this woman severed his control. Every. Goddamn. Time. Whenever he touched her, it was like getting caught in an undertow. He lost all sense of direction.

He would have apologized for touching her right then and there, but his brother had shown up, ending the opportunity. He should probably apologize and reassure her it wouldn’t happen again. And it couldn’t, because he didn’t trust himself to stop. He’d made her a promise and, come hell or high water, he intended to keep it.

No sex...

What the hell had he been thinking?

Balen pulled into the parking lot and before he got the brake engaged, Autumn was out the door and heading toward the villa. “Shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat there a moment, collecting his thoughts. He was going to have to do some serious damage control.

Getting out of the SUV, Balen followed her up the stone path. As he stepped inside the villa, her bedroom door was just closing. She came out a few minutes later, fully dressed with his t-shirt in hand. “Thanks,” he told her, taking it and stuffing it into the dry bag. She turned, presumably to head back to her room, but he caught her wrist before she could leave. “Autumn, are you all right?”

She exhaled a sigh and pulled a binder off her wrist. Gathering her hair up, she fastened it in one of those a messy buns that totally worked on her. Most of the women he hung around would never dare let him see them with a strand out of place. They were too busy trying to impress him. And maybe that was what impressed him the most about her. She didn’t care. She wasn’t trying to get his attention by pretending to be something she wasn’t.

“I’m fine.” Her crisp tone said otherwise and they both knew it.

Well, if she wasn’t going to address the elephant in the room, he would. “I shouldn’t have kissed you this afternoon on the beach. Things started to get out of hand and I made you uncomfortable. I apologize. It won’t happen again.”

She eyed him like he was an idiot. “You think I’m upset because you kissed me?”

Her incredulous tone told him he was missing something vitally important here, but damn if he knew what it was. If she wasn’t upset about the kiss then what the hell was her problem?

“I think this was a mistake. You and me and this whole week. I think you should leave, Balen.”

She turned to leave and he must have been a sucker for punishment, because he stopped her again. “If that’s what you want, no problem. I’ll go. I was doing this for you, so you wouldn’t have to spend the week alone. But before I leave, I think I deserve to know why you’re so pissed off.”

“For me? Do I look that pathetic to you?” she snapped, jerking her wrist from his grasp. “Listen, Balen, I don’t need you. I don’t need anybody. I’ve done just fine on my own for the last two years.”

That was debatable, but he wasn’t about to poke the bear by pointing that out. “Why are you so upset?”

“Aside from the fact that you just insulted me? How about you tell me who Monica is? Let’s start there.”

Autumn’s voice cracked over him like a whip. This ginger had officially snapped. Anger glittered in her bright blue eyes. And now this all made perfect sense. If he thought he’d gotten a taste of her temper at the airport, he hadn’t seen anything yet.

But she wasn’t the only one pissed off. Just the mention of that woman’s name sparked Balen’s anger. “Careful, Autumn. You’re starting to sound like a jealous girlfriend, and I think I’ve been more than clear right from the beginning that’s not what this is.” He pointed between them, wondering if he’d misjudged her after all. She’d claimed she didn’t want a relationship, that was what made this safe—made this fun. It had an expiration date.

“No, that’s not what this is.” She mocked his back and forth gesture. “But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with being your fling while you mess around behind some poor woman’s back.”

The irony was so ridiculous he would have laughed if he wasn’t so damn insulted. Autumn thought he was fucking around on Monica? That was a good one. Balen was tempted to let her believe whatever she wanted to, and say sayonara to the whole goddamn thing. Three days in and this shit was already starting to get messy. But damn, he’d enjoyed spending time with her.

She’d obviously overheard Connor’s remark about Monica as they’d headed up to the house, and she’d made her own assumptions from there. He wasn’t sure he wanted to give her an explanation. He certainly didn’t owe her one, and he enjoyed talking about that wave runner about as much as he would a proctology exam.

“Listen, Balen, how you choose to live your life is your business. I just won’t be a part of it. I’ve been cheated on. It’s devastating. And I won’t be the other woman—”

“It’s not what you think, Autumn.” Without consciously making the decision to open up to her, the explanation seemed to tumble from his lips. Because he wanted to prove her wrong or vindicate himself, he wasn’t sure. For some reason, the idea of Autumn thinking ill of him bothered him, maybe more than it should have. “Despite what you may believe, not all guys are assholes. Monica is my ex-fiancée. We broke up nine months ago—when she cheated on me. She wants to reconcile, I don’t. End of story.” It wasn’t nearly that, but it was all he’d say about it.

Her expression changed from condemning to empathetic and, goddammit, he didn’t want either one.

“I was hanging out with you because we have fun together.” Truth. “I also get to avoid my ex until she leaves the island. It was a win-win.” Also true. But it was more complicated than that. He had no intention of telling her about the paparazzi or the damn sex tape. She had no idea who he was and he wanted to keep it that way. “Don’t look at me like that, Autumn. I’m over her.”

She broke his stare but couldn’t disguise the remorse in her eyes. “I’m sorry I misjudged you.”

She looked like she wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but he didn’t need or want her pity. He was pissed, which was often his sentiment when talking about Monica. “Autumn, you’ve been misjudging me from the moment we met.”

Balen headed toward the spare bedroom before he said something he’d regret. Slamming the door behind him, he began stuffing his few belongings back in the duffle bag. He was zipping it closed when a soft knock sounded on the door. Instead of answering it, he slung the strap over his shoulder and pulled it open to leave.

She appeared surprised to see him standing there with his shit all packed.

“You’re leaving?”

Did she think he was going to stay? Oh, that’s right… She thought he was homeless.

“But where will you go?”

Case in point. He chuffed a sarcastic grunt and shook his head as he shouldered past her. She may not know who he was, but it still grated on his nerves that she’d chosen to believe the worst possible scenario.

“Balen, wait…” Now it was her turn to chase after him, apparently. “Don’t go.”

“Why would I possibly want to stay?” he asked incredulously, spinning around to confront her.

Her expression fell. Goddammit, what was it about this woman that always got him right in the feels? Why did he have such a sense of responsibility to her? She was practically a stranger and yet here she was, twisting him up in knots. It didn’t take Autumn long to recover. When she did, it was obvious she was back on the offensive again.

“I don’t want your pity any more than you want mine! And I’m sure as hell not going to beg you to stay. If you want to be here, then fine—stay. If not, then it was nice knowing you.”

* * *

Autumn didn’t wait to see if he left. She turned back around and headed to her room, slamming the door behind her. Balen was right. She’d misjudged him, and to be fair, he had every right to be angry with her. If he was still here in the morning, then great, and if not, well, whatever. She didn’t need him, dammit. She didn’t need anyone. And that was the same mantra she’d been telling herself for the last two years. In hindsight, she probably should have just asked him about Monica rather than jumping to conclusions and nailing him with accusations. But given her track record with men, trust wasn’t something she had a lot of.

She crossed the room and was headed for the shower, anxious to get the itchy salt water washed off her when her cell chimed. Stopping to check it, she sat on the edge of the bed and opened Summer’s message.

How was your day with One and Not So Done?

Very funny. It was good until I showed him my crazy.

Oh no, LOL! What happened?

We went on that paddle boarding thing you booked. We were having a nice time and stopped at a private beach. His brother showed up and I overheard him say something, but instead of just asking Balen about it, of course I overreacted. So…

You? Overreact? I don’t believe it… ;)

Ha-ha. I made an ass out of myself. We’ll see if he’s still here in the morning or if I scared him off.

Advice?

Sure. Autumn knew her friend well enough to know she was going to get it whether she wanted it or not.

Stop taking yourself so seriously and loosen up. You’re on vacation, remember? When you leave, you’re never going to see any of those people again.

Why wasn’t that thought as comforting as it should have been?

Text me tomorrow and let me know if he’s still there. I bet he can take your brand of crazy. ;)

Despite herself, Autumn laughed. Guess they’d just have to see…