Chapter Eight

 

* ZACH *

 

Logan should have known better than to trust me with the Lamborghini. I hoped he had good insurance on the thing, because I was driving it way too fast down Driftwood Island’s coastal road. Then again, what was the point of driving a Lamborghini if you weren’t going to drive it way too fast?

I made a complete loop around the whole island before I slowed down again and decided to make a second loop at a slower speed so I could enjoy the beauty of the place. Logan was right. I worked too much and never really relaxed. I’d cancelled all of my meetings today to have time to just relax. A day without meetings was pretty much unheard of for me, but after last night I couldn’t imagine sitting in a stuffy conference room and pretending to care about business. I needed a day to clear my head.

A day to figure out how to stop thinking about Abby.

I didn’t know what had gone wrong at the bar, and I’d given up trying to figure it out. As best I could tell, Abby had realized she was falling for me at about the same time she’d realized that I was never going to settle down on the island. So, naturally, she’d freaked out and left.

Fair enough.

When I’d first made this realization, I’d decided that I had to just let her go. After all, she was right. I was never going to settle down on this island. This had always been just a quick fling.

The problem, though, was that I couldn’t get her out of my mind quickly, like I’d been able to do with every other quick fling I’d ever had. Instead, she seemed to have seeped into every thought I had. I kept replaying our night together over and over in my head. Every time my mind wandered, it landed on the feel of her soft skin against my hand, the sight of her naked body in front of me, the smell of her faint perfume on my nose. I recalled what it felt like to be inside of her, and to be consumed by our sheer desire for one another. I’d never felt as connected to another human being as I had to her, and I couldn’t bear to think about the fact that whatever connection we’d shared had been broken.

I even thought about the moment I first saw her, when she’d emerged from the mist in that steamy indoor pool room at the resort. My heart had started pounding in a way it never had before. Then my mind wandered to memories of dancing with her at Joe’s Sandbar, her smile cutting straight to my soul as she laughed and tried to teach me her ridiculous country dances.

I’d known her for less than three full days, and already my memories of her consumed me. How was I ever going to forget about her?

It wasn’t going to be easy, but I had to forget her. And maybe one good way to do that was to make some memories on this island that didn’t involve her. As I neared a curve in the road, I slowed the Lamborghini even more. A dirt road to the right led off toward the ocean, and I made a split second decision to go explore a random beach. This part of the island was completely undeveloped, and as much as it irked me that the city council of Driftwood Island wouldn’t let me expand my resort here, I had to admit that there was something mesmerizing about the raw, natural beauty of a secluded beach.

I parked the car, then looked in the trunk to see whether there was any kind of beach towel or picnic blanket in there. Happily, I discovered that my brother kept several beach towels in the trunk, along with a case of bottled water. I grabbed a towel and a bottle of water, and started heading towards the beach. I probably could have used some sunscreen, but there was none in the car and I certainly didn’t have any on me. I hadn’t been planning on sunbathing today.

I’ll just stay a short while. Not long enough to get sunburned. But when I got to the beach, I saw that there were actually a few large rocky spots that offered plenty of shade. I spread my beach towel out in one of those shady spots and lay down. It felt so good to sprawl out on the sand.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent time doing nothing. I took a break from work to go to a bar here and there, or to catch an opera or symphony or something “cultural” when I was in a bigger city. But I never just relaxed. I never closed my eyes on an empty beach and breathed in deeply, savoring the smell of salt and sand like I was doing now.

I found myself fighting sleep before long. At first, I sat up and tried to wake myself up with a few pushups and jumping jacks in the sand. But then I realized that I had nowhere to be, and I could probably use a good catnap. What was the harm in closing my eyes and dozing off for fifteen minutes? I decided there was no harm, so I gave in and let the sound of the waves lull me to sleep as the bright mid-morning sun burned into the sand just beyond my rocky shade.

 

* * *

 

I woke up feeling completely disoriented. It took me a moment to realize where I was, but as the distant ocean came into focus, it all came back to me. I’d taken a quick nap on the beach.

Only I wasn’t sure how quick the nap had been. The light was all different now. The sunbeams had grown long, and instead of being almost directly overhead, the sun was starting to slowly sink into the sky in front of me.

Holy shit, the sun was setting. I sat up straight and automatically reached for my cell phone to check the time, but I didn’t have my phone on me. I’d left it in the car. There was no denying, though, that the sun was sinking into the western sky. Had I really slept the whole day away?

“Zach?”

The voice startled me so badly that I jumped, then cursed. Then, when I saw who the voice belonged to, I cursed again.

“Abby? What the hell are you doing out here?”

She was standing uncertainly off to my right, carrying an armful of driftwood. Her hair was a mess, sticking out of her bun in so many different directions that I wasn’t sure whether I should even call it a bun anymore. She didn’t have any makeup on, and her face was red and blotchy from crying.

But I’d never seen a more beautiful sight. Her short cutoff shorts showed off those same long, slender legs that had mesmerized me from the side of the pool the first night I saw her. Her sunshine yellow tank top had some sort of glitter design on it that shimmered in the sunlight in a horribly asymmetric way that somehow fit her. She was always a bit of a mess, always a bit off kilter. And I loved that about her. Her free spirit was the complete opposite of my overly-organized, overly-scheduled existence, and in that moment I realized that she was exactly what I needed.

In fact, an island where I could sleep an entire day away without realizing it was exactly what I needed. A bar where I could make a fool of myself country dancing was exactly what I needed. I don’t know if it was the sheer beauty of her face that made me realize this, or whether the balmy, salty sea air contributed to my thoughts. All I knew was that I had what felt like a sudden clarity about everything. Driftwood Island was my destiny. My fate. My home. The thought made me so delirious with joy that I laughed out loud. That’s when I realized that Abby was staring at me like I’d lost my mind.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

I hopped to my feet and took a step toward her, giddy with excitement over the realization that I was about to ask her for a second chance. I only hoped it wasn’t too late.

“I needed some space to think,” I said. “So I borrowed my brother’s car and drove around the island. I stopped here to rest and enjoy the beach, and ended up falling asleep for pretty much the entire day.”

Her eyes widened. “You’ve been sleeping the entire day? But don’t you have meetings? Aren’t your employees going to be freaking out when they haven’t been able to reach you all day? You must have a gazillion messages on your phone!”

I laughed. “I cancelled all my meetings for today. And I have no idea how many messages I have on my phone. I left the damn thing in the car. My point is, I realized I don’t care about my meetings or messages. I have so much money, and I’ve been doing so many things, but I haven’t been truly living.”

Abby set down the load of driftwood she was carrying and eyed me somewhat suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

I took a deep breath. “I mean that I’ve been pouring all my energy into the resorts so that I didn’t have the energy leftover to even think about what I was missing out on, or what else life had to offer. I put a wall up around my heart without even realizing it. But you broke through that wall. I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were different. That you were more than just a fling. That you were special.”

Abby furrowed her brow in confusion. “I still don’t understand.”

“Abby, I love you.”

Her jaw dropped and she started to try to say something, but I held up my hand to stop her.

“No, wait. Before you speak, let me explain. I know this probably sounds crazy, but just hear me out. I’ve been floundering for a long time, but I didn’t realize it until I saw you. You are exactly what I’ve always wanted in a woman: beautiful, self-confident, dedicated to a career that makes her happy. Not to mention funny and fun. Being with you has opened my eyes to the fact that life doesn’t have to be boring just because you’re staying in one place all the time. The adventure in life doesn’t come from going places. The adventure in life comes from the people you’re going to those places with.”

To my dismay, her eyes filled with pain instead of happiness. “But Zach, you know I can’t leave the island. And I know you don’t want to sell the resort, and—”

“Wrong,” I interrupted. “I do want to sell the resort. And I’m going to stay on the island.”

“But I thought…”

“I thought a lot of things, too. But spending the day here doing nothing, and having a bit of time to think about you this morning, all made me realize that I’m not living the life I want to live. I want to live a life that allows me to slow down once in a while. I want to live a life that revolves around the people I love, and you are one of those people.”

I don’t know what came over me then, but I got down on my knees in front of her and took her hands in mine. “Give me a chance to prove myself, Abby. I’ve realized what I need to change, and I’m going to change it. I’m going to sell the resort, and I’m going to move here. And, if you’ll let me, I’m going to spend every day for the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

Tears were brimming on the edges of her eyelids now. “But what will you do here?” she asked. “Won’t you get bored?”

I grinned and shook my head. “No. I’ll do all of the things that motivated me to make money in the first place. I’ll have a big family, and spend tons of time with them. I’ll set up charities and do volunteer work to make the community a better place. Perhaps your friend Kelsey has some ideas on how to beef up the local library.”

Abby cracked a smile. “I’m sure she has lots of ideas on that.”

“But most of all,” I continued. “I will show you I love you, and I’ll learn to love you better each and every day. That is, if you’ll have me, Abby. If you’ll give me a chance. Please say you’ll give me a chance.”

She bit her lower lip and considered. Then, to my relief, she nodded. “Okay. If you’re serious about staying, and about being part of the local community here, then I can’t think of anything that would make me happier than trying things again with you. To be honest, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. I’ve been mourning for you like you were a long time boyfriend I broke up with or something, which is ridiculous considering I’ve only known you a few days.”

“It’s not ridiculous,” I said, rising to my feet and pulling her into my arms. “I may have only met you a few days ago, but in a way I’ve known you my whole life. I’ve known exactly what I was looking for in a woman, and you’re it.”

She sighed happily and leaned against my chest. I leaned down my head and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled vaguely of coconut, and I breathed in deeply. I loved the scent of her. Everything was suddenly so clear in her arms. This was where I was supposed to be. I’d been running myself ragged for no reason for the last several years. I’d been trying to escape the longing I had felt for this—for a woman I could love with complete abandon. I was practically trembling with excitement as I imagined the expression on Logan’s face when I told him I would sell the resort and stay on Driftwood Island. He was going to say “I told you so,” but I didn’t even care. I was so happy, and I knew he would be, too. And hopefully, Abby would be the happiest of all.

“Hey,” I said, raising her chin so she was looking up at me. “One more thing. I want you to know that I’ll do whatever I can to support your career. I know it means a lot to you, and I admire your work as a wedding planner.”

“Yeah…about that…” her lip started quivering and she looked like she was on the verge of crying.

Alarm bells went off in my head. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with the wedding?”

“A lot of things have happened today. It’s like the universe is trying to completely sabotage my chance at being in a bridal magazine for an awesome wedding. First, the guy who was supposed to make the cake had a family emergency at the last moment. Then, the florist called and told me that the exotic flowers the bride wanted had been destroyed during shipment. They were on a refrigerated truck and the truck broke down. Not only that, but there was a fire at the warehouse where the personalized, specialty wooden signs for the décor were being housed. The signs didn’t burn, but the sprinkler system went off and the signs are all hopelessly water damaged.”

My eyes widened. “That’s a lot of things going wrong.”

“I know,” she said glumly. “And this late in the game it’s virtually impossible to get replacements. Luckily, Julia has agreed to bake a wedding cake. She’s a talented baker and I know she can do it. But the flowers and décor are a problem.”

I reached out and grabbed Abby’s hands. “Listen, there has to be a way to fix this. I can help. If you throw enough money at a problem, it’ll be taken care of. I’m sure if I pay someone enough, we can get new flowers and new décor in record time.”

Abby was shaking her head sadly. “I know that’s probably how things normally work for you, but money can’t always solve everything. Bruce has a lot of money, too, and he’s willing to pay whatever necessary to make this wedding perfect for his bride. But it’s simply too late. It’s impossible to get exotic flowers shipped that quickly.”

I wanted to protest that money could always fix problems, but I knew Abby was right. Bruce had a lot of money, too. If he couldn’t fix this, neither could I. It was a humbling thought, but it also confirmed for me that it was time to stop chasing money and start focusing on what mattered in life. Of course, that didn’t help Abby out right now.

“So what will you do?” I asked.

She shrugged, and gestured down toward the pile of driftwood she’d been holding a moment before. “The only thing I can do. I’ll use local driftwood and local flowers to decorate and make bouquets. It’s a lot of work to gather it all up, but I’ve got at least a dozen people from town helping me. They all want to see me succeed, and they’re doing whatever it takes. It’s really touching, actually. I just hope the bride isn’t going to totally flip her lid. My chance at a wedding magazine slot is probably gone, but I’m going to try to salvage the day for the bride’s sake as much as possible.”

I felt my heart breaking for her. I knew how much this had meant to her. “Don’t worry. There will be other chances. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help?”

She tilted her head and looked at my arms. “Are those muscles of yours any good at carrying driftwood?”

I grinned. “Load me up, babe.”

She smiled gratefully, and as we started gathering driftwood together, I felt almost like a local.

Hopefully, with time, I’d be accepted into this community. But being accepted by Abby was the most important thing, and it was a pretty damn good start.

Besides, even if I couldn’t fix everything with money, I did have one trick up my sleeve that might salvage her dreams of making it into a bridal magazine. I wasn’t going to say anything in case it didn’t work out, but I had a feeling all hope wasn’t lost yet.

And for once, it felt good to be doing something to help someone else’s dreams instead of just my own.