Trina could have kicked herself for the way she spoke to Brad. As soon as he left she regretted it and saw the error in her ways.

She'd been completely out of line, and vile, for basically calling him dumb. He'd never spoken to her like that before either. Probably because she'd never given him any cause to until today. Trina knew she’d been truly disrespectful.

She waited on the back porch, watching the smooth waves of the ocean breathe in and out, caressing the surface of the shore and the crystal sand. She waited out there for hours, but it felt more like days. When it turned dark, and there was still no sign of him, she felt even worse and realized once again that he wasn't coming back. That was when she broke down again for the umpteenth time or however many times she'd cried since being on this vacation.

Since waiting out here was only making her crazy she went up to the room she'd chosen and lay in the bed, staring at the myriad of stars in the inky sky through the skylight window. Sleep took her moments later.

The radiance of daylight woke her up with the sun beaming down on her in full volume. She could barely open her eyes against the rays and got up to semi close the curtain, turning the brightness down a notch.

Looking over at the silver clock on the wall she saw it was ten.

No wonder it was so bright. Back home she rarely slept past seven, and that was because of work. Even on weekends, she tended to wake up early, or not sleep at all sometimes because she was always on call.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the deep grooves in the thick white bedside rug she sunk her feet in. That bad feeling hit her again as she remembered yesterday and how she spoke to Brad. It was pretty clear that he really had left, and it was because of her. She glanced at her phone and saw that there were no messages from anyone.

She expected it to be flooded. She'd seen Mandy and Lizzie before she met up with Brad to come here, so she didn't expect to hear from them today. But she was sure she'd get messages from Jennifer asking what happened when she learned that Brad had left.

Maybe Jennifer was too upset to talk to her. It's not like she'd be wrong to feel disappointed. She and Neil had gone all out to make them comfortable. The location was beautiful, the house was bordering on dreamlike, and the scenic landscape enhanced the vision.

She was grateful for the attempt. She decided she'd have to call and apologize later. She also definitely needed to call Neil and ask for Brad's number. Brad needed an apology from her too.

She slid off the bed and made her way down the wooden stairs. When she got into the living room, she noticed that the door leading out to the back porch was wide open. She didn't remember leaving it that way and panicked when she realized she'd slept for hours unsecured in the house.

See. She had gone crazy. Sure, this wasn't her apartment right in the city in Chicago where she had to practice more mindfulness, but it never hurt to be safe wherever you went. She'd obviously been lucky nothing had happened to her.

She made her way to close the door, and that was when she saw him.

Brad.

He was back. He was here. He was sitting on the steps leading down from the porch, resting against the wooden beams of the staircase, gazing out to the sea. His chiseled profile held an inherent strength, but with a certain sensuality she'd always admired.

Today he wore a fitted, gray jersey tank top that displayed the solid muscles in his thick arms and the well-built wall of his chest. Khaki combat trousers did the usual display of his legs.

Her heart fluttered at the sight of him, and she was so happy he didn't leave the island. It was happiness and relief to the degree that she had a hard time resisting the urge to run over to him and throw herself into his arms. She had to admit that she missed doing that and it was weird to be here with him and not act the way they used to.

That was how they greeted each other, even when mere hours had passed since their last meeting. It was like minutes were too long to be apart.

He wasn't that guy anymore though. The bad, troubled side to him was all gone, and the good side didn't have those deep feelings for her.

When she walked out to the porch, he turned and looked at her with those piercing blue eyes, holding her gaze.

She stopped paces away and looked at him.

"Wow, Milady's awake." He smirked with sarcasm.

She almost laughed. He used to call her Milady when she was in one of her moods with him, and they'd had an argument.

"Yeah," she breathed and took a moment to look at him. She couldn't believe he was here. It wasn't just that he came back from yesterday's drama, but it was all of it and the fact that she never thought she'd see him again. She used to dream about him all the time, and how they used to be.

She made a move to get closer, but he held up his hand to stop her.

"Halt." He continued to gaze at her. "State your mood. If you've come to wail on my ass like yesterday, I need time to prepare."

This was another game from the past, so he could prep himself if the argument was likely to continue.

Today he had nothing to apologize for. It was all on her.

"This is a time of peace," she replied just like she used to.

"Okay, Milady you may proceed." He was still annoyed at her and would only stop calling her that when he was sure that there would be no further arguments.

She sat next to him on the step and adjusted herself so that she was facing him.

"I'm sorry." She told him. "I'm sorry about yesterday and everything I said."

He inclined his head to the side and regarded her with a contemplative stare. "That's amazingly the first time you've ever apologized so quickly."

"Because I was completely at fault and rude," she confessed

"So, what Milady is saying is that she no longer blames me for not being able to go home."

"Yes. Can you stop with the Milady now?" It was annoying years ago, and it was annoying now. Especially since she was certain it would be something Captain Chicken Feet would say.

He shook his head. "No. I don't think so."

She sighed and rested her hands in her lap.

"Come." He stood up. "Let's grab breakfast. We can eat, then talk."

She looked up at him and nodded. Grateful for the chance, and the idea.

* * *

They found a diner where they ordered the most delicious breakfast she’d had in a very long time. Most often she ended up skipping breakfast because she was so busy. She tried to carry snacks with her, but that would never make up for a good old-fashioned sit-down meal. While Brad ordered a full platter heaped with toast, eggs, sausages, bacon and pancakes, she had a stack of pancakes layered with syrup and hazelnut chocolate spread. It was divine and offered some much-needed comfort.

"Okay, now that we're watered and fed we can talk," Brad announced.

She rested back against the padded leather of her seat and settled her hands before her on the table.

She didn't know where to begin and since he'd done a lot of talking the other night the ball was in her court. However, she honestly didn't know where to begin. There was so much to say.

"I don't know what to say."

"You had a lot to say yesterday," he pointed out.

"I know, but I was angry."

"Trina, you're not angry at me because you didn't get to go home, or because we had to come here. You're angry at the past, and you think I'm a coward."

Yes. That was exactly it. But she shouldn't feel that way. Especially now since he kindly pointed out that they weren't a couple anymore. He had indeed explained all that he needed to explain and didn't owe her anything more. Them being here should realistically be about trying to get on so they could do their part for the wedding, and be the friends they should be to Jennifer and Neil. Nothing else.

"It doesn't matter Brad. It shouldn't. Just forget it. We can move forward and do what we need to for the wedding."

"It does matter.” He held her gaze. “We can't move forward until we fix the problem. I want to fix this with us." He rested back against his seat too and ran his finger along the edge of his plate.

She appreciated him saying that. "You don't need to. It's in the past, and I understand."

"You understand, but you don't accept it. You don't accept the explanation."

This was the trouble in dealing with people who knew you and Brad was the kind of guy who had the tendency to know her better than she knew herself.

"It is what it is."

"That's true, but I need you to accept the reasons why I had to leave." His eyes searched hers.

"Brad..." She thought a moment before continuing and pulled in a breath. "It feels like you and my dad took my life into your hands and did what you thought was best for me. No one asked me what I wanted." That was what was seriously getting to her.

"Your dad was right Trina," he sighed. "Jim was completely right. Think about it. The man was dying, and he wanted to make sure his daughter didn't have her loser boyfriend dragging her down. Especially since you'd just gotten accepted at Stanford."

"You weren't a loser to me."

"Maybe not, but that didn't change the fact that I was. I kept promising I'd change and going back on my word. I wasn't good for you. I wish that I could have changed sooner for both you and your dad. I wasn't being a coward when I left. Sometimes it takes more courage to leave the thing you love the most than to fight for it."

His words gripped at her heart and held her attention. It intrigued her that he could still talk about her that way.

"Sometimes..." He stopped and stared deeply at her. "Sometimes you have to realize when you can't have something, or be with someone. I was always selfish and stole whatever I wanted because I could. Leaving you was the one time in my life when I wasn't selfish, and I was powerless to do anything else."

A tear ran down her cheek, and he reached forward and smoothed his hands over hers.

"I'm sorry." She could see that he was very much a victim too.

"It's me who's sorry," he said.

She wanted to ask him something else but held back. She wanted to know how it happened. How her father told him to leave. Maybe it was irrelevant, but she felt she needed to know. It was the kind of thing that would gnaw away at her mind if she didn't ask.

"How'd it happen? I mean did something happen for my dad to get so worked up that he told you to leave."

Brad pulled in a deep breath. Of course, that was the part he'd conveniently left out last night when he told her what happened. It was the trigger that set Jim off and made him banish Brad from her.

Last night he told her that her father simply asked him to leave after an argument, and that he thought Brad was no good for her.

"I stole something, and he had to bail me out. Again." There that was enough said. He didn't have to let her know what he stole, or even that he still had it and carried it with him like some weirdo.

He didn't even understand it himself. Or, the even crazier notion that he'd paid for it. The jewelry store owner dropped the charges when he paid, but realistically the sensible thing to do was return the ring.

Why'd he keep it?

Maybe because it was the only thing he stole that meant something to him. Maybe it was because of what it represented and reminded him of her. Maybe he saw it as hers and didn't want anyone else to have it. Even when she herself didn't.

He didn't know.

"Oh," she replied looking down to their hands joined together on the table. "I see."

"Is there anything else you want to ask me?" He thought he should ask.

She shook her head, the impact loosened a strand from her ponytail, and she smoothed it behind her ear with her free hand. He pulled his hands back releasing her.

"It's good to see you Brad." Her beautiful eyes held his and like always he found himself lost within the autumnal hue and the wealth of emotion that brimmed within them.

"It's really good to see you too," Brad replied. He couldn't express how great it was to see her. Or, how fulfilled he felt in her presence.

Yesterday he wondered around the area and hung out in the bar for most of the day. He didn't want to risk going back into an argument so stayed away long enough to give her a chance to cool off. When he got back, she was sleeping.

"So, I guess we have a wedding to work on."

"We do. But not for the next six days," he pointed out with a smile.

She returned the smile. "Yeah. I forgot that. I feel bad because we're their best people. I still can't believe you're Neil's best friend and I never once saw you."

"Same here. I suppose it's because we never got the chance to meet up."

"That's probably my fault. I'm always so busy with work. I see Jennifer when we meet to eat or go shopping."

He nodded. He was busy too.

"What are we going to do for six days?" she offered a small smile.

"Well, you can start filling the time by telling me about work. You're a surgeon. That must be exciting."

She smiled wide at the comment.

"And, you can tell me about your non-catfish fighting company." She chuckled. At least she was laughing.

He grinned back at her.

"Alright, Trina. I'll happily tell you about my non-catfish fighting company."