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ISLA SHOWERED AND CHANGED into a yellow sundress and sandals. She sat on the bench at the foot of the canopied California king-sized bed and rubbed her temples. She needed to get it together before she went back to face Garrett and Robin.

There were things that she never told anyone, and still wasn’t sure that she could tell. Her hands shook as she tried to repress her darkest memories. She loved Garrett, more than anything...but she was still too afraid to tell him the truth.

Her secret.

A knock on the bedroom door startled her.

“Isla,” Garrett’s voice called from the other side. “Are you okay?”

She stood and walked over to open the door. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m okay.”

He looked her over. “Wow. You look beautiful. I feel like I need to go change just to stand next to you.”

She smiled. “Thank you. You’re fine, baby. You always look hot.”

He kissed her, taking her breath away.

“I love you, Garrett.”

“I love you, too,” he said. “Robin’s making breakfast. Do you want to talk?”

Isla nodded and led him in. “Sure. I guess you deserve an explanation.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and Isla sat beside him.

“So, what happened?”

Isla looked down at her hands, her legs dangling over the edge of the bed. “He proposed to me, and I told him no. That’s it. Maybe if he’d asked the day before yesterday I would have said yes. But, it would have been wrong and I would have regretted it. I was meant to come back to Laguna Beach and finally discover that he was awful for me.”

“Robin told me about Clark hitting you.”

Rolling her eyes, Isla groaned. Why didn’t Robin keep her mouth closed? She regretted even telling her.

“It wasn’t like that. Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal. He slapped me once.” She lifted her finger, her eyes widened, her cheeks flushed. “I was talking back about something stupid. And he pushed me once, and not hard enough to hurt me. Sometimes he’d punch the wall or slam doors, but he never gave me more than a few bruises. Robin makes it sound like I was regularly beaten.”

“Isla,” Garrett said, his brows knitted together. He took her hands into his. “That is a big deal. A man hitting you even one time is unacceptable. Why can’t you see that? If your sister’s husband slapped her one time, would you tell her that it wasn’t a big deal.”

Isla pursed her lips. “That’s different.”

“How is that different?”

“Chrissy is perfect. She doesn’t deserve that.”

Garrett wrapped his arms around her. “Neither do you. Don’t you think you deserve being treated better?”

“That’s what I have you for,” she said.

“You do. I’d never hurt you. But I need you to stop holding others as superior to you and worthy of better treatment.”

Isla climbed into his lap. “You’re too good to me.”

He held her hand, his face serious. “That’s what I mean. I treat you the way you should be treated. As should anyone. Even if we didn’t work out, you promise me you’ll never let another man hit you.”

Isla’s lips parted. “I don’t plan on being with anyone other than you for the rest of my life.”

Garrett wrapped his arms around her. “Still, you never know if something is going to happen to me. I want you to promise.”

“I promise,” she said, not liking this conversation.

“Okay. Good. I won’t bring it up again. Let’s go eat.”

Isla smiled, a weight lifted from her shoulders and mind. “Yes. Peanut butter on a spoon has done nothing for my hunger.”

“I told her that,” he said with a laugh. “She’s making mimosas as well. Let’s turn this day around and enjoy each other.”

“Good plan,” Isla said.

After the surprising morning, Isla was looking forward to mimosas, omelets, and a day free of worry and strife.

The mood was surprisingly light when Isla entered the kitchen. Isla explained what happened to Robin and she just smiled and nodded and congratulated her on being strong enough to face him.

Isla was glad. She tried to shake Clark’s last words off and kissed Garrett as she caught him in the middle of pouring orange juice into her champagne glass.

He smiled at her and stroked her cheek.

“She still cleans up nicely,” Robin said with a grin as she tucked Isla's tag of her dress in.

Isla rolled her eyes. “Funny. Where is my breakfast? I could eat everything here.” Her eyes scanned all of the chopped veggies, eggs, and fruit.

“Oh yes. It’s right here,” Robin said. “I aim to serve you, your highness.”

Isla laughed and followed Robin into her dining room as she carried two plates to the glass table. She set it down and Isla claimed her seat before a blue plate filled with an omelet, tomatoes, and fresh honeydew melon.

“Thank you,” Isla said. “I really appreciate your hospitality.”

Robin shrugged. “You’d do the same for me. Once you settle down and get your own place.”

Garrett sat down and placed their champagne glasses before them. He winked at Isla and stole one of her mushrooms that spilled out of her omelet.

“I’m glad you brought that up,” Isla said, as she leaned back in her chair. “Garrett and I have decided to move together to the East Coast.”

Robin took a bite of her scrambled eggs, her eyes wide. “Wow. That’s awesome. Where exactly where the two of you going?”

Isla shrugged. “I really don’t know,” she said with a laugh. “We haven’t discussed the details yet.”

“New York,” Garrett said. “I’d like to find an agent and try to get a book deal. If that’s okay with you...”

“New York sounds like a lot of fun,” Isla said.

Her heart swelled at the idea of moving to Manhattan with her soulmate and starting a new life. She pictured the two of them walking the streets in their best outfits, going to shows and eating at the best restaurants. Maybe now she’d finally use some of her trust money. She’d held onto it, using only what she needed to get by for years now.

“Then it’s settled. NYC, here we come.”

Isla lifted her glass. “Cheers to that.”

“So,” Robin said. “Tell us about what the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot said in the article they printed about you?”

Garrett looked to her. “What article?”

Isla tensed. “You don’t have to,” she said, giving Robin a look.

Robin shrugged her shoulders to her ears. “What? Can’t I ask? They say that you were injured in an attack and had to learn how to walk and talk again.”

Garrett took a bite of his omelet and nodded.

Isla would have kicked Robin’s leg is she was close enough. She didn’t want Garrett to feel pressured, but the information intrigued and worried her. Was it true? Such a thing sounded like a horrible ordeal. It would explain why he didn’t tell anyone that he wasn’t dead.

Isla wanted to know more.

Dearly. But, the way he got quiet made her uneasy.

“We are going to head to the store to grab some supplies for Garrett’s house,” Isla said. “Do you need anything?”

Robin shook her head. “I’m fine. So, are you not staying in my guest room anymore?”

Isla’s lips curled into a smile and she glanced at Garrett. “What do you think?”

“The lovebirds are back,” Robin said with a grin from behind her glass.

“Yes,” Isla said as Garrett reached for her hand underneath the table. “We are.”