I wasn’t sure what I saw. Kaitlyn was yelling at some guy in a fucking pink shirt. I balled my fists at my side and marched over. I felt the vein in the side of my neck bulge. If he hurt her, I’d kill him.

“Are you ok?” I was only half looking at her. The guy wasn’t so far down the beach I couldn’t reach him.

“Yes. Yes. I’m good. That was…”

“You knew him?”

She nodded. “Yeah. It was Branch.” She lowered her eyes. “My ex.”

The jealousy caught me off guard. Now I really wanted to beat his face into the sand.

“What the fuck is he doing here, Kaitlyn?”

Her eyes flared. “I didn’t invite him.”

“Why is he here?”

She looked around. “Everyone is here. We invited the entire island.”

I gritted my teeth. I didn’t know what to say. I was a jealous dick.

“I don’t like the bastard.”

“I told him to go. I don’t want him here. You know that?” She searched my face.

I looked into her green eyes. “Yeah. I know it.”

Her hand slipped into mine. “I think we need to talk.”

“Yeah. We do.”

I’d put it off. Threw the inevitable into a compartment where I didn’t have to face things. But it was bound to catch up to us. Kaitlyn’s vacation was over. I had to establish normal for Grayson and I had to make sure the custody was legally sealed in case Amber changed her mind.

We couldn’t ignore it any longer. Seeing Kaitlyn with that asshole snapped me back to reality. What the hell was I doing?

We walked away from the luau, toward the cove on the beach. Lisa was at the house with Grayson. It wasn’t a great place to talk this through. I stopped to grab a blanket from the outside cubby at the bottom of the deck.

We reached the dunes and I spread it out. Kaitlyn sat.

“I-I need to tell you something.” I could tell she was nervous.

“All right. You go first then.”

“Ryan’s going to be home the day after tomorrow.”

I lowered my eyes to the sand. “I know.”

“You what?”

“He emailed me this week. A few times actually. I got one this morning from him.” I had been running around getting all this shit ready. I didn’t have time to tell her. And there wasn’t going to be a good time.

She blinked. “So you know I have to go back for his homecoming?”

I nodded. “Yeah. You do.”

“But I think you should come too. He’ll want to see you and it’s our chance to explain everything.”

I shook my head. “Not this time.”

“What do you mean? You have to go.”

“The man is coming home from over a year in the desert. He doesn’t know how long he’ll be home. I’m not dumping this on my best friend. He doesn’t deserve it.”

“Deserve it? Our relationship isn’t a punishment to Ryan.”

“I know that, Kaitlyn. But it’s not news he wants to hear. He’s never going to want to hear it. And I have no idea what he’s been through on this tour. What if he can’t handle it? I’ve seen stronger men crumble over there. It’s dangerous to put this out there.”

The wind howled through the cove. “What are you saying? You think I should just go?”

“No. I don’t want you to go. I need you.” I closed my eyes. “I want you. I want you here with me.” I sighed. “But it doesn’t mean I get what I want. You need to see your brother.”

I saw the tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. She might as well have punched me. I never wanted to make her cry. I was supposed to protect her. Keep her safe. Never hurt her.

“I don’t want to lie to my family. I’ve waited ten years for you Cole Thomas. Ten years. And now you’re saying we had a good run? I should just let this go?”

“It’s not what I want. I want you.”

“But you have me.” The first tear rolled down her cheek.

“And you’ll always have me.”

“But?” With that one look she shredded my heart.

“What do you want me to say, Kaitlyn? That I want something I can’t have anymore? It’s killing me? Letting you get on a plane tomorrow is going to be fucking horrible.”

“Then don’t. Come with me. We’ll take Grayson. My mother will love it. She’ll love him. And Ryan has support. He’ll figure this out. My brother is too stubborn to do anything but stay strong. He sounds fine. My mom says he’s fine. We can all do this.” She crawled into my lap.

“Cole, you’ve spent the last two years sacrificing everything in your life for other people. For Pops. For Grayson. And now for Ryan. Don’t you think you deserve to come first? Don’t you deserve happiness?”

I huffed. “I don’t think about it.”

She rubbed the side of my cheek. “I love you. I love you Cole Thomas. And if you’re saying you don’t want this anymore. You’re done with us, I’ll get up and walk. I swear I can do it. I’ve done it before.” Her eyes were hard. “But if you love me, and you’re pushing me away to sacrifice this for one more person, I’m staying here. And we’re figuring this out.”

“Kaitlyn,” I warned.

“I’m serious. I love you. And I love Grayson. And I love Ryan. They don’t have be mutually exclusive. I can love all three of you.”

God, where had she been all these years? This girl who had turned into an incredible woman. Her heart was capable of only seeing the good in people. She could love unconditionally. She had taken on the world this week and she never protested.

“I love you.”

She smiled. “Really?”

“I love you.” My hands wound around her back. “So I guess that means we’re going to tell Ryan.”

She wiped a tear from her cheek. “Thank God. Because I can’t leave without you.”

I pressed my forehead to hers. “I know, baby.”

I felt as if we were getting ready to enter a hurricane, but I couldn’t let her go. And I wouldn’t.