Matt’s pride dictated he stand up for himself. Argue that he was stronger than most. Demanded for them to acknowledge his internal strength. He’d suffered through months of rehab and surgeries, and he hadn’t sunk into drinking himself to death. Though he’d been tempted. He’d prevailed. Fought out of the slump and knew how to keep out of that dark spot on most days. But he couldn’t. Because while he liked to believe he was strong physically, he doubted the truth of that statement when it came to being out in society.
“Look, you two. I’m not falling for your little good cop, bad cop routine.”
Kayla pouted. “Fine. I guess I’ll just butt out.”
“Thank you.” He sighed and leaned his head back.
“You can continue to live all alone. Not like I care.”
Oh, brother. He wasn’t off the hook.
“It’s not like I was going to hook you up with some weird old woman with a billion cats.”
He frowned, wondering where that had come from. “You weren’t?”
A deep shade of red covered her pretty tanned face. “No. Jessie only has one cat. And she’s young.”
Yeah. She wasn’t gonna give up any time soon. “Not happening.”
“Let it go, love.” Ryan kissed her temple. He hugged her into his side, stroking his hand up and down her arm.
She shifted. Their gazes locked. The couple stared at each other for a moment. A slow smile spread over her lips. “Okay.”
Thank. You. Ryan. She’d probably bring it up again, but he at least had a few hours free of blind-date talk.
“Dinner tonight will be on the patio.” She grinned, back to her happy newly-wed state. “Ryan and I are going to visit my parents for a bit. They might be joining us for dinner. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No.” But it meant he’d need to dress up instead of showing up in a pair of shorts and T-shirt. “I keep telling you I can entertain myself. Just tell me what time you want me ready.”
“Hmm. I’d say some time around six. We should be back by then.”
Great. That meant he could hit the waves with nobody around to see him. To see his body. What a relief. For once he’d be able to do something without worrying about people’s reactions to how he looked without his shirt on.
Chapter Three
Jessie glanced around her childhood friend’s new beach house. Kayla arranged for her to be picked up at the new helipad on the other side of the island. With the hectic schedule Kayla kept, she really needed it. She was scared Kayla had gone ahead and gotten a slew of single friends to hook her up with, even after she’d specifically asked her not to. Not that that had ever done any good with Kayla. Jessie’d been working alongside her for years and knew very well that her friend was a very hardheaded woman. Not to mention, Kayla was on a major happiness high and wanted everyone to be on that level with her.
Jessie sighed. She rolled her luggage to the same room she’d used the last time she’d visited, when she and Kayla had helped decorate the place. This wasn’t her first visit to the beach house, so she was familiar with the layout.
Bright sunlight streamed through the open windows. Sea air drifted into the house, calming her jumbled nerves. Boy did she need this getaway. Her very long divorce battle, which had been dragging for two years, was finally over. Her ex-husband had tried to take her to the cleaners. She pursed her lips as she reached her room and rolled the navy luggage to the bed.
“Asshole.”
Some men really were jerks. Big ones. He’d thought to keep the money her parents had worked hard to leave for her. A one-year marriage filled with lies, cheating, and deception had turned into a nightmare divorce that lasted twice as long as the marriage had. If someone would have told her she’d feel this drained after getting that leech out of her life, she wouldn’t have believed them. She curled her fingers into fists. Then she took a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Relaxed. There had been too much craziness going on in her life. She was finally free.
She strolled around the bed to her room’s balcony. The view was captivating. Palm trees lined the beach area. White sand and clear blue water waited just some yards away. That’s what she needed. A nice walk on the beach. To feel the sun on her face. The warm water on her feet. Hell. She needed to remember how to relax. It’d been too long since the last time. But now that she was free of Dan and his thieving ways, she could concentrate on having a life again.
Birds chirped outside. Their sounds beckoned her to the outdoors. She glanced down at her tank top and shorts. Changing was probably a good idea. A soft breeze rustled the trees and brought in more of the salty sea air. The scent of the ocean was too powerful to ignore. She headed back out the door.
Yellow flowers, in multiple shades surrounded the island. It was why they called it Isla Dorada, or Golden Island. Her mind wandered to the sound of the waves crashing. Sand started to gather in her sandals. She stopped by a palm tree to slip them off. When she glanced up, she stood rooted to the spot.