“Don’t hate yourself. You’re only human, and for some strange reason, you love the guy.”
“Yeah, I do, even if I’ve tried to convince myself otherwise in the last two days.” One touch from him, one breath of his arresting scent, and she’d been drawn right back into love with him. That was all it had taken.
“You can’t talk yourself out of loving him, even if you think that’s what’s best for you.”
“I can’t let him do this to me anymore, though, Hannah. The yo-yo effect is making me crazy. He said he was all in until he wasn’t, and I can’t do that again. I just can’t.”
“Then you have a decision to make. Give him another chance or don’t. Which would be harder to live with?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“You need to decide—ASAP. He looks rather . . . determined.”
Ella couldn’t deny that she’d noticed a different sort of air about him since he’d arrived out of the mist at the wedding. Like he’d resolved something important in the time they’d spent apart. “Since he came all this way, I suppose I’ll hear him out. And then I can decide what I want to do.”
“For what it’s worth, that’s what I would do, too.”
“It’s worth a lot. Thanks, Hannah, for everything the last few days.”
Hannah curled her arms around Ella’s arm and rested her head on Ella’s shoulder. “That’s what big sisters are for.”
They enjoyed a delicious dinner of jerk shrimp, chicken and beef, rice, salad, vegetables and succulent fruit. The courses kept on coming, along with wine and champagne and rum punch.
Though he sat next to her at dinner, Gavin made no attempt to get her to talk to him. But she was acutely aware of his presence nonetheless. Every so often his leg would brush against hers under the table or his arm would land on the back of her chair, the possessive gesture setting off a primal need in her.
She wanted to hate him for what he’d put her through, but she didn’t hate him. No, she loved him as much as she ever had, and as she fixated on his muscular forearm and the sprinkling of dark hair, she was forced to acknowledge that she would always love him. No matter what happened next.
After dinner, everyone got up to dance, leaving Ella alone at the table with Gavin. Every nerve ending in her body was on full alert, waiting to see what he would do.
“Take a walk with me?” he asked in a low intimate tone.
She looked at him for a long moment, taking in the rugged, handsome features that had held her captive for so long, and then nodded, powerless to deny him, even though she knew she ought to.
He helped her up and out of her chair and guided her from the pavilion with his hand on her lower back.
Ella felt the eyes of everyone she knew on them as they walked out and was deeply grateful for the protective presence of her siblings, who would be there for her no matter what transpired between her and Gavin. She took comfort in the certainty of their unwavering support.
They stepped onto the beach, and Ella kicked off her shoes, leaving them by the stairs.
Gavin did the same, removing his flip-flops and putting them next to her sandals. Then he took hold of her hand and led her to the water’s edge. He wore a white linen shirt that showed off the wide expanse of his shoulders, along with khaki pants that hugged him in all the right places. As always, the sight of him made her want to drool with lust. No matter what had transpired between them, her desire and deep, abiding love for him were the two things she could never deny.
“It’s beautiful here,” he said, gazing out at the moonbeams on the flat calm water.
“It sure is.”
He turned to face her, taking hold of her other hand and bringing their joined hands to his chest. “I’m so sorry, Ella. Before I say anything else, I need you to know that. I screwed this up so bad, and I’m very, very sorry. I have been since the other night when it first happened.”