The Good Girl (17 page)

For hours, I was pretty much zero fun. The rest of the evening, I had been in an excited panic until mother made appointments for us each to have a massage and facial. That was a lovely distraction. By the time we headed back to the house, I knew I’d be able to rest at least.

Of course, when I woke, my stomach was in knots. “At least have some orange juice,” my mother encouraged. “I’m drinking mine as a mimosa. Want one?”

“Yes, please,” I said, just a tad too enthusiastically.

“Maybe not quite as much champagne for you,” she murmured as she mixed the drinks.

Glancing about, I asked, “Where’s the maid?” As long as I had lived, there had always been help about the house.

“Oh, I let her go,” my mother said absently. “It seemed silly to employ her just for me. Your father is rarely around. You have moved out. So, I have a service that comes weekly, along with the landscapers, and I only hire a cook as needed.” She took a healthy swig from her flute. “And with take out, I rarely need one.” She winked at me before she motioned for me to follow her.

Picking up my glass, still wearing my fuzzy bathrobe, I followed her to the garden patio. Somehow, she had managed to set up breakfast without me knowing. “You are pretty sneaky,” I teased. “How did you manage?”

“Ah, my little secret. Eat. We have to leave for the airport in just over an hour.” She took a bite of Cheese Danish. After carefully chewing and swallowing, she asked, “Any idea what you are going to say yet?”

Shaking my head, I admitted, “I think it will probably just come to me when I see him. Thinking about it, trying to plan it is just eating away my stomach lining. I’m too cute for a bleeding ulcer.”

After laughing at my joke, she said, “Well, Fiona tells me he’s miserable. I think he’ll be thrilled to see you. Don’t worry so.”

Offering what I hoped resembled a smile; I nodded and excused myself to get ready. All night I had played out scenarios in my head for how this was going to go. Those dreams weren’t pretty. Mostly he accused me of leaving him when I should have stayed. He was hurt and I had done that to him. In one conversation I had made him feel perfect and confident and then stripped it away. I should have gone back just as soon as I calmed down. I should have called or texted or reached out in some manner. Instead, I had left him stewing for days. My heart hurt just thinking about it.

A car service took us to the airport. The pilot welcomed us and the hostess took care of all of our needs. Somehow, my mother had morphed into wonder mom, able to fix all my problems and be an awesome listener. My new best friend had been my old worst enemy. If I could just fix things with Wyatt then I’d have the trifecta. Was it too much to hope for?

The pilot had phoned ahead of our landing and Fiona had sent a car to take us from the landing strip to their house not so far away. It was an incredibly sweet gesture.

Once we arrived, a man ran out and carried our bags into the house. Expecting to spend time with Wyatt at the beach or around the pool, I had gone to my room and changed into more appropriate attire. When I returned to the main hall, Fiona greeted us warmly. “I noticed you glancing around,” she said with a smile. “Wyatt isn’t here at the moment. I’m not sure where he is, actually. He went off for a walk about an hour ago. I never told him you were coming. He’s been sad and refused to speak to any of us about it. Men,” she said with a sigh.

Nodding, I tried to hide my disappointment.
“Is it safe?” I asked. “Could I go look for him?”

“We’re the only ones on the island,” she said happily. “The place isn’t that big. You should be able to find him. Just don’t stay out too long. There are often afternoon storms here. I’d hate for you to get caught in that.”

Shrugging happily, I admitted, “I have never cared about getting a little wet.” Then I turned, kissed my mother on the cheek and headed down to the beach hoping if I just followed it, I’d find him. As I walked down the steps, I heard Fiona and my mother talking.

“Your daughter is a lovely girl,” Fiona said. “I hope she can get through to him.”

“If anyone can, it’s Willow. She’s the love of my life,” my mother responded.

It took everything in me to not turn and beam at them, but I was on a mission.
It was time to find Wyatt. One way or another, I would need an answer and he deserved to know how I felt.

The walk along the beach was just what I needed. Wearing a white sarong over my turquoise bikini, hair pulled back into a ponytail, I wandered, stooping occasionally to pick up a piece of sea glass or a shell. The salt air tickled my nose and stuck to my skin. It was a moment I longed to share with Wyatt. As I walked, continuing my leisurely pace, I glanced around, hoping to see him, but there was no sign of him.

Rounding the tip of the island, I realized that the sky was clouding over. Maybe the storms him mother warned of were on their way. Since I hadn’t seen Wyatt, it seemed that he might just have beat me back to the house anyway. If I had stayed there, I would have been there to greet him. With a disgusted sigh, I started to turn back to the house, but a glint caught my eye. It was a good deal away, in the distance and impossible to decipher what it was. Without thinking, I was simply drawn to it, the journalist in me. Full of questions, rarely having answers, I continued on. The closer I came to the glint; I realized that it was coming from a giant rock on the edge of the island. On that rock, was Wyatt.

Without thinking I started rushing toward him, yelling his name, but the winds were picking up and too loud for him to hear me. In frustration, I ran faster. Oh, and I’m not a runner. I couldn’t find my pace on a treadmill, and the rocky beach was no better. “Wyatt!” I shouted as I rushed toward him. He was bound to hear me one of these times.

When I was less than fifty feet away, I shouted again. “Wyatt Evans, pay attention to me, dammit!” Apparently in my mind, the distance between us was too great. This time, however, he turned toward me.

As soon as he recognized me, he shoved something in his pocket and hopped off the rock, heading towards me. “Willow Stone, stop following me, dammit!” He yelled with a huge grin spreading across his face.

We were close, so close, just a few feet separated us. Naturally those were rocky uneven feet and I landed just so wrong. My ankle twisted, the right one, my dominant one…of course…forcing me to collapse. By the time he reached my side, I had already assessed for damage, but he wanted to do it all over again.

“You’re in shock,” he argued. “Let me see.”

Watching him check out my hands and feet, I smirked, “It was a tumble, not a head injury. I’m not in shock.
You’re in shock
.” Then, despite the pain, I chuckled. “Oh, and by the way, it totally wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”

Leaning toward me, he kissed me, my favorite kind, the long lingering one.
My eyes had instinctively closed. We stared at each other a moment. “How was it supposed to
go down
?” He asked, teasing me.

“Well, when I imagine it, I’m a lot more graceful,” I began, struggling to stand with his assistance.

“Naturally, but we should be realistic here,” he said, biting his cheek to keep from smiling too wide.

“Oh, and you weren’t so easy,” I commented. “You really made me work for it, to get back in your good graces.”

“You think you’re in my good graces? Ha! Not even close. I smile because karma cut you down.” He leaned in and nuzzled my cheek.

“This is karma?” I asked, looking at my injured ankle.

Nodding he said with certainty, “Yes, you broke my heart, so karma broke your ankle. Apparently you get to experience a physical manifestation of my inner pain.” He bowed at me. “Consider yourself served.”

“Awesome,” I giggled. “Now what?”

“Now I leave you here to suffer while I head back to the house and have a nice guilt-free dinner.” He shrugged and started to walk away.

“You’re joking, right?” I asked after he had taken a few steps.

Turning slowly, he looked at me seriously. “I’m mostly joking, yes, but why are you here? You left me, Willow. You left and you didn’t call, or text, or come back.” He swallowed hard. “I kept waiting for a sign, hell, I’d have responded to a smoke signal.”

Limping over to him, I said quietly, “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what, doll?” He asked seriously. “Have this conversation?”

“No!” I shouted. “Have this life!” He seemed taken aback by my response, so I toned it down a little. “I don’t know how to follow my heart, but if I did you would see me constantly in your rear view mirror.” Looking down for a moment, I collected my thoughts before I turned my face to his once more. “You have my heart. It’s yours. I never meant to give it to you, but now…I’ll never get it back, even if you try to give it to me.”

“Doll, you have mine, too. Don’t you know that?” He drew me close to his chest and I buried my face in his neck and inhaled his scent. This was where I wanted to be for the rest of my life. It was time he knew.

“I guess what I’m saying is…I want to travel with you, I want to live with you, I want to love you…forever.” My eyes stared at him, suddenly scared. “Right now, I stand before you, more naked than I have ever been. I’ve bared my soul.” Then I waited. Stones know that whoever speaks first loses. For a moment, I considered that. What would I lose? I could lose him. All my life, I’ve been groomed to be a Stone, but now, I’d rather be an Evans.” Looking at him sideways, I added. “So be it.”

The silence was killing me. For another moment, he simply stared down at me, stone faced, revealing nothing. “So be it?” He asked. After I nodded, he continued. “That was a lousy proposal, Willow Stone.”

“I can do better,” I said shyly.

“No, I should have done it better. There should have been a hot air balloon, or a candlelight dinner. There should have been some other oasis set up for you. Damn it, I’m not even doing better now,” he sighed. Dropping down on both knees before me, he said, “Willow Stone, you are beautiful, strong, intelligent, and determined. I love all of that about you.”

Smiling, I stroked his face. “Thank you,” I murmured.

“You are also stubborn, clumsy, naïve, and prone to trouble,” he said with a frown.

“No denying that,” I agreed with a chuckle.

“Let’s make a life together where we can love each other freely forever. Let’s follow our hearts as long as they always lead us to one another. Let’s be happy and meet only each other’s expectations. Will you marry me and turn what could be a life sentence into a love story?” With that, he pulled a ring out of his pocket and offered it to me.

“Of course! I love you, Wyatt Evans,” I murmured as he slid the ring on my finger. Like the man it came from, it was a perfect fit. Then I frowned. “Everyone is going to say it’s too fast.”

Nodding, he agreed. “Yup. They probably will. Does that matter?”

Tipping my head to the side, I considered it. “Nope. Not even a little bit.”

Without warning, Wyatt scooped me up in his arms. “Damn, I’ve missed you,” he said as he walked me back toward that huge rock.

“Oh have you?” I asked playfully. “How much?”

“Well,” he said slyly, “I could tell you…or I could show you.”

“Show me,” I said breathlessly.

He said seriously, “But your ankle…”

“It will heal,” I said confidently as the sky opened up, huge drops falling on us.

Smiling he said, “But the rain…”

“It’s a sign,” I said with certainty.

“It’s a sign?” He asked.

“My karma is getting cleansed. All the bad stuff is behind us,” I told him.

We had just reached the rock and Wyatt had hefted me up on it. “I was just sitting up here thinking about how I wished I could show you this place. It’s my favorite place on the island. I called it ‘Table Rock’ as a kid because I used to bring my lunch in a bag and spend all day here, just thinking.”

“Ever christen
the rock?” I asked.

His hand ran up my side until he had reached the strings holding on my bikini top. “Nope, never,” he responded as his head dipped low to nibble on my nipple. Within seconds, he had removed my bikini panties, too. The sarong was still on, but now it was wet and see through as it stuck to my body. “You have never looked more beautiful,” he said as he pushed some stray wet hairs back from my face.