Page 72 of One Billion Reasons

I laugh softly into the phone, and he makes a frustrated sound.

“Why does it matter so much that you find her? There are so many paparazzi out there.” We’ve certainly been plagued by enough of them. Them and reporters from reputable newspapers as well. The press doesn’t give up. But Jonah doesn’t usually get this worked up about things that don’t cost us money.

“Wait, is this harming the company?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out.” He growls low in his throat. “She put out another article today. It goes into an in-depth discussion of my clothing.” He sounds disgusted, and I roll my lips to keep from laughing. Humor is only going to set him off.

“Well, you are a bit of a clotheshorse,” I say mildly.

“Image is power. You know that.”

“Mmhmm.” I’m noncommittal while I watch Lane move through her room. I can only catch glimpses of her through the half-closed door, but I see tan skin, a flash of white. I want to see her face.

Jonah keeps going while I watch. “Something is off. These articles are too accurate. It’s like she’s watching us or something. But why? I’m going to figure it out. And then she’ll regret the day she was born.”

“How do you even know it’s a woman?”

“She accidentally photographed her hand once. It was a woman’s hand.”

“Okay, Jonah. You’ve clearly gone insane, so I’m going to hang up the phone now. Please call me if there’s any more news.”

Lane comes into the room a few minutes later, looking soft and sexy in a white dress that shows off swaths of her legs and hints of her breasts.

“Was that Jonah?” She’s smiling. “Is he still a control freak?”

“He’s worse now.”

“Worse?” She looks appalled, and a laugh bursts out of me. “He needs to lighten up.”

“I’ll let you tell him that.”

She wrinkles her nose at me. “So have you decided on an activity?”

“I haven’t had much time to think about it.” Because you’re taking up all the space in my brain.

“I was actually hoping that maybe you’d let me take some photos of you?” My brows go up, and she reddens. “Not nude or anything. Just a few shots of you outdoors, the landscape, maybe some surfing. If it’s not too much trouble. You know I’m trying to start my business, and I just think that portraits are my best work. It could really help.” Her words spill out until I reach over and squeeze her shoulder.

“Of course. It looks like a nice day to surf.” I feign calmness, but my insides knot. I haven’t been on a board in years. I might not even remember how. But Lane’s surfing photos were always fantastic, and I want to help her. “The hotel has boards and wetsuits. I’ll call down for one, and then we can hike to the larger beach. Is your ankle okay?”

“I think so.” She twists it experimentally. “Yeah, it’s fine. I don’t think I ever thanked you for carrying me down that hill.”

“It was more of a mountain, really.”

She gives a surprised laugh. “Well, normally I’d say it was no better than flat ground, but considering you carried me for twenty minutes, I’ll just say thank you.”

I’d do it again. I’d raze a mountain if it meant she got home safely. My eyes must show a glimmer of my feelings because she cocks her head.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Not at all.

When I meet Lane on the deck with the board, she smiles up at me. Her camera bag is slung over her shoulder and déjà vu punches me in the face. How many mornings did we do a silent dance around the kitchen? Lane, rubbing sleep from her eyes, Liam making coffee like it was his lifeblood, and me, watching her and trying not to, always wondering if she slept in those pajamas or if she slept naked.

The board the hotel provides is serviceable. I sling the wetsuit over my shoulder and settle the weight of the board against my side. I don’t miss the way Lane’s eyes rake over me in my thin board shorts or the way her tongue flicks out to taste her lips. Satisfaction fills my chest, a warm weight behind my ribs.

“How did you know they had boards?” Lane asks as we set off down the path. It feels right, walking side by side with her through the brush, board bumping against my leg. I haven’t done this in a long time, but each step feels familiar. And she’s the only person I’d want by my side for these memories. Liam would dig, try to get me to open up. His scientist’s mind can’t live with uncertainty. But Lane understands loving something so much that you can’t bear it.

“I had George call the hotel before we came. It crossed my mind that this would be the perfect place to surf.” I thought about it, just like I did every time I was near the ocean.

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