Page 68 of Forking the Billionaire

There was plenty more to read below the notice at the top of the sign, but the large print made the intention of the sign loud and clear.

Was this a prank? Had Esme told me to come here as a trick so I’d leave her alone?

I pulled out my phone, and checked the time. Two minutes past nine. I clicked on the flashlight and scanned the area. The water sounds came from beyond the tall hills of sand. On theother side of the road, short wind-warped trees wove tightly together. No sign of civilization waited in either direction down the dark road.

There was also no sign of Esme.

She could be on her way still, slow because she insisted on riding her skateboard instead of taking a car. She could be somewhere else around here. Or she’d tricked me into coming out into the middle of nowhere simply to make me walk back. That seemed the most likely. She was probably propping her feet up on her kitchen table cackling about it right this very minute.

I waited as the minutes ticked past. Five past. Ten past.

How long should I give it before I accepted that this was a game to her? It wasn’t like I had anywhere else I’d rather be. I’d taken the opportunity to rent equipment and surf in the morning, then I’d returned it before meeting everyone at the market in the afternoon. I had no bed lined up for the night.

I sighed and shined my light back toward the dunes.

“Turn that off.”

Esme’s voice startled me. I twisted and caught her standing on top of the forbidden dunes. She was wearing another one of her billowing sundresses, this one coral with a white palm leaves, and a cardigan. She shielded her face with her hands.

“Of course you’re past the rope you’re not supposed to cross,” I said, my chest feeling lighter.

“You’re blinding me.”

Oops. I turned off the light and slid my phone back in my pocket.

“That’s better,” she said. “Now don’t just stand there, get your butt up here.”

I chuckled and stepped over the rope. The sand slipped under my feet, making the slope more difficult to climb, but it didn’t take long before I reached her.

The darkness completely hid her face. I stared, hoping the clouds would part and I’d catch a glimpse of her expression to get a read on her mood in the moonlight. When the clouds stayed stubbornly in place, I said. “No lights allowed while breaking laws? Wouldn’t want the cops to see you.”

“I am the law.” She lifted something up for me to see, but it was too dark.

“Uh-huh,” I said, teasingly. “Sure.”

Teasing was easy, comfortable territory. I didn’t know how else to act with the girl I’d known for more than half of my life, who’d been the adorable kid next door I’d had way too much fun hanging out with despite our age difference. Then she’d gone and grown up into a gorgeous woman who knew exactly what to say to pull a reaction out of me. And we’d shared a kiss so haunting it had dominated my thoughts since.

If Esme were anyone else, I’d know exactly how to act.

And then of course, to make everything even more complicated, was the fact that I knew her secret.

She said, “When your eyes adjust, you’ll apologize for disrespecting this very official badge I’m wielding.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

She turned on her heel and started walking. I matched her stride.

Details began to come slowly into focus—the cinnamon buns she’d styled her hair into at the base of her ears, the delicate shapes of her swinging arms, the defiant tilt of her chin.

There was a line somewhere between pretending everything was normal and admitting that there was no way I could ever see her the same way I used to again. I had no idea where that line was. I had no idea how to talk to Esme anymore, but that’s what I was here for, wasn’t it? I had to try.

I asked, “What are you doing out here?”

“I told you, I’m the law,” she said, as if that clarified anything. “I’m defending these parts from riffraff. I let you join, so you have to pull your weight.”

“Watch out for trouble.”

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