Page 23 of Just One Summer with the Grumpy

Interesting. I would have thought he’d use a limo or something. But no, I’d seen Chase walk into the lobby of Everett Events plenty of times. He never got dropped off out front. He had to be the only billionaire in the world who insisted on acting like hewasn’tone.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you for what you did yesterday,” I told him.

“Marcus deserved what he got. There’s no excuse for a man to hurt someone more vulnerable. None.” His tone was hard. Angry.

Something told me he wasn’t even thinking about Marcus right now. “Was your uncle like that?”

“Worse. I’m only grateful he didn’t have children. Better to live alone than with a man like him.”

I couldn’t remember Chase opening up like this before. It felt really good. For a moment, I allowed myself to forget Ty and my plans and that stupid fortune cookie and everything else. For now, I allowed myself to be what Chase needed.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “For you and Kamia both. My adoptive parents have their issues, but at least I’ve always felt loved.”

His eyes flicked to mine in an instant. “I didn’t know you were adopted.”

“Most people don’t. I was four. My biological mom is serving a lifetime sentence in prison, and I’ve never felt a need to seek her out. My mom filled that role just fine.” At least, until she’d looked at me right in the eye and lied about Dad. Until she’d broken my trust and made me feel like an outsider in my own home. My own town.

That day, I’d decided that if I had to be an outsider, I would do it on my own terms.

“Why this island?” I asked, sensing he didn’t want to discuss family any longer.

He was silent for a long moment as the hotel came back into view. Pulling up under the resort lobby awning, Chase put the car into park and turned to face me.

“This island is the only place I’ve ever been happy,” he said, his voice heavy. “And now I’m about to lose it forever.”

TWELVE

The next morning,I didn’t go to the hotel lobby because I was waiting for Ty. No, I had other reasons entirely—like counting the indoor palm trees and watching the janitor mop the shiny floor with a mop so dirty that it could only be making it worse and watching bleary-eyed families arrive with their restless and overtired children. One family had even brought their dog.

Each time a couple entered, my body reacted with a shot of adrenaline. After a couple of hours, my body felt so exhausted from the roller coaster ride of emotions that I felt an undeniable pull toward my bed.

Was I ready for this? Because I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for this. Maybe I didn’t have to see him today. His wedding wasn’t for a week, and it wasn’t like I could reveal myself the moment he set foot in the building without looking too eager. I had to bide my time, step in when the moment was right.

My mind made up, I stood and started to make my way toward the back doors, throwing one last glance over my shoulder just in case. Then I froze mid-step.

Ty and his fiancée took up the entire double doorway when they entered. I barely recognized Ty with his khaki pants, sandals, and Hawaiian shirt—all clothes he wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing before. But it was hard to miss Veronica. I’d never met her, obviously, but I recognized her from the tabloids. Tiny waist, almost boyish in stature, with a full chest that she showed off with a silk tank’s plunging neckline. Even her chest screamed tanning bed. Her legs were so long, they seemed to go on forever, ending at cut-off Daisy Dukes. She’d dressed for a photo shoot, not an all-day airplane ride.

A man drew to a dead stop right in front of me, gaping. Then he leaned over to a second man. “That’s Veronica Loyal.”

“No way,” the other breathed, squinting at her. Then he nodded. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Who’s the guy?”

“Must be that loser she’s marrying this summer.”

“She ain’t married yet,” said the second.

“She’ll wish she was, the second she sees your ugly mug.”

The other man punched the first in the shoulder, and they walked away laughing.

The resort staff hurried to help the couple with their bags and guided them toward the reception desk. I caught Ty’s voice all the way across the lobby a few times and felt a sting of regret shoot through me. He sounded happy, relaxed.

What was I thinking?

I couldn’t move. It felt like those nature shows where an owl stalked a fluffy bunny, and I rooted for the bunny while knowing it wouldn’t end well…yet I still couldn’t look away.

Soon the lovebirds headed in my direction. Their smiles immediately faded, and they started speaking in low tones, as if continuing an argument. It occurred to me too late that I had no idea how I wanted this to go. Did I want him to see me? Not to see me? Should I smile at him? Ignore him altogether?

They were closing in, and I had nowhere to run. So I whipped out my phone and pretended to be deep in conversation as they passed.

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