Page 101 of Beached Wedding

“Youhired her. You encouraged me to go along with all this wedding bullshit.”

“Because I thought you loved her! I don’t read your fucking mind.” I reached down to peel the leash cuff from my ankle. “What’s really giving you the shits? That you lost your girl? Or yourboy?” I wanted to punch him for what he’d said out there, I really did.

“You think I don’t know I’ll be bankrupt in a year without you?” He sloshed out and yanked off his own leash, then jammed his board on end in the sand. “That is all I’m good at!” He pointed at the water. “I know that. The house, the business. Every fucking thing I want, you help me make happen.I know that. I wanted to believe I was finally getting something right outside the water. ThatIwas doing it. I thought I had to at least try.” His shoulders fell. “Marriage felt like such a heavy weight, though.”

“Marriage is a weight. People are heavy. What do you want me to say? That I’ll step aside and help you get it right with her? No. She’s a human being and made up her own mind. And...” Fuck it. “I love her.” I was both empowered and defeated by the scope of my feelings for her. “I didn’t mean to. I swear to you nothing happened until I got here. I didn’t even realize how I felt until yesterday morning, right before we caught up to you.”

“Fair dinkum?” Shane scoffed. “Iknew you two had more than I did with her. Why do you think I felt so sick aboutmarrying her? But you kept pushing all that wedding bullshit on me. I thought you knew better than I did. Now I don’t even have my best mate anymore. So fuck you for that. This is all. Your. Fault.” He pointed to punctuate each of those final words.

I threw back my head. “Well, fuck you for sleeping with her when you knew I cared about her more than you did. What else? Get it all out, possum.”

“Fuck you for setting me up to take a beating from everyone we know by backing out of this wedding. That’s why I came here, because you weren’t there—” He pointed to the horizon. “—to tell me that I didn’t have to give it one more go. Now I have to go back and tell everyone she’s with you? Fuck you for embarrassing me like that.”

“Fuck you for saying that thing about me not belonging anywhere. That was low. Unforgivably low. And fuck you for dropping in on me like that!” I pointed to the waves. “You want to give me a concussion?”

“I wanted to get your attention.” Shane looked to his upright board and shifted his feet, voice losing some heat. “I didn’t mean it the way you took it. Only that you’re always sticking your nose in. You know you do it.” He was back to accusing. “You’re always trying to fix every little thing. Which reminds me, fuckyoufor risking your life, playing superhero for some stranger. I’ve lost a brother, mate. I am not losing another one. Not to stupid shit like that. Jesus Christ, Fox. Use some fucking sense.”

“You look exactly like Ed. Say it,” I prodded, leaning into the way we joked about what a hardass Eddie had been when we’d been young and stupid. “Tell me to quit pissing around and get my head on straight.”

“Fuck you.” There wasn’t any heat in that one, though.

Most of my ire was falling away. We shared a look of mutual disgust.

“This is a family resort,” I reminded him. “Maybe we should clean it up.”

“Not yet. Fuck you for busting up a good thing. What am I supposed to do without the business? Get back on the circuit? My body can’t take that.”

“We can still work together.”

Shane snorted, eyeing me with skepticism. “Is she coming back with you?”

“Yes.”

“To work at T&B?”

“That’s up to you.”

Shane’s cheek ticked. “We kind of need her. I’ve been getting calls.”

“I posted a statement.”

“Yeah. And people want to know more. They always want more.” Shane hung his hands on his hips. “I don’t think we can live together. Not the three of us.”

“Oh, mate, I am so tired of living with you. We are definitely paying someone to finish that house. Ash and I are getting our own place.”

“You want to hire someone? Who?”

“I don’t know. Let’s talk it out over breakfast.” I tilted my head toward the resort and whatever restaurant might be open.

“All right. But...” Shane nodded at the water. “We probably won’t get back here soon. No sense wasting decent surf.”

I wrapped the cuff around my ankle again and carried my board into the water. As I did, I let my gaze travel up the exterior of the hotel.

Ash stood at the rail of our lanai, a hotel robe belted around her. She saluted me with the cup in her hand.

I touched two fingers to my lips then dropped onto my board and paddled out.

ASHLEY

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