Page 15 of All Along

“Speaking of sisters.” Chloe leans closer to Nova. “Do you plan to give this baby girl a sister or a brother?”

“Are you planning to give Natalia a brother or a sister?” Nova fires back at her.

Chloe scowls. “No fair. You know I don’t want children.”

“And yet you’re married and have a step-daughter,” Nova says.

Happiness engulfs Chloe’s face. The love she has for the family she’s created radiates from her. I want that. I want what she has. I want it more than anything. A family. A man to love me. A child to raise.

And I want all of it with Caleb. Blond-haired little boys with blue eyes. They’d be the cutest kids on the island. I knowbecause Caleb was the most adorable little boy on the island until he grew up to be the sexiest man in the world.

Sophia waves a hand in front of my face. “She’s dreaming about Caleb.”

“Of course, she is,” Paisley says as if my daydreaming about Caleb is a foregone conclusion. “She’s been dreaming about him since she saw him without a shirt on at the beach when we were teenagers.”

“Nope.” Nova spins her finger in a rewind motion. “Before then.”

“Was it when she let him cheat off her math homework?” Chloe asks.

“You shouldn’t let anyone cheat off of you,” Paisley says. “It’s wrong.”

“It was Caleb. She’d give him her last five dollars if he asked for it,” Chloe says before leaning in closer. “And? What have you given the military hero lately?” She wags her eyebrows. “A taste of you?”

I shove her away. “Stop. Caleb and I are just friends.”

“But everyone on Smuggler’s Hideaway knows you want more,” Sophia says.

I don’t lash out at her since she knows how it feels for the entire island to know who your crush is. And tease you about it. At least, none of the rumors about me ever claimed Caleb rejected me. I wouldn’t have handled it very well.

“Doesn’t matter,” I claim. “Caleb doesn’t want me. He doesn’t even want to see me.”

“I admit he was a bit of a jerk at my baby shower,” Nova says. “But he was probably surprised to see you is all. Have you tried to visit him since then?”

“I dropped a basket of food off at his house. He wouldn’t even open the door.”

She rubs a hand over my back. “I’m sorry, Maya. It was shitty of him, but maybe he has his reasons.”

I narrow my eyes on her. “What do you know?”

She shrugs. “Nothing specific, but we all saw the way he was limping when you chased after him.”

Thanks for the reminder of how I humiliated myself by chasing after a man who clearly wants nothing to do with me.

“He’s obviously suffered a serious injury,” Paisley says.

I switch my attention to her. “How do you know?”

“You mentioned he has another two years on his current contract with the Army. He couldn’t be hiding away on Smuggler’s Hideaway unless he was injured.”

I frown. I know Caleb was injured since he was limping. But he was still moving faster than me. I assumed it wasn’t a serious injury.

But Paisley has a point. He wouldn’t be back home unless he’s seriously injured. He’s never spent any of his time off on the island before. Why start now?

Hang the mermaids. I’m a horrible person. All I’ve been thinking about is me and how I’m affected by Caleb’s situation when I should be worried about him.

No more mooning over the soldier I can’t have.

It’s time to be what he needs.

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