Page 99 of The Best Wrong Move

I tell him about the conversation I had with Rex when I got home. How he was waiting for me with a bottle of wine and two glasses. How he and Juju broke up, and how he used that to segway into a proposal.

When I get to the part about Rex getting down on one knee, he stops me. “I don’t think I need to hear this part.”

“Please just let me finish. You’ve had us both stuck in a moderate panic attack for the last six hours, when you should have just let me tell you what happened last night!”

He presses his palms into the sand, taking a deep breath like he’s trying to calm down. “Go on, then.”

“Juju broke up with him yesterday. She found out that Rex and I used to be together. Her friend showed her the video after recognizing me. Then Rex used that as an excuse to propose to me, but it was all wrong.” I stop and speak more slowly, so he has no choice but to listen to this part extra close. “Dom, I stopped loving Rex a long time ago.”

“You didn’t run back to be with him as soon as your pitch to Quinton went sour?”

“I know exactly how this must feel. Especially since your old fiancée did something like that to you. Used your family, then devastated you. But I’ve donenothingto deserve that.” My voice is firm. I know, deep down, I haven’t done anything wrong.

He studies my face. “No? Then explain how you left here after completing your pitch to my brother, and immediately found yourself in the arms of your ex. Down on one knee, for Christ’s sake. You two weren’t secretly together this whole time, were you?”

“With me pretending to fall in love with you, just to get to Quinton? You can’t be serious.”

He stays quiet.

My voice cracks. “I found out that Rex was cheating on me with Juju last night. For six solid months before we broke up. She texted me that Rex was planning on leaving me the week I proposed to him. He already had his ticket purchased to come out here.”

His jaw locks — his eyes burn into mine. Just seeing him this upset makes my eyes fill with tears.

“Dom, I would never do that to you.”

“I fucking hate that guy,” he growls.

His hand finally slides over mine, but the tiny grains of sand stuck to our skin feel like sandpaper between us.

“So that’s right when I stormed out, leaving you to deal with that news all alone?” he asks, putting the pieces together.

I nod, my eyes filling with tears of relief that he’s finally understanding what went wrong.

“Jesus Christ, Liv. I really had no idea. From my perspective, all I knew was that you left in a hurry after Quinton rejected your script. Then I walked in on the guy you swore was your ex proposing to you.”

He brushes the sand off between our hands, so our skin feels soft and smooth pressed together. Then he scoots an inch closer to me.

“Selma and Quinton were acting so strangely last night. I kept letting them have it, every time you left the room to go to the bathroom or sneak more ginger ale—”

“How did you know I was sneaking ginger ale?” I crack a smile.

“Everyone in the room knew you were sneaking it.” He leans into me with a smirk. He kisses me for the first time since I arrived. “I was trying to figure out why they were acting so weird. Selma’s whole thing about calling you Veronica or Olive, and basically asking you to cook the meal like that. I was just trying to keep the peace and not call them out for it in front of you. I didn’t want to embarrass you even more.” He sighs. “After talking to them today, they really did have the best intentions at heart. Even if it was in an effort to protect me, they shouldn’t have acted like that toward you.”

I sigh. “I understand. I really do. Your brother cares a lot about you.” Then I lean over to kiss him. It’s a short kiss, and nothing to write home about, but he allows it. I scoot even closer to him, resting my head against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry you had to walk in on that with Rex. I should have never even gone out on the deck to talk to him. I shouldn’t have made that mistake.”

“I believe you.” He gives me another kiss. This one feels more sincere. “And I’m sorry about leaving angry last night. I should have given you a chance to explain.”

Then he pulls out his phone and clicks open his Airbnb app, scrolling through multiple screens until he comes to Rex’s original reservation record. He reads the fine print, then lets out a shaky breath, holding it out to me so I can see what he’s looking at. The app shows the date Rex’s reservation was made, confirming it was done long before I proposed to him.

Juju was right.

I turn away from the screen and stare out at the water.

“I can’t believe all that was going on behind my back. I somehow managed to propose to that asshat and throw my entire career into turmoil, while he was already making plans to leave me.” I take a deep breath, reliving the rollercoaster of my last few months. Then I turn to Dom and climb onto his lap, straddling his hips in the sand, with our faces just inches apart. I cup his face between my hands. “But I would go through that a thousand more times if it meant that you’d be waiting for me at the end of it, like you are now.”

Chapter 70

My plane is still leaving tonight. I have to be back at the UBN station in two days if I intend to keep my job.

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