Page 80 of Summer Kisses

I sat in one of the chairs surrounding the pool and gestured for Dalton to sit next to me. "What do you think?"

"Is it awful that I hope Cooper doesn't find anything wrong with it?"

"Even if he does, we can fix it or find someone who can. That's the beauty of us being in construction. There isn't a house that we can't renovate."

"I think this is the one. But am I doing the wrong thing by purchasing a house for myself? A part of me still thinks I should try and work things out with Oakley."

"She's making it impossible to have a mature relationship. She's got you twisted up inside, not knowing whether you're coming or going. It's not right. You have to create a stable environment for that baby." I leaned back in the chair, folding my hands behind my head. "Think of it like this. You're the calm in the storm. That baby will have stability and will know that he or she can trust you to be there for them. With Oakley, you don't know where you stand, and neither will this baby."

"That's a good point."

"You can't keep going on the way you were with Oakley."

Dalton nodded, relaxing slightly. "That's what I needed to hear."

"I'll always be here for you."

Dalton raised a brow. "What if you and Hazel have a baby?"

I shifted in my chair because I wasn't sure that we were going to be able to build anything from our fake engagement. "We talked about waiting for a few years. Enjoying our time as a couple."

Dalton shook his head. "I should have been more careful."

"Did you use protection?" I couldn't help but ask. I'd been curious about how this happened.

"She said she was on birth control, and the spermicide in the condoms irritated her. It made sense at the time, and I trusted her to take her pills."

I tensed. "You don't think she stopped taking them, do you?"

"She said she was on antibiotics when she had a cough and didn't realize it rendered the pills useless. We should have used condoms, but I didn't know."

"If she stopped taking the pills on purpose?—"

"Either way, this is my baby, and I want to be in his or her life."

"You've really grown up through all of this. You're on the right track, and you're doing the right thing. You just have to trust yourself and your instincts."

"That's not easy."

"It's not. But you have us to keep you in line," I teased.

"I'm glad that you're here. I don't know what I'd do if you moved off the island. I never worried about that before Elena asked you that question at the engagement party."

"That threw me for a loop too."

"I've had a lot of time to think about stuff, and as much as I feel like I need you here, you have to do what's right for you."

"Are you giving me permission to move with Hazel?" I shifted so that my feet were flat on the ground.

"I'm giving you permission to do what's right for you. Whatever that is."

"I'm not sure that I could move off the island. It was upsetting for Mom when Marshall announced he was going into the military after college.

"Yeah, but you have to do what's right for you and Hazel. You're a team now. Don't take that for granted."

Dalton desperately wanted to co-parent, but Oakley was making that impossible. Hazel wanted to make decisions together, and I wasn't sure I could do the same. I was the worst fiancé. Somehow the lines had gotten blurred for me, and it was hard to remember that this was never supposed to be real. It was time to end our arrangement now that we'd both gotten what we wanted. "That's good advice."

The slider opened, and Cooper stepped out. He looked agitated.

---