Page 99 of The All-Inclusive

SARA

I’m barefoot in the sand, re-rolling my mat after a sweaty yoga class with a shirtless instructor who looks like a musclebound Timothée Chalamet. When someone shouts my name, I turn to see Logan jogging up the beach. He’s coming from the direction of the marina and I shield my eyes against the glare of the sun.

“Sara.”

“Hey.” I can’t help admiring his abs as he uses his shirt to swipe sweat from his face. I haven’t seen Logan naked in days, since we seem to be following the Marshmallow Mandate. And since Trent’s been out of touch, we couldn’t exactly reach out to discuss Logan and me hooking up. Not that I’d ever be so insensitive.

But still. I want Trent to know we stuck by our agreement. That we’ve followed the Marshmallow Mandate, even when he wasn’t here.

“What’s up?”

“I need you.” Dropping the hem of his shirt, Logan takes my hand.

A thrill ripples through me, but I’m not sure he means it that way. “I need to put away my mat.”

“Dominic has it.” He waves to my instructor and the Timothée Chalamet lookalike waves back and comes over to collect my gear.

I watch Logan’s hand as he bends down and picks up my flip-flops. “What did you do to your finger?”

“This?” He holds up the hand with my shoes, showcasing a bandage on his left middle finger. “Hit it with a hammer.”

“What?” That might be a sex term to add to my notebook. “What kind of enchantment wasthat?”

He chuckles and tugs me toward the marina. “You want your shoes on?”

“Where are we going?” I follow him even without knowing, pulled in by his enthusiasm, even without a clue where we’re headed.

“Just down the beach.” He’s practically jogging, pulling me along as waves crash beside us and beach grass rustles on a warm gust. “There’s something you need to see.”

“Is it your penis?” I ask, then blush.

Logan just laughs and keeps tugging me along. “Not this time.”

“Then what?—”

“It still needs to be stained,” he says, like I have any clue what he means. “And some of the letters are a little bit crooked, but I think that’s part of the charm.”

What on Earth is he talking about?

“What needs to be stained? And how did you hurt your—Trent?” I gasp as he steps from the trees by the boat launch. I blink a few times to make sure I’m not seeing things.

My fiancé stands wearing a toolbelt and a smile that’s a little bit sheepish.

“Hi, Sara.”

Holy shit. It’s really him.

“Trent,” I repeat, looking him over to make sure he’s okay. “What are you doing here?” Oh, God, something happened to his mother. “Where’s your mom?”

“She’s fine.” He screws up his face for a second. “Shewill befine. She’s going through it right now, but my cousin’s with her and Logan’s mom has been helping. For the first time in years, I have hope she’ll escape that bad marriage.”

Relief rushes through me, but I’m still confused. “You came back.”

“I came back.” Taking my hands, Trent looks in my eyes. “I’m sorry I ran in the first place. I had to take care of my mom, but that’s no excuse for leaving like I did. For going radio silent.”

As much as I appreciate the apology, I need him to know how I feel. “You really hurt me,” I tell him. “It felt like what happened the night of the bachelor party.” Tears clog my throat, but I force the words out past the lump. “I never wanted to feel like that again, but Ididand it sucked.”

“And that’s completely on me.” The sorrow in his eyes eases something inside me. “I developed this habit of removing myself from the situation when it seemed like I was causing you more pain than happiness. I’m sure there’s some link to all those times Mom said we were better off without my father around.” He screws up his face like he’s worried he’s saying things wrong. “That’s not an excuse, just an explanation. But bottom line, I was wrong and I’m sorry. I really am.” He glances at Logan. “I’ve been offered a chance at doing some therapy for people with military backgrounds, and I—I think I might try it. I did my first telehealth session in the airport on my way here and—well, it didn’t suck.”

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