Page 84 of Summer Ever After
“He’s just a friend.” I’m not sure why I defined my relationship to the nurse, but I did.
Everyone should know Beau is not myperson.That was made clear by the surprise on his face when I asked him yesterday if he could drop everything in themiddle of the day and pick me up from the oral surgeon’s office on the mainland.
It’s a big ask, a role that goes to the one person who has your back—or to the friendly neighborhood policeman when you don’t have anyone else.
This surgery is the most obvious sign of where I’m at in life.
Alone.
With Beau Palmer as my emergency contact.
It’s a depressing realization.
I wish Walker were picking me up.
I gently bang my head on the cushioned pad, trying to knock away the thought. Walker isn’t someone I can rely on, and the sooner my heart and mind accept that, the sooner I can move on with my life.
Besides, I haven’t seen Walker in days. We shared the best day and night of my life with each other, and then nothing. He vanished. I didn’t even see him around the island.
“Okay, Jane. We’re ready for you to count backward from one hundred.”
Maybe I should count all the reasons why I can’t fall for Walker Collins.
He probably doesn’t feel the same way.
He’s Capri’s brother.
He doesn’t live in Sunset Harbor.
I’ll always be second to golf.
He’ll just leave me like he left his family…
Walker
I glance again at the text thread between me and Beau.
Beau
Hey, Walker. I need to ask you a huge favor. Pete Luca said you were on your way back to Sunset Harbor this morning. I told Jane I would pick her up from her wisdom teeth surgery on the mainland, but something’s come up at the resort. Like a stalking thing with a high-profile guest, and I need to stay on the island and check things out. Are you in the area and able to pick Jane up for me? If not, no worries. Tala said Heath could cancel a few physical therapy appointments and pick her up if not.
Walker
I’m in the area and can totally pick Jane up. Send me the address and the details about what time I need to be there.
I wasn’t really in the area. I was just about to pull Stan’s boat into his slip on the canal, but I turned that boat around so fast I almost capsized it. The man who runs the garage at the mainland marina gave me a funny look when I asked him to get my car back out—the one he had just put away—so I could drive it to the surgeon’s office. I made it just as Jane’s procedure finished, but my heart still pounds with urgency.
The nurse opens the waiting room door, smiling at me. “Beau?”
“Yep.” I hop to my feet, pushing my phone into my pocket. “That’s me. Beau Palmer.”
“Jane is just waking up. Follow me.”
“How did it go?” I ask as we walk down a long hallway.
“Everything went great. But she’s a little weepy.”
“Weepy?” Maybe she meant sleepy.
