Page 20 of Summer Ever After
“Damsel in distress. Nice move!”
“It would’ve been a nice move if Beau was the one to save me, but he wasn’t.”
“Who was?”
“Your brother.”
“Heath?”
I can see why Capri’s mind went there. Tala’s husband, Heath, is more like a brother to her than Walker has ever been. And Heath lives on the island. But despite understanding Capri’s guess, I still roll my eyes in exasperation.
“No, not your brother-in-law. I’m talking about Walker.”
“Walker? What’s he doing in Sunset Harbor?”
“I’d like to know the same thing. He said he was here for a few weeks, staying at your mom’s house.”
“He’s in such a bad headspace right now. I know my mom’s been really worried about him. How did he seem?”
“He seemed normal to me.”
Incredibly handsome, overconfident, charming, and an endless flirt.
“After the whole choking thing, Beau got called to an emergency at Seaside Oasis, and the evening was over.”
But not before your brother pulled the rice out of my hair, making my heart stop completely.
“The entire night was a disaster. Nothing went as planned, and it was probably a good thing it ended early, because I don’t think I could have handled another embarrassing moment.”
“Jane, you don’t embarrass easily.”
“Well, something about this situation makes me embarrassed. I think it’s the pathetic desperation behind it.”
“So what are you going to do? Are you giving up on the Summer of Jane Hayes?”
“I probably should. Pretending to choke to get a guy’sattention was a new low, even for me. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I do have some self-respect.”
Capri laughs. “Okay, maybe faking choking wasn’t the best plan, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. You just need to weed out some of the tropes that cross boundaries.”
“You mean I shouldn’t fake my own kidnapping to hit the captor/captive trope?”
She laughs again while I suppress a smile.
This is humiliating on so many levels. How did I even get here? Oh, I know. I’m lonely and just want the real-deal, happily-ever-after love story.
Haven’t you ever wanted something so bad you can feel the ache even in your bones?
That’s where I’m at.
But Capri’s right. Some of the tropes on my list cross lines. I’m not about to have a Vegas marriage or an age-gap romance with somebody twenty years older than me. There are limits to my desperation.
If I reign in my tropes a little bit, maybe it will make it so I continue on.
It’s not like me to quit.
Did Michelangelo give up on the Sistine Chapel on day one? No. He painted for four years until he had a masterpiece.
I’m painting a masterpiece, and this is only day one.
