And then he thought of Nicole’s eyes across the courtroom.Fire.Hurt.Unyielding strength.The woman he wanted to spend forever with.
“Yes,” he said finally, the word rough and certain.“If it comes to it, yes.”
Paige nodded slowly, as if she’d been waiting to hear him say it.“Then maybe you’ve finally grown into the man she always saw in you.The man I didn’t see, but she did.”
Tripp sat back, breath leaving him in a long exhale.Outside, the ocean kept its steady rhythm, the same way it had when they were teenagers sneaking kisses on the beach.Only now, the years between them stretched wide, heavy with what had been stolen.
But for the first time in decades, Tripp felt something other than anger.
He felt resolve.He felt hope.He felt an almost giddy anticipation.
Tomorrow, the trial would continue.Tomorrow, he would have to stand across from Nicole, both of them fighting for opposite sides.
But tonight, he had made his choice.And he wasn’t going to let anyone, not his mother, not the Masterson name, not the past, not even her parents, take her away again.
Chapter14
Two days later, Nicole was back at the beach house with her friends.The ocean hummed in the background, a steady rhythm that mixed with the laughter of women and the gentle clink of glasses.
Paige’s little beach rental looked lived in now, empty wine bottles lined up like trophies on the counter, throw pillows scattered across the couch from earlier pillow fights, the faint smell of popcorn still lingering.Empty pizza boxes where they’d consumed their favorite meal.
Nicole sat cross-legged on the floor, her back against the sofa, holding her third, or was it her fourth, glass of wine.She’d lost count somewhere around the second bottle, when Crystal had pulled out that ridiculous story about her last blind date, which had them all howling until their sides ached.
“God, I missed this,” Paige said, curling up on the armchair with her glass balanced on one knee.The lamplight softened her features, and for the first time, Nicole noticed how relaxed she looked, with no tight shoulders and no careful city polish.Just Paige.Not the prominent city executive who traveled the world.
When she’d first arrived on the island, the signs of wear were written all over her, shadows smudged beneath her eyes, tension bowstring-tight across her shoulders, a stiffness in her every movement.She’d looked like life had taken too much from her.But now…now Nicole caught glimpses of the Paige she remembered.The carefree girl who used to laugh too loudly, danced barefoot in the sand, and lived as though the night would never end.
“You’ve missed wine?”Crystal teased.
“I’ve missedhome,” Paige corrected, sweeping her gaze around the room, then out the window where the dark ocean stretched.“I didn’t think I would.Honestly, when I packed to come here, I was planning to count the days until I left again.But now?”She gave a half-shrug, her smile soft.“I don’t want to leave.”
“Spoken like a true island girl,” one of the others said, raising her glass in salute.
Nicole took a sip, hiding her smile.Paige had always been the one who swore she’d never come back, never get stuck in the same small-town cycles.And now here she was, glowing with contentment in a beat-up rental on the beach.
This was the woman who built empires with a pen, who negotiated million-dollar contracts and appeared in glossy business magazines as the face of power and success.Nicole had always expected her to end up in the corner office of some skyscraper, running a corporation like she was born to it.But here, Paige wasn’t the executive powerhouse.Here she was relaxed, radiant even, happier than Nicole had ever seen her.And God help her, Nicole couldn’t decide if she admired her for it…or envied her.
Mostly, Nicole was just grateful to call her a friend, and more than anything, she wanted her happiness.
Paige leaned back in her chair, her grin widening.“I mean it.I didn’t realize how much I missed this place.The air, the water, the people.Even the gossip.It’s…comforting.”
“Careful,” Amanda teased, “another week and you’ll be signing a lease.”
“Or buying,” Paige said, her tone playful but not entirely joking.
Nicole laughed with the others, but a tiny ache stirred inside her.For years, she’d defined herself by leaving.By proving she could build something outside the island, outside her parents’ control, outside Tripp Masterson’s shadow.And now Paige, the girl who’d sworn she’d never look back, was talking about coming home.
If she did, it would mean everyone who had once left had somehow found their way back.And maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Nicole took another long sip.She wasn’t about to be the sentimental one tonight.Tonight was about having fun, and she needed this brief respite from the drama in her life and in the courtroom.
The conversation drifted into favorite beaches and worst high school crushes until Paige, a little pink from the wine, blurted, “Well, at least you and Tripp are talking now.”
The room went dead silent.
Nicole froze, her glass halfway to her mouth.Paige’s eyes widened as if she wanted to swallow the words back, but it was too late.Jennifer leaned forward, brows arched high.“Excuse me?”
Nicole set her glass down carefully, as though the stem might snap in her hand.“It’s not what you think.”
