“Where are you staying?” Alejandra asks.
“We have room here,” Jessica adds.
“Do you have any bags?” Joe glances around the kitchen, as if my suitcase should be resting up against a wall.
My eyes dart from one family member to the next as my mind spins. The rapid pace of their questions jumbles my thoughts as I try to form coherent responses. But it’s the concern in their voices that nearly undoes me.
My eyes sting as I blink back a swell of emotion.
I’ve been exhausted for so long and yet, no one’s noticed. Not really.
Any colleagues who’ve commented on the weight I’ve lost, or the paleness in my cheeks, were satisfied with a simple shrug and a muttered excuse of a late night.
But right now, the questions from Gage’s family, coupled with the dark, knowing look in his eyes, makes me want to collapse on the floor and sob.
Jesus, pull yourself together.
I roll my lips together and manage a small smile. “I’m all sorted, thank you. I should speak with Gage.” I quirk an eyebrow at him.
“And you’ll stay for the party?” Mrs. G asks again. Now I know where Gage’s relentlessness comes from.
“I, well, I don’t want to impose,” I start.
Gage smirks. “But you came all this way.”
I narrow my eyes at him. His grin widens.
“I have work to do and—” I continue.
Gage pushes off the wall. “Work can wait. You look beat, Cal.”
“And whose fault is that?” I mutter.
Svetlana’s laugh rings out behind me.
Gage fights his smirk. Tilting his head to the back of the house, he says, “Want to take a walk on the beach and talk?”
The beach. It sounds heavenly and I let out a slow breath as my heart rate returns to normal. “Fine,” I agree.
I thank Mr. and Mrs. G. Mr. G stuffs a piece of cheese in his wife’s mouth before she can ask me to stay again. He winks at me conspiratorially and one of the little kids laughs, clasping her hands together in glee at her grandfather sidelining her grandmother.
I give a small smile of thanks before following Gage to the back deck. I dig my sunglasses and phone out of my purse, discarding it on a chair. I pop my sunglasses on my head but keep my phone clutched in my hand in case a client calls.
Once I step outside, I breathe in deeply. Salty air and sunshine fills my lungs and it’s nearly as healing as a full night’s sleep.
The fists at my sides uncurl as my fingers relax. My shoulders drop at least an inch as I physically feel the tension seeping away. I drop the sunglasses that were perched on the top of my head to shade my eyes as I drink in the endless expanse of sea.
Rolling waves and dancing foam.
Golden sand and brightly colored umbrellas.
Bodies dot the shoreline. Squatting children building sandcastles. Sunbathing women, some topless, some not. The sleek frames of men of all ages passing a soccer ball around.
It’s so…normal. Ordinary.
People enjoying the beach at sunset.
And yet, it fills me with the most exhilarating rush.
