Mom gives me a wry look. “I’m sure skinny dipping with that hunky pilot helped.”
I feel my entire head heat up while I watch Tiffany’s jaw drop and Ethan’s eyes pop out of his head. My mom nods at them. “Yup, when we got there, they were as naked as a pair of jay birds.”
“I … don’t… I can’t … the thing is, in a situation like that,you have to find a reason to … it’s important to try to find happiness, no matter what your circumstances are.” I pause, knowing there’s no way I can explain this that they’ll understand. “He was just so…”
“Hot,” my mom tells them.
Tiffany covers her mouth with both hands, and she and my mom start to laugh.
“Seriously, he was really hot,” Mom says, glancing over at my father. “Sorry dear. He’s nothing compared to you of course. You’re my one and only.” Looking back at Tiffany, she mouths, “So hot.”
“Yeah, there’s that,” I say, quickly adding, “But there’s so much more to him than how he looks. He’s sweet and caring and thoughtful, and so encouraging, you know?”
Tiffany nods and takes Ethan’s hand. “I think I get it, yeah.”
“And it was such an intense situation. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. We were completely alone out there, no radio or cell phones or television. Nothing but the two of us. We had to rely on each other for everything—to survive. And I sprained my ankle and he took such good care of me and we didn’t know how long we’d be out there. It could’ve been years, for all we knew. So, things just … sort of happened.”
Tiffany nods. “I could see how things might sort of happen under those circumstances.”
“They happened all right,” my mom adds, waggling her eyebrows.
“What now?” Tiffany asks.
I shake my head and glance out the window. “Nothing. It’s over, which is okay. I have my life in New York and he’s got his life here. At the end of the day, we don’t want the same things,” I answer, letting out a sigh. “I want thewhole thing. The family, the house, the white picket fence, and he … wants to be free.”
I shrug and smile a little even though saying it out loud makes me feel like my heart could burst right here on this plane. “It’s fine. Really. I’m excited to be going back to my real life.”
Tiffany purses her lips. “I just hope your real life isn’t going to be more of the same. As nice as it is for Guy to do all this, if you ask me, he’s got a lot to make up to you.”
Nodding, I say, “I agree, and things are going to be different from now on. No more missing out on the important stuff with my family.”
“You promise?” Tiffany asks.
“I do. I’m never going to make that mistake again. I’ve just been letting my entire life pass me by without me enjoying any of it. Without being there for the people I love.” Shaking my head, I say, “Not anymore. I’m done with that. I’m going to march into his office and demand a promotion, and if he doesn’t give it to me, I’ll leave. Maybe go back to college and finish my degree, then try to get on somewhere else. Work for a boss who won’t demand that I’m available twenty-four/seven, three-hundred-sixty-five days a year.”
“Good for you, Paige,” Ethan says.
“That’s wonderful, dear,” Mom adds, squeezing my hand.
Tiffany offers me a smile but I can tell she’s skeptical. “I hope you do that, Paige. For your sake.”
“I will,” I answer, feeling a lump in my throat. “I’m not the same woman that crashed on that island. I’m a lot stronger than her, and I know my worth now.”
And I have Mac to thank for both of those things.
28
Knowing Which Horse to Back…
Mac
It’slate evening by the time the medical team signs off on me going home. I had to lie and tell them I’m staying at Jack’s tonight, just in case I somehow take a turn from being perfectly healthy to on death’s door from a lack of hydration.
As soon as the doors slide open and I step outside, I see Jack sitting on a bench. His face lights up and he springs to his feet, looking a lot younger than his eighty-two years. “Well, if it isn’t Big Mac?!”
My heart lifts at the sight of my grandpa, and it hits me that, in the back of my mind, I’ve been ignoring the possibility that I’d never see him again. I’ve been so busy worrying about the money I owe Violet, that I didn’t even bother to think of what would happen to him if I was gone for good. Smiling at him, I say, “I didn’t think you’d be here.”
“Got nowhere better to be,” he answers.
