With the wedding behind them and their return to Amore Island closing in, Arik had to figure out his next move.
They got through the wedding as well as he could have hoped for.
There could have been more hiccups.
Natalie would have pushed through, just as he expected, but he was relieved it hadn’t come to that. He led her away, as much to steady his own nerves as to protect her feelings.
He could admit to himself that neither of his parents ever put anyone else’s feelings first.
It gave him some hope he wasn’t destined to be like them.
Nope. Never.
He couldn’t be that cold.
That cruel.
That calculating.
He couldn’t ruin another person’s day to bring satisfaction to his ego. Not like his father lived.
Nor his mother who made it her mission to point out his father’s flaws and deplorable behavior.
Would Natalie believe those things though?
He was going to use his time to convince her he wasn’t like them even if he worried for years there was some button in him just waiting to be pushed.
Those years where the only women he’d spent time with were for a physical release and not a mental engagement.
When he’d been living in Seattle, he’d dated. He had a relationship that didn’t last because he hadn’t had the time nor put in the effort.
Some held on because of his wealth or what he could offer.
Others told him to piss off.
He respected the ones that walked away more.
But after years of floundering, he was ready to plant roots with the one girl he couldn’t get out of his mind before his life took a change.
The one who got away and he didn’t feel they’d ever had a chance.
He was giving it to them now. He could and it’d cost him nothing more than a gamble to his heart.
“Here comes the helicopter,” Natalie said.
“Are you ready to get home?” he asked.
All the soft touches and sexy glances were gone.
Some awkwardness returned that he didn’t care for.
It felt as if their bodies being drawn to each other in sleep set him back twenty steps when he’d taken ten forward in the past twenty-four hours.
“I am,” she said. “It’s been a long weekend, but I had a good time with you.”
He reached for her hand to see if she’d pull away. She didn’t. He threaded their fingers together. “I’m glad that nothing you witnessed turned you off. Or experienced.”
A pink flush filled her cheeks at lightning speed, the warmth of it almost felt by him.
