“That must’ve been difficult.”
“Not really. I was relieved he couldn’t touch my mother anymore.” He shrugged. “And my mom gave us a damn good life.”
“What made you want to become a policeman?”
Wes finished the rest of the wine in his cup. “When I was fourteen, my older brother didn’t come home one night. Luke was seventeen, and unlike most brothers who are close in age, we were tight. I wanted to be just like him. That night, he was walking home after a partyand passed a gas station where a guy was yelling at his wife and getting in her face. Luke stepped in, and a fight broke out. The guy wound up stabbing my brother eight times.”
My hand covered my heart. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
Wes nodded. “It took the police twenty minutes to show up after it happened, and my brother bled out—he couldn’t be saved. All I remember from that night is sitting in the hospital with my mom, and she kept asking over and over why no one came sooner. Nobody had an answer. I decided right then that I wanted to be the reason someone’s brother made it home.”
“You’re pretty amazing, Wes. You know that?”
He caught my gaze. “So are you.”
We watched the beautiful sunset until the sky’s show was over.
“It’s really nice to be able to talk to someone and be so open and honest,” I said. “My entire life, I’ve had to pretend my father is an upstanding businessman. It’s such a relief to just be myself.”
Wes’s eyes dropped to my lips. They lingered for a long time before he abruptly stood. “We should get going.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He unloaded the snorkel equipment we had to return and held a hand out to help me off the boat. The wine and sun must’ve hit me harder than I thought, because when I stepped off, I lost my balance and tripped. Wes caught me in his arms. Our faces were close, and I debated leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. But before I could find the courage to do it, Wes was already pulling back.
The ride home was quiet, which seemed to have become a pattern with us. We’d grow close, and then Wes would put distance between us, sometimes while we were still physically next to each other. The silence continued in the house as we walked up the stairs to our respective rooms.
“Thanks again for today,” I said.
Wes nodded. “You’re welcome.”
I opened the door to my bedroom, but Wes stopped me from going in.
“Juliette?”
I turned.
“I wouldn’t have met up with her.”
I felt my forehead wrinkle. “Who?”
“My booty call from earlier. Even if I’d been in California, I wouldn’t have gone.”
CHAPTER 11
Juliette
The following morning, I walked out of my bedroom to find Wes on the phone with someone. My first inclination was to admire his shirtless physique, and the way his hair was beautifully messy in the morning. But immediately I could see that something was off.
He paced repeatedly, seeming nervous, running his hand through his hair.
Oh no.What’s happening?
Wes was muttering, so I couldn’t hear anything clearly, and he was mostly listening to what the other person had to say.
My stomach sank.Are we in danger? All the worst-case scenarios ran through my mind.
Someone found us here.
