Her eyes widen. “I’m confused.”
“I was too.” I tuck my lips inside my mouth, trying to choose my words very carefully.
Instead, I unlock my phone, seeing I have eighty percent battery left, and put my name in a web browser. I hand it to her.
Wendy scrolls and stares, clicking on different pictures and articles. My entire life has been documented on the internet, thanks to who my father and brothers are. Her hand trembles when she sees the photos of us together, along with the articles and blind items. The internet wants us together, but they also want to know every detail they can about Wendy. She reads through the comments, shaking her head. After ten minutes, she locks the phone and pushes it away.
“This is too much,” she whispers. “I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I want to live the sweet life in Coconut Beach.”
“I’m so sorry.” That’s all I can offer.
The wedge between us grows the longer neither of us speaks.
She leans back on the couch. “Has anyone on the island recognized you?”
I nod. “Dayton.”
“Dayton?” She sits upright. “That little shithead! I’m going to kill him!”
“I think your grandmother knows. She’s made side comments. Possibly Mia, too,” I say.
“This is a lot to throw on someone.Oh, hi. I’m really important, and now the fucking internet is stalking you, but sorry, let’s still be together and forget any of it happened even though this is going to change your entire life as you know it.”She blinks at me a few times. “I’m actually stranded on an island during a tropical storm with a complete stranger whose name I didn’t even know until five minutes ago. If this were a thriller book, I’d be the victim who was lured away by a hot guy.”
I chuckle.
She narrows her eyes. “Don’t youdarelaugh. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how I feel. Literally spiraling.”
“You don’t have to say or feel anything, Wendy.” I let out a calm breath. “Know that if who I am outside of the island is the reason we don’t work out, I will understand. You have to be sure you want to be with me. Yes, I’m Coconut Beach Carter, but I’m also Dickhead Dyson Banks. I’m ruthless in the financial world and in every aspect of my life. I don’t think you can have one without the other. So, if you choose me, you have to choose all of me.”
The rain picks up again. It’s heavier now. I glance at the radar on my phone and the gaps between squall lines are closing.
“I’m in love with you,” I say. “I mean that. I know you said no decisions and?—”
“You don’t get to say that right now. You don’t get to drop a bomb like this and then follow it withI’m in love with youlike it’s a bandage.” She stares at me. “You were selfish and were more worried about protecting yourself than trusting me. I don’t know if I want to be with someone like that.”
“I understand.”
“If you don’t have honesty, integrity, and protect your values, then you are the exact thing you believe people see you as. You become nothing more than a nepo baby with a fancy title and a trust fund.”
Her words hurt, but they’re the truth.
“And that’s the exact reason why I like you so much,” I admit.
“Don’t,” she sneers. “Don’t do that.”
“You aren’t afraid to tell it like it is, no matter who the fuck I am. I don’t know anyone in my life who isn’t a yes man. So, forgive me if I find it difficult to trust anyone. I’ve been used a lot. I’ve been cheated on, lied to, and even had people try to harm me. I don’t trust easily, and it takes me a while to warm up to people. It took you over six weeks. It takes most people a decade. You should be mad at me. I accept that. But know tomorrow, I’m going to keep fighting for you, for us, because this relationship means something to me. Call it a summer crush, call it whatever the fuck you want, but being with you has changed me. Being in the same room with you has completely rewired the way I think, the way I view the world. I’m not the same man I was when I arrived, and it’s not because of this fucking building. It’s because of you.”
A tear rolls down her cheek. I reach forward and catch it.
“Please don’t.”
“I’m crying because I’m so pissed. Because you are the epitome of every single thing I hate in the world. But you are alsoeverythingthat I want in my life. I’m fighting an internal battle, and I have a lot of conflicting emotions that I won’t be able to solve tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe never. You wanted to know when you should be worried?” She blinks up at me. “Right now.”
Her anger is alive, but underneath it is a woman who just had her entire reality change. I’m empathetic, understanding how big of a deal this is. It’s why I avoided it for so long.
“You promised me no decisions would be made until August 3.”
She wipes her face. “I’ll keep my promise.”
