“Was a lot of fun.” I lift my arm, pulling her in close to me as we walk the rest of the way.
Inside, the lobby is dark, other than the seashell lamp in the corner.
We climb the stairs to the Sandcastle Room.
She turns in the doorway and presses her face against my chest and holds on. “Sleep with me in my bed?”
“There’s no place I’d rather be.”
We undress and climb between the sheets, tipsy and spent from our long day. She rolls onto her side, and I pull her against me. My face presses into her hair, and I breathe in coconut shampoo and a hint of smoke from the bonfire.
Wendy falls asleep before me. Her breathing slows, and her body relaxes against me.
Just as I close my eyes, my phone vibrates on the nightstand. I carefully reach for it, not wanting to wake her. The screen glows in the dark room.
Reese
Flight confirmed for tomorrow. Everything else is arranged per your instructions. Good luck, Dyson.
I stare at the screen. The cursor blinks in the reply field. Wendy shifts against me in her sleep. I lock the phone and set it face down on the nightstand.
Tomorrow, everything changes.
chapter thirty
Wendy
Iwake up alone and smile.
The sheets beside me are cold, which means he’s been gone for a while. The man runs every morning like clockwork, and even a hangover from Slap Yo Mama won’t change that.
I stretch across the mattress and stare at the ceiling.
Today is the day I’ve been counting down to for months. August 3. It’s the deadline to the agreement we made at the beginning of the summer.
I’ve known how I’ve felt about Dyson for weeks. Maybe longer. I held my heart at the dinner on Turtle Island. I held it at the bonfire when he danced with me and kissed me in front of everyone. I held those three words last night when his arm tightened around me in his sleep.
He has to know how I feel.
Today, I will tell Dyson Carter Banks that I’m stupidly in love with him. I want to be with him with no conditions or deadlines. He deserves to know that I do love him.
I get out of bed and take a quick shower, wanting to beat him to the Captain’s Room before he returns. I quickly towel-dry my hair and slide on some loose pants and a T-shirt. The smile on my face might be permanent as I climb the stairs to his room.
I open the door, and when I step inside, my smile dies.
The bed is made. The nightstand is empty with no books or his phone charger. The closet door is open, and there are no shirts, shorts, or slacks. The running shoes are gone. The duffel bags are gone. The protein bars he kept on the dresser are in the trash. If I wasn’t completely spiraling, I might laugh at that.
I stand in the doorway, and the words I rehearsed in my head during my shower are still sitting on my tongue.
My legs carry me downstairs because my brain has stopped working.
I don’t understand.
Rose is at the stove, making oatmeal. She turns when she hears me, and her face changes the second she sees me. Tears won’t stop falling.
“Wendy, honey, are you okay?”
“Have you seen Dyson this morning?”
