I watch as she walks away, and I know I should follow her. I’m a part of the breakfast as well, but I’m not ready to go in yet. I’m not ready to deal with Rex. I’m not ready to see Mia.
I just need to process everything that I’m feeling. I need to figure out where I’m going to go from here. Because there’s a morose feeling in my stomach that tells me she will never be mine.
chapter twenty
Mia
Ifinish taking the photographs and head back upstairs to the hotel room. When I walk in, I’m surprised to see Luke sitting on the bed. He looks up, and there’s a serious expression on his face.
“Hey,” he says, gazing up at me. “You doing okay?”
“I’m fine. The photos went well. Everyone was really nice. To be honest, I didn’t even really see Rex. He went to do something with some of his football buddies from high school, and I guess that was more important than the breakfast with his fiancée. But that doesn’t really surprise me because he doesn’t really seem like he’s going to be an amazing husband.”
“Yeah, he seems like he’s going to be a bit of a jerk. I just want to see how we are.”
“We’re fine, Luke,” I say, putting my camera down on the table and going to sit next to him on the bed. “We’re still going to go and look for the clue at Kona Ice, right?”
“Yeah. I figured we could go in an hour or so. There is something I wanted to speak to you about.”
“Is it about the bear costume again?”
“No, unless you wanted to speak to me about it.”
“No, I’m not mad at you or anything.”
“I know.”
“Maybe I should be because I acted like a fool, going on and on about how Rex was such a great guy when it was really you. But it doesn’t surprise me that you did that for me because you’ve alwaysbeen a stand-up guy and you’ve always looked out for me, and I guess … thank you.”
“I appreciate it. I was worried you would be mad at me. I was worried you would think I was a liar or that I deliberately held it back from you, and?—”
“Hey, I know you better than that. You’re not ill-intentioned.”
“I know, but I couldn’t help but think that you might be upset.”
“I’m more surprised, and I feel slightly foolish. Thank you, Luke. You are one of only two men in my life who has really been there to protect me.” He smiles one of those breathtaking smiles that makes my heart stop. “Don’t tell my dad or grandad that I said that, though.”
“Who’s the other one?” he asks me, and I see a flash of what appears to be jealousy in his eyes.
“Rafe,” I admit.
“Oh.” He looks at me in confusion. “I didn’t know Rafe had ever protected you. What happened?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” I say softly.
He shifts suddenly. “What is it?”
“I haven’t told you because I didn’t want you to get upset, but a couple of summers ago, I had been hanging out with this tourist who was in town. One night, he wanted to go dancing at Cocktails & Chaos. We were dancing, and we were having fun, and he asked me if I wanted to go on a walk on the beach. Rafe saw us about to leave, and he kind of made some comments to me, like ‘I don’t really think this guy is good,’ and I just sort of brushed him off. Anyway, we went down by the ocean, and the next thing I knew, this guy was pushing me to the ground.”
“What?” Luke sounds pissed. “What happened, Mia?”
I sniff, remembering that night. “It was horrible,” I admit. “He wouldn’t let me up. He was trying to pull my skirt up. I was telling him no.” I close my eyes in remembrance. “I don’t really like to think about it or what could have happened.”
“But did he hurt you? Do I have to find him and kill him?” The steel in Luke’s voice is venomous, and I know in my heart that he would do exactly that if he had to.
“No, it was fine. Nothing happened.” My eyes fly open, and I reach over and grab his hand. There’s such care and concern in his expression that it melts my heart. “Rafe had a weird feeling, so he followed us, and basically, he ran up, and he grabbed this dude and punched him and told him to get out of town or he’d make him. And then he told me offfor ignoring his advice and said I was his sister, and he loved me, and he didn’t want to see me get hurt, and that I should listen to him because he knows better than me.” I roll my eyes. “He thinks because he’s my brother, he knows everything.”
“Is that why he’s been such a jackass about us?” Luke says, nodding slowly. “Does he think I’m going to break your heart or something?”
