It’s strange admitting that to him. These are words I never thought I’d say out loud. I’ve been perfectly happy with the bachelor life. And now just look at me.
You’re not marrying for love, idiot. You’re helping a friend.
Jonah stops moving, and he turns slowly to me and grumbles in shock. “Well, that escalated quickly.”
The boat drifts, and his line goes slack. Jonah is just staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“I’m helping her,” I say with a sigh. “She’s got some will thing going on with her family. She has to be married by her thirtieth birthday, or her family’s company gets turned over to a trust, and she loses everything. And now, she’s contending with their contingency plan. Her awful sister who already stole her fiancé.” I scrub a palm down my face. “Silvie’s a good person. She doesn’t deserve that. This is something I can do to help her solve this problem.”
Jonah squints. “Wait. You’re serious?”
“Dead serious,” I utter. “You can’t tell anyone, either.”
He huffs out a laugh. “Who am I gonna tell?”
“One of your many girlfriends. The Bees. The ones who like to moon you.”
“I’m going to throw you overboard,” he decides.
I laugh, reach for my water, and take a swig. And I think about how this all sounds when I actually say it out loud. It does sound insane. But maybe something Jonah said about Silvie was right. She is different. I can’t explain it. Maybe I never will be able to. But this feels right, helping her.
He’s quiet for a while, then says, “I told you this one is different.”
That hits me in the chest harder than I thought it would. But I know, deep down, somehow, this is true. She is different. I have no idea how or what, but something is different.
I’ve never had feelings like this for someone that run as deep as they do for Silvie. We’re friends, but I think there’s hella potential for more. Watching her with my mom. Seeing how she looks after Birdie. She’s a powerhouse VP of her company. And that’s sexy as hell. I likeher a lot. I love hearing her laugh and being playful with Wilby. She’s someone I could see myself with beyond a marriage of convenience, and that also scares the hell out of me. I’ve never met anyone like her.
The voice of reason inside my head tries to calculate what the end games looks like for all this. Do we stay here or do we need to spend the allotted time in New York? Is there a time period where we stay married and then divorce? My gut clenches, not necessarily loving that thought. But I barely know her, so it’s not like we could stay married if it worked out, right?
I haven’t even kissed her.Yet.
“I like her,” Jonah finally says.
I look at him, and that’s when it hits me how insane that statement is. Jonah never admits to liking anyone. If he likes you, he’ll show it by showing up for you. But he’s a man of few words. He came to every one of my high school sporting events. Just showed up. Sat alone. Watched me. Then got up and left at the end.
He’s always shown up for me. Even when I went to prom. He showed up and snapped a few pictures on his old digital camera, grumbled something, and left. Only later did I see that same photo and several others he had of me at important life stages, taped to the side of his fridge. Quietly, in the background, he’s always been there. Always supported me. And that’s another reason I don’t want to leave Coconut Beach. He and my mom. They mean everything to me. I’d do anything for them. And I don’t want to miss these years with them. They don’t get it, but I’m not sacrificing my time for them. I’m sacrificing other dreams to have them. I want them in my life. That’s what family means to me.
But when this is all over with Silvie, will it leave a crater-sized hole in me? I have a strong feeling it will. The hurt might just be worth it, though. I know I should steel myself. This is temporary, and I’m just doing a good thing for someone who needs my help. That’s it.
But that’s not true. I like her, too. So much. I knew being attracted to her and letting myself get attached would bite my ass in the end.
The marriage part doesn’t scare me. No, it’s the way I know this all ends. She returns to New York, to her real life. I’ll still be here. Bartending and managing Cocktails & Chaos. Fishing with Jonah. Taking care of my mom. Same beach, same boat, same thing every day.
But maybe it won’t hurt as badly as I think. Maybe I’ll push through. Either way, I’m doing it.
I’m headed home from fishing to shower and get ready for the day when I pass my mom’s house. Sometimes she waves from her front window, but this time she’s not there. I make my way around the side and pause when I hear it. Laughter. And more than one person is laughing.
What the...?
The sound of laughter spills out the open back door and drifts across the yard, light and easy, as if this were an everyday, normal thing, which it’s not. My mom doesn’t let any visitors come besides me. And she doesn’t leave her door open. Ever. Or unlocked. I slow down, and my chest tightens as I make my way closer to take a look.
I recognize my mom’s laughter and her voice. She’s happy and talking, but I can’t make out what she’s saying. I get closer, and sunlight pours in the wide-open door. That’s when I see them.
Silvie and Mom are sitting at her kitchen table with plates of scones between them. They have mugs of coffee in front of them, and my mom’s leaning back in her chair, laughing so hard, she’s wiping at her eyes. I haven’t seen her like this in years.
My heart thuds painfully in my chest. I watch silently from the doorway for a while, neither of them aware of me being here. Silvie’s holding up a book and saying something to my mom, and that makes her laugh even harder.
“And it was so funny because in this one part...” Silvie trails off when she realizes I’m standing here. Her eyes widen and skim down my chest. It’s then I remember I’m not wearing a shirt. I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the doorway.
