“I know it’s going to sound crazy, but since seeing him again, there’s this… spark between us. Like whatever was there before… it’s still alive. Bill, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I ever got over Jamie,” I blurt out. It’s shocking to hear myself say it out loud, and yet it feels so completely obvious as soon as I do. “Not really, anyway. Sometimes, it feels like I never will.”
“Maybe you won’t have to,” Willow says, and my breath hitches with hope. After we ended our marriage in front of all our friends and loved ones, my crew was quick to swoop in and tell me that I deserved better. But secretly, I just want to deservehim. “I have a good feeling about this, Bill,” shesays. “The fact that he’s there with you. It means something. Just be open to whatever the universe sends your way. Maybe it’s Jamie, maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s just about finally making some peace with yourself.” Willow’s words are a balm, and exactly what I need to hear. Stop thinking about the past and start living in the present.
I let out a deep breath. “Thanks, Bill.”
“Anytime, Bill,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
We say our goodbyes, and there’s a scuffle over my shoulder as I pull the phone from my ear. I turn and follow the sound.
It’s Jamie.
THE SOFT GLOW OFmoonlight settles on Jamie’s skin, highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw and the tousled mess of his dark hair. My breath catches in my throat. He lifts his hand in a small wave. He’s wearing a faded T-shirt and shorts, and I notice his feet are clad in a pair of old hiking boots. I wonder if he’s been out on one of those evening cultural walking tours he was so excited about back when we were planning our honeymoon last year. The thought brings a bittersweet ache to my chest, a reminder of all the shared dreams we once had. But then I see the expression on his face—curious, and even a little hopeful. And that flicker of hope in his eyes is enough to rekindle my own.
Did he overhear my words to Willow?I don’t think I ever got over Jamie.
Is it possible he feels the same way?
I give a gentle wave back, and Jamie’s lips quirk up in a small smile.
A gust of wind lifts his hair, and the hem of my dress is also sent fluttering. The wind has steadily been picking up over the course of the evening. What was just a light breeze earlier this afternoon has turned into the start of a full-blown storm.
Without saying a word, Jamie starts to walk down the stone steps that lead from the main lawn down to the sand. Even in the dark, I can see a slight sparkle in his warm brown eyes. With each step he takes, my heart starts to beat faster.
Maybe this is our moment. The universe, the approaching full moon, the melodic sounds of some new pop band blaring through someone’s portable speakers farther down the beach—all of them guiding Jamie to me so we can finally make things right between us. Maybe this is the second chance we both deserve.
And then—the moment is broken by someone shouting from the distance. “Sybil!”
19
ITURN AT THE SOUND OF MY NAME AND SEE ONE OF THEHALIAFALLSPolaris ATVs rumbling along the edge of the beach, through the darkness.What the…
Then the ATV passes one of the ground lights along the path from the resort to the beach, and I see that it’s Sebastian at the wheel. He parks and hops out.
I wave to Seb, confused as to what the hell he’s doing here, then look back to Jamie, who has frozen on the last step. But he hasn’t walked away, which is something. At least, that’s what I’m willing myself to believe.
“Sybil, I’m so glad you’re still up!” Seb is now standing at my elbow, a little out of breath. “You gotta come see these waves. This storm’s supposed to be a good one. Passing offshore, but the photos will be incredible.”
“What?” I stare at his happy, smiling face, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. “You’re taking photos in the middle of the night?”
“No, silly!” he says, giving me a nudge. “I’m going to get some shots at sunrise. The waves are going to be even better at this place called the Secret Cove a couple hours south, and I gotta get there before dawn to set up. It’s going to be absolutely stunning.”
“Secret Cove? Wait, you’re planning to drive to a different beacha couple hours awayin a—is that astolenPolaris from the resort?”
“Borrowed,” Seb answers with an easy shrug. “And it’s not two hours if I off-road it. Literally only an hour, if I’m reading the map right,” he answers, like this is perfectly sane logic. “You wanna come? A little less reckless than borrowing a boat, right? What do you think?”
“I think it’s an incredibly stupid idea.”
Seb and I both whip our heads over to the stone staircase. Jamie’s arms are folded across his chest, the muscle in his jaw twitching.
“Oh, hey, man.” Seb says. “Didn’t realize you were standing there.” There’s nothing outright hostile in Seb’s tone, but I can feel the tension radiating off his body.
“The resort won’t allow that. And I wouldn’t recommend it anyway in a vehicle like that, in bad weather,” Jamie says stiffly.
“Well, that’s why we won’t tell them.” Seb gives an exaggerated wink but it’s not playful—it’s annoyed. “No one likes a narc, Jamie.” He turns back to me, with the eagerness of a child who can’t wait to open his Christmas presents. “So, what do you say, Sybs?”
“Oh, well…” I look out to the water, and then along the narrow strip of beach, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. The waves are picking up, crashing against the shore with more force than I’ve seen so far this trip. This supposedstorm hasn’t hit yet, but I can feel the uptick in the wind, and a heavy moisture in the air. I’m sure Seb could get some really amazing shots of these waves from right where we’re standing if he just waits a few hours, and the idea of taking a little unprotected ATV out over the dunes in this weather seems like a very bad idea. Even as I think it, a light drizzle is starting to frizz my hair, and there’s a charged energy in the air that suggests an oncoming thunderstorm.
Or maybe that’s just the crackling animosity between the two men standing before me.
