I nod, and for a moment I wonder if all of this is the result of some kind of temporary insanity on my part. A new place, new clothes, staying with a man who one week ago was a perfect stranger.
And then I think about the late-night conversations. The shared moments of silence, waves lapping at our ankles as we walk with Marshall along the ocean. The light in Ryan’s eyes when he shares details of his love for nature. The way he looksat me when I speak, and makes me feel like I don’t need to be anyone but myself. The look on his face when we were making love.
It was as real as the ocean.
Jack lets out a rough exhale. “How did—” He stops and puts a hand up. “I don’t even want to know.” He shakes his head. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Clearly you’re fine.”
AmI fine? Yes. I’m more than fine. But I’m going to spare Jack those details. “Thank you for checking on me,” is all I say. “I’ll be back next week to get my things. I’ll return the ring and the necklace.”
Jack appears visibly relieved at that. Clearly, that was a chief source of his mother’s consternation. Possibly even the reason that he came looking for me.
“And I’m sorry,” I say. I mean it.
Jack starts to walk away, and I take a deep, centering breath. Across the street, his silver Audi glints beneath the fading light. “Nice sandals,” he calls back to me, and I can’t help but smile.
The sky is darkening when I return to the party. All I want is to find Ryan, to be by his side again. I’ve never been more certain of anything. I spot his cousin Ariana near the bar. “Have you seen Ryan? I ask.
“I think he left,” Ariana says. “I thought you’d gone with him.”
Suddenly the certainty I’d just been standing in evaporates. Is he upset that Jack was here? Surely he knows it’s over between us. And that I wouldn’t have slept with him if it weren’t.
I open my purse and go to take out my phone to call and see where he is, then I stop. I know where to find him. But there’s something I need to get first.
I place my phone back in my purse, and my hand brushes against something cool. It’s the stone I bought at The Water Witch.
Transformation.I clutch it in my hand.
Over the past week, my life has veered in a whole new direction in a way that’s equal parts scary and exhilarating.
The thing is, I don’t think I’ve become someone new.
I’m becoming who I’m meant to be.
Chapter 9
RYAN
Marshall’s tail starts wagging the second I step through the door, but the hopeful look in his eyes fades almost immediately.
No Sloane.
“Come here buddy,” I say, clipping on his leash. A quick walk, then I’ll head back to the wedding and find her. Part of me had wondered if I should stick around while she talked to Jack, but they both deserved the chance to say whatever needed saying.
I would have thought seeing the man that Sloane had nearly married would stir up something primal in me. Jealously. Possessiveness. The urge to remind him exactly who she was leaving with.
Instead, all I can think is that she deserves closure.
If what’s happening between us is as real as it feels, then she deserved to walk into it with both feet.
What comes after is still a question mark, but for the first time in a long time, I don’t mind not having all the answers.
Before taking Marshall outside, I send Sloane a quick text.Just checking in. No rush.
I don’t want her wondering where I went.
The beach feels strangely quiet without her. Marshall trots ahead while the waves roll onto the shore and retreat again, andfor the first time all week, the coastline feels emptier than it should.
Maybe we’ll walk here again tonight.
