I hit the Unlock button. Dayton opens his door to load her bags into the trunk.
“Get in. I got this,” he tells her.
“Thank you!” She climbs into the seat behind me to escape the rain, reaching forward to grasp my fingers tightly. “Ah, I’m so happy to see you!”
I squeeze her hand back. “Me too! It’s been too long.”
Axel walks up then, tossing his bag in the back, where Dayton just loaded up Savannah’s. He claps him on the shoulder.
“Hey, man, thanks for picking us up.”
Dayton doesn’t say anything as he walks back to the driver’s seat. Axel has no choice but to take the seat behind Dayton’s chair, which is pushed so far back that he barely has any legroom. He makes it work. Being only five foot ten, he doesn’t have that long of legs.
“Hi, beautiful. Good to see you.” He leans forward and pecks my lips with a kiss before I have time to react.
My cheeks heat. I have no idea why the first kiss from my boyfriend in over eight months feels awkward, but it suddenly does.
And he has no idea I’m planning to break it off with him later. This sucks.
“Um, hi. Good to see you too,” I finally blurt out after an uncomfortably long pause.
I face forward before reaching back to grab my seat belt and buckle myself in. The fact that I haven’t seen him in months while grieving my mother’s death suddenly makes it all so clear to me. I didn’t miss him. Seeing him doesn’t make me feel anything at all.
Maybe I’m meant to be alone. This is the sign. Romantic love isn’tin the cards for me.
“So, Dayton, are you in town for Marg Fest?” Savannah asks as we pull out of the airport.
“No. Just here to check in on things. I might go watch.”
“Do you know anyone else coming in for the event?”
There’s a pause before he answers, “A couple of guys.”
I turn to face him. “Really? Who?”
He has one hand resting on the steering wheel, the other on the gearshift between us. Dayton was born and raised on the island. The guys he’s referring to could be people I don’t know, but I lived here for three years, and it’s a much smaller island than most people realize.
He flexes his jaw before answering. “Will Watts is one. Another one is Cal Bennett.”
I try to keep my facial expression neutral while internally screaming. Cal is the bartender at Chaos, well known all over town. Dayton punched his friend Will for asking me to the prom—I guess because he didn’t want to have to spend any time around me at his junior prom. It ultimately started our very tumultuous dynamic.
“I didn’t realize y’all were still friends.”
He keeps his eyes trained on the car in front of us. “He’s a client.”
Ahh. Money.It’s always about money with Dayton. He hated Will after that night, but since his family was wealthy, he looked past it.
“Oh, I can’t wait to meet Jack! Has he started yet?” Savannah blurts out.
I freeze, my mind scrambling for an explanation. Dayton doesn’t know I booked the mural, and as soon as he finds out, he’s going to blow a gasket. It costsomuch, pushing our already-tight budget over the edge. I even started taking on a few photography clients to try and helpcover the cost, but it’ll take me forever to earn that much money.
“Who’s Jack?” Axel asks.
“A new yoga instructor! My beachfront classes are really growing. He, uh … he’s starting soon. After Marg Fest,” I rush out, attempting to laser the message into her eyes through the rearview mirror.
She purses her lips and shakes her head at me, smirking.
“Wow, babe, I’m so proud of you. That’s badass. My buddy just signed a deal with Sony. I’m hoping to make connections there. You think we can take some photos tomorrow for my profile, Sum?”
