Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Brad was becoming more and more agitated. “But you’re not an invited guest! I rescinded your invitation when I broke up with you!”
Before I could point out that I actually broke up with him, a familiar voice said, “He’s with me.”
Malcolm stepped through the crowd and stood beside me. Then he scratched the cat’s ears and grinned as she started to purr.
Brad looked confused under his buttercream facial. “That doesn’t make any sense, Malcolm. How could he be here with you? Daniel and I dated for a year, and we broke up a month ago.”
Fucking hell. There it was, all spelled out. I snuck a glance at Malcolm and expected to see shock on his face, maybe even disgust. Instead, he stared Brad down and said, “I know.”
Wait…what?
I tried to make sense of those words as I turned to Malcolm. “You knew I dated Brad?” When he nodded, I asked, “Since when?”
His next sentence hit me like a ton of bricks. “I found out while we were still in San Francisco.”
21
Daniel
What the fuck!
I didn’t know what to think, or how to feel.
All I knew was that I needed to get out of this room, away from the two hundred people staring at me. I thrust the cat into Malcolm’s arms and took a step back. Then I turned and ran for the exit.
Malcolm called, “Wait!” At the same time, the whole room erupted into chaos, with everyone talking at once.
After I left the restaurant, I darted through the empty lobby and out the main door. One of the lodge’s golf carts was parked out front, so I turned on the engine and went careening down to the marina.
I had no real plan, just the overwhelming need to get off this fucking island. At the water’s edge, I abandoned the golf cart, ran out onto the dock, and looked around.
No one was here to help me, and I obviously didn’t know how to pilot any of the larger boats. But there was a little dinghy tied to the dock with the name of the lodge painted on the side. That I could manage.
All I had to do was make it to the mainland—and I reminded myself I wasn’t stealing it. Once I reached my destination, I’d call the staff and tell them where I’d left it. These boats were meant for the guests. I was just skipping the step of signing it out…and bringing it back.
I put on one of the lifejackets from a storage box on the dock and stepped into the little boat. It swayed underneath me, but I quickly found my balance. Next, I untied the mooring line and fired up the outboard motor. Making it go turned out to be a pretty straightforward process. I could do this.
As I puttered out of the marina, I heard someone yelling. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a staff member in a dark red jacket, who was waving his arms to flag me down. I yelled, “I’m just borrowing it,” and kept going.
The mainland didn’t look like it was all that far. I knew the approximate route the ferry took because I’d seen it several times this week, and I also knew there was a small town at the ferry terminal. Once I got there, I’d figure out how to get myself home. As for my luggage, I could probably have the lodge ship it to me—or they could throw it out. I didn’t even care at this point.
The ferry to the mainland took about ten or fifteen minutes, so I assumed my little boat would take twice as long. But after nearly an hour, the shoreline didn’t seem like it was much closer. Also, the sun was starting to set. I didn’t love that.
Suddenly, the engine sputtered and died. I tried restarting it several times, but after a while I figured out I’d run out of gas. I pushed down the puffy, orange life jacket, which kept riding up around my chin, and checked my phone. Needless to say, I didn’t have service out here.
I was totally fucked.
This was such a classic Daniel move. I’d let my emotions get the better of me, and then I’d barreled ahead without thinking anything through.
That was exactly what I’d done with Malcolm. I’d been furious and hurt because of what Brad had done to me, so I came up with this sketchy plan for revenge. It never even occurred to me that Malcolm and I might click, or that real feelings might end up becoming involved.
When would I learn? Being impulsive and ruled by emotion got me nowhere. Actually, it got me into a tiny fucking boat in the middle of a very large body of water, with the sun going down and no hope of rescue.
It also got me into this huge mess with Malcolm.