SATURDAY. A CLOUDLESS blue sky, sun streaming through James’s window, the perfect day for the wedding of the decade.
A room that still held the presence of roses, even though he’d asked for a garbage bag at the front desk last night.
Laina looking at him in horror, stumbling away from him, hating him.
Stirring awake, James’s reality crashed over him like waves on the loneliest shore. It was the same way he’d felt on those first mornings after his mother died—disorientation followed by a moment of denial, and then the slow downward spiral into grief. The only thing that had given him comfort was knowing he’d never have to go through it again. His only parent was dead, he had no siblings and he would never marry. Even then he’d been sure of that, and it looked like he’d been right. The only woman he’d ever fallen in love with was lost to him.
But why? Why?
If he didn’t do something to work this burning, toxic frustration out of his system, he was going to lose his mind. Today was going to be near impossible to get through. He had to do his best to put on a happy face for the wedding, and he knew that seeing Laina would be pure torture. She was in the wedding party, which meant she’d be standing before him with her beauty on full display. He had to find a way to talk to her beforehand, try to get to the bottom of her fury so he could at least find out what he was dealing with.
A run, he decided—maybe that would clear his head. Swinging his feet the floor, he couldn’t help doing a quick check of his phone. He’d sent Laina a text when he got back to the room last night, but unsurprisingly, it had gone unanswered. He tapped on his messages and pulled up the one that Laina had seen from Jennifer. Just a single line, but he could understand how it could have been misconstrued. And it served him right—he had been avoiding his business partner, dreading breaking the news to her that they would no longer be building on the island’s prime spot. Not that any of it mattered if he couldn’t get the owners of Hibiscus Heights to sell. The whole thing was a mess, and if he was smart, he would just cut his losses and scrap it. But he couldn’t, and it wasn’t about the money. This was going to be his mother’s castle in the sky. He had promised it to her, and breaking that promise felt like breaking the thread that still kept them tethered together across the border of life and death.
You’re right, and I’m sorry. Call me anytime, he typed back to Jennifer. Then he yanked on his shorts and T-shirt, pocketed his phone and left for his run.
It was pure fantasy, but Laina hardly noticed. Making her way across the grounds of the estate to the main house, she missed the words Kiki and Dev spelled out in eight-foot flower-petal letters on the lawn, the towering white cake in front of a temporary waterfall. But she stopped at the head table to do a check of the place settings. She’d put in a last-minute request for she and James to be separated, and she felt a mixture of agony and relief to see that he’d been moved to the far end of the long table.
Laina’s feet weighed a thousand pounds as she made her way across the lawn. She knew her face was a puffy mess, and she’d hardly slept a wink. Just the thought of James was enough to make her certain she was going to vomit. It was going to be the longest day of her life.
When she got to the dining room, Kiki and Nicola were already gathered around a fruit platter. Through the door to the kitchen, which was bigger than Laina’s entire condo in Atlanta, she could see an army of cooks preparing the wedding feast. She held her hands up in front of her face as she came in. “Can we make a deal?” she asked her friends quickly. “And just not talk about it?”
“Are you sure?” Nicola asked.
Laina nodded. “I don’t want this day to be about me—it’s about Kiki,” she said, giving her best friend a brave smile.
Kiki waved a pineapple slice at her dismissively. “Please—this whole princess-for-a-day thing is already giving me hives. Everyone keeps telling me to enjoy it, that as soon as I become a mother I won’t have a minute to myself. But you know what? I’m okay with that. I’ve done me for long enough now.” She placed a croissant on a plate and slid it toward Laina. “Eat something.”
As Laina looked down at the pastry with distaste, Nicola laughed. “This reminds me of when I was going through all that stuff with Alex. Kiki kept trying to force food down my throat, but I was so upset I couldn’t eat a thing.”
“I’m like that too,” Laina said.
“I think you might be like me in more ways than that.”
“What do you mean?” Laina asked with a raised eyebrow.
Nicola shrugged. “Just that my triggers were buried in my insecurities. When I met Alex, I was really trying to protect myself from getting hurt, so it’s almost like I was looking for an excuse to send him packing. So when I heard something questionable about him, I jumped all over it before I even knew what the full story was.” She paused, fixing her aquamarine eyes on Laina. “Do you know what James’s full story is?”
“I don’t need to know,” Laina said, raising her chin. “It’s obvious he was using me.”
“How can you be sure he knew your connection to this estate?”
“Because it’s easy to find out! He even admitted he Googled me, and I let it slip a couple of times—”
“What if he wasn’t looking for that? What if he actually has no idea?”
“As if! He’s, like, this cutthroat developer. His projects are worth billions—someone doesn’t get to a place like that without stepping on a few heads.”
“Maybe you should ask him about the pelicans,” Kiki cut in, smearing butter on her croissant.
Laina stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
“The pelicans. Just ask him.” She glanced at her watch and picked up her plate. “Now, I really do have to get ready. Nicola, would you mind?” She gave Laina a wink. “Take a moment. Join us when you’re ready.”
Laina watched them retreat upstairs to the bedrooms, and then she looked around the room. She’d been so engrossed in her misery that she’d forgotten to stress out about entering this house for the first time in years. Trailing her hand along the mahogany table, she thought about all the dinners she’d had with her family over the years. Everything had always been so perfect, from the formally laid table to the centerpiece of cut flowers, a fresh bouquet each day. There was the staff who waited on them hand and foot, and the pleasant and supportive dinner conversation. Never any conflict. Even behind her parents’ closed bedroom door, Laina had never heard a raised voice, even if she knew it wasn’t possible that her parents never fought with each other or with their children. It was a kind of perfection that was intimidating, sure to make her feel like a failure when she felt emotions of her own that she couldn’t contain. She remembered wanting to scream and curse sometimes, but even imagining her parents’ reaction was enough to stop her. Laina hated conflict, so she’d separated herself from them. And now here she was again, avoiding conflict instead of demanding an explanation from James.
But if he was who she was certain he had to be, he didn’t deserve that chance.
Completing his route from the beach back to The Palms, James headed for the main road through the island, his breath labored as his feet pounded the dirt. He’d been jogging for nearly half an hour, but he didn’t feel any better. The perfect weather and postcard view hadn’t budged his mood. The music coming from his earbuds couldn’t even distract him; annoyed, he ripped them from his ears and shoved them in his pocket as he ran.
Laina. He was so miserable that he’d lost her, and now he’d have to see her again in just one short hour. Nothing would ever be the same again. Even though they lived in separate cities, every single day for God knew how long, he would be searching crowds for her face. Looking at diners in restaurants, people on park benches, women browsing in shops. Since they had Kiki in common, he’d get news of her every now and then whether he wanted it or not. One day his cousin might even tell him that Laina had a new boyfriend—or worse. The thought was nearly enough to make him dry heave.
This is pointless, James thought. Stopping suddenly in his tracks, he leaned forward onto his knees, breathing heavily. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stood up again and started walking in a circle to cool down. That’s when he noticed two men in the distance behind him. They were running side by side, but their eyes were on him. He stood solid as they approached, and then he suppressed a groan when their faces came into focus. One of them was Ward—just what he really did not need right now. James prayed he’d pass by him, but no such luck.
“Glad I caught up with you,” Ward said as he pulled up in front of him and stopped with his buddy in tow. “Seems running’s more your speed than horseback riding.”
“I guess I prefer to carry my own weight.”
“Good for you,” Ward replied with an artificial smile. “Then I guess Laina is the perfect girl for you.”
James’s face darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ignoring the question, Ward gazed out at the ocean. “Wow. This place is paradise, isn’t it?” Stretching his arms back and forth to show off his biceps, he switched his gaze to James. “Look, I’ve been getting the vibe you’re not my number one fan, so I just wanted to set the record straight. I’m not sure what Laina’s told you about me, but I’m guessing it wasn’t flattering.”
James arranged his features into a puzzled expression. “Actually, she’s hardly mentioned you.”
“Is that right?” Ward said, and then shrugged. “Hey, man, you know what? I was just trying to save you a little pain. But if you’re not interested—”
James clenched his fists. “That’s pretty funny, considering the amount of pain you caused her.”
Ward took a step closer to him. “She misrepresented herself, man. That kind of shit ain’t okay. I found out and broke up with her, that’s all.”
James felt a hit to his gut. Misrepresented? “What are you talking about?”
“So she suckered you in too, huh?” Ward shook his head and exchanged a look with his buddy. “You know she only stays in that cottage because her parents let her.”
James’s mind raced. That cottage? He hadn’t even seen where Laina was staying. The one time he’d asked, she’d told him she was in a guest cottage, and he hadn’t thought anything of it—they were all over the island. But come to think of it, she had refused all of his offers to go anywhere near it.
James threw his hands out. “Okay, you got me. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Inform me.”
“For realsies?”
God, but he was annoying—like a ten-year-old who’d connived himself into a man’s body.
“For realsies,” James agreed, patronizing him.
Ward heaved a great sigh, as if he were dealing with a slow child. “The estate? The one her gazillionaire family owns? Don’t let her tell you she stands to inherit—”
James stared at him. “Estate? What estate?”
“Seriously?” Ward looked genuinely shocked. “Where the wedding’s being held. It belongs to her family. The Reinhards?”
Reinhard. James knew that name. It finally clicked: they were like Atlanta royalty. But that wasn’t all, he realized. When James had put his offers in to the three Moretta properties, only Hibiscus Heights had declined. The name on that contract, the very people he was still trying to convince to sell to him, was Reinhard.
Holy shit.
“Reinhard. The estate that wouldn’t sell,” James said to himself as two and two finally came together.
But Ward wasn’t finished. “That whole changing her last name thing is just an attention grabber, if you ask me. It took her about ten minutes to tell me who she really was. What she conveniently left out was that she renounced any claim to her parents’ estate years ago. Not just the house here, but all of it. So, yeah—no money on that train. Kind of need-to-know information if you’re planning on marrying someone, don’t you think?”
James turned away from Ward’s smirking face to keep from punching a hole through it. His ears were ringing. It explained everything: Laina’s reticence toward her wealthy family, her reaction to him telling her he wanted to buy Hibiscus Heights, even her mysterious disappearance last night—she must have been staying in the estate’s guest cottage.
He had to talk to her.
Glancing at his watch, he calculated. Forty minutes until the ceremony started. She would be helping Kiki get ready, unable and unwilling to see him or take his call. He’d have to wait until the reception, but that was okay. He’d talk to her, explain everything, and she would see that he’d had no idea who she was.
It was all going to be okay.
Thank you, Ward Harris, you dumb asshole, he thought gleefully as he jogged toward his hotel.