Aida couldn’t find Claire anywhere. And she wasn’t answering her phone or texts, so Aida took her tennis racquet, borrowed the Jeep and drove to the club. She hoped Reese would have an hour or two between his lessons so they could have lunch, but she didn’t even get the chance to talk to him. He offered her a smile and a wave when he noticed her sitting on the benches to one side, but after waiting for what seemed like forever while he continued to coach, she wandered into the restaurant and ordered a peach margarita.
As she looked at the people around her, all of whom were talking and laughing in small groups, she felt lonelier than ever. Not only was she a recent divorcée, she was sleeping with a much younger man who wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. She didn’t have a career or any children. As she’d told Claire and Marlow, she’d been thinking about opening a boutique, but she wasn’t sure she had the nerve. She’d never done anything like that before and was afraid to use the money she had in case her business didn’t succeed. What if she wound up in an even worse situation?
With a frown, she navigated to Instagram, where she found a DM from Jackie, the high school friend who’d just learned she was no longer happily married.
Sorry I missed you in Cali. I hope you’re doing well.
She didn’t know whether Jackie was being sincere or not, so she said she was fine and that she was sad they’d missed each other, even though neither was true.
Should she return to her family in North Dakota after the summer was over?
She cringed at the humiliation that would entail. She’d be the beauty queen everyone thought had made it out of their sad little town—only to return in disgrace.
Reese came into the café, but again he didn’t single her out. He just nodded to acknowledge her before going into the restroom. Even if he was more interested in her, they lived on opposite sides of the country, and she didn’t want to leave California—not to go home, not to go anywhere. Sex with the local tennis pro had proved exciting and fun, but it hadn’t been emotionally fulfilling.
She longed for something more meaningful...
What she’d had with Dutton wasn’t going to be easy to replace, she realized. Not only had she loved him, she’d admired him, she’d felt proud to be with him, she even preferred the way he made love over anyone else, including Reese, who had the body of a god. When Claire had openly admitted that she was finding it hard to get over Dutton, Aida hadn’t admitted that it wasn’t any easier for her. She wished she could go back in time and pinpoint the exact moment when he’d started to lose interest in her, so she could do something to save their marriage before it was too late.
But she’d spent a great many hours wishing that, and wishing didn’t change anything.
After Reese went back outside, she threw fifteen dollars on the table to pay for her drink as well as a tip, hiked her purse up on her shoulder and left—only to find him standing in the parking lot. It looked as though he was trying to get something out of his truck, but an elderly woman, tanned to a deep brown, dripping with diamonds and gold jewelry, and dressed in the type of skimpy tennis outfit normally seen on a much younger woman, had cornered him.
Before he could give Aida yet another passing acknowledgment, she shifted her gaze away from them, got in the Jeep and drove out of the lot to continue her search for Claire.
She was just turning into a beach she hadn’t visited before when her phone rang, and she pulled into a parking stall so she could see who it was.
Finally! Claire was getting back to her.
“Hey, where are you?” Aida asked as soon as she answered.
“I’m at Seaclusion, sitting out on the beach.”
Aida frowned at the revelers she could see through the windshield, playing in the surf, building castles in the sand or tossing around giant beach balls. The whole world seemed to be going on as if what was happening in her life held no significance. “Where have you been all day? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
There was a long pause before she said, “We need to talk, Aida. Can you come back?”
Aida immediately shifted into Reverse, gripping the steering wheel tightly as her mind went directly to Dutton. This sounded ominous. Had Claire made a decision? Was she going back to him? “Is this going to be upsetting?” she asked.
There was an even longer pause before Claire replied. “Probably.”
A storm was coming, the first major storm of the season. Walker cursed when he heard the news. With everything else going on, he didn’t want to have to worry about this. But it was his job to help keep the island safe, so he went to work midafternoon instead of waiting for his shift to begin at midnight.
According to the National Hurricane Center, what they had coming wasn’t classified as a hurricane. But that could change. Statistically, there was about a fifty-fifty chance, given that on average twelve tropical storms formed over the Atlantic every year and about half of them turned into hurricanes.
He doubted the islanders were prepared for anything major this early in the season. The city council had been disseminating the usual advice since March. He hoped everyone had been paying attention. They should’ve already checked their hurricane shutters and hooks and latches as well as fastened down any galvanized sheeting on the roof, trimmed the trees, especially around power lines, and stored extra food and water. There were other precautions, but Walker wanted to make sure they’d at least done the minimum.
The whole time he was busy mobilizing people on the island to do what they could, he was thinking about Marlow and how disappointed she must be in her father. Tiller had been such an advocate for integrity that Walker was equally shocked he’d broken his marriage vows. He hated that his mother had a hand in that—and yet, the more he thought about it, the more he could understand how it could’ve happened. After all, Rosemary had been in close proximity to Tiller for years, and she’d needed his assistance in many ways. It was natural that she’d grow to admire and appreciate him, and having a woman around who treated him as though he walked on water had to be a powerful aphrodisiac.
Walker was just entering the poorest neighborhood on the island, where he planned to do some tree trimming and roof fastening himself, if necessary, when he received a call from his brother.
“Just got off work,” Reese said. “I’m heading over to Seaclusion to move out.”
Walker parked alongside an empty lot where a bunch of kids were playing kickball. “What happened to waiting until after dark?” he asked.
“There’s no way to gauge when someone will be out and about. I might as well grab everything now.”
Walker put the transmission in Park but left the motor running so he’d have air-conditioning. “If Eileen or Marlow happens to see you, it could get ugly.”
“I doubt I’ll encounter Eileen. She rarely comes outside, even on good days.”
Walker waved; the kids in the lot had taken notice of him. “What about Marlow?”
“Hard to know what she’d say. She’s always been nice to me in the past, but that was before she knew I was her brother.”
Reese was related to Marlow—what a mind bender.
“Should I try to talk to her?” Reese asked.
“No way,” Walker said. “It’s too soon.”
“I just want to point out that she’s upset about something that happened nearly twenty-three years ago, and it doesn’t really have to change anything. I mean...it’s not like I’m a little boy and there are child support or custody issues. And there won’t be a big scandal. Tiller’s gone. I doubt the media will even care at this point. Unless we tell them, how would they find out, anyway?”
“You’re walking away with a big chunk of their money, Reese. That would upset anybody.”
A sigh came through the phone. “You’re probably right. But it feels terrible knowing they suddenly hate me through no fault of my own.”
“Hopefully, they’ll get over it.” But there was no guarantee they’d ever be willing to associate with Reese again—or Walker, for that matter. It was a given they’d never be willing to associate with Rosemary again.
Walker leaned forward to glance up at the sky. It was still a cloudless blue, so incongruous with the cyclone brewing over the ocean. “You know there’s a storm coming, right?”
“I heard about that. But it’s not expected to hit for another two days,” Reese replied. “By then it could change course and miss the island entirely—or blow itself out.”
“We have to be prepared regardless. Seaclusion is probably in good shape, but...will you check to see if they have plenty of food and water?”
“I thought you wanted me to keep a low profile,” Reese said. “Now you want me to knock and ask Marlow if she’s prepared for the storm?”
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Walker said. “I’ll rest a lot easier if I know they’re paying attention to what’s happening around them. I can’t imagine they are.”
“Thanks for being worried about me,” Reese said.
“You’re probably walking away from this a rich man. The least you can do for me is make sure the woman I love is going to be safe.”
“Whoa,” Reese said.
Walker turned off the engine but let his hand rest on the door latch. “What?”
“The woman you love.”
“Might as well admit it,” Walker said as he got out of his SUV. “I wasn’t fooling anyone, anyway.”
“And she was just starting to see you when this happened.”
“Yeah. Things were definitely looking up.”
“I’m sorry.”
Walker switched his phone to speaker so he could check his text messages. Marlow still hadn’t contacted him.
Had he lost her for good?
Probably. He didn’t see how they could come back from something like this.
Claire had no idea when Marlow might return to the guesthouse and didn’t want to run into her, so she’d asked Aida to meet her down by the beach. After all they’d been through together, she felt they needed and deserved a few minutes alone. Once she told Aida what she had to say, she’d explain the situation to Marlow, gather her stuff from the guesthouse and go.
Her phone buzzed. With a sigh, she pulled it out of her beach bag to see who was trying to reach her, in case it was Aida. But it was Dutton. Again. Hurry back, he’d texted and sent a picture of him grilling steaks for their dinner.
He wasn’t wearing anything but a pair of swim trunks. She stared at that picture for a long time. Was she making the right decision? Would she live to regret what she was about to do? Their morning together had started out feeling so strange and wrong. She’d barely been able to let him touch her. But the more time they’d spent together, the more she’d begun to remember just how happy she’d been when she was with him and the easier it became to settle right back into their old relationship. She’d never met anyone quite so charming...
She heard Aida coming up from behind and put her phone back in her bag.
Aida didn’t say hello. She wasn’t smiling, either. She looked as somber as Claire felt at having to make such a terrible decision. Taking off the sarong she was wearing on her hips, she wrapped it around her shoulders before sitting in the sand.
Claire didn’t know how to start. What should she say? I’m a terrible friend? I’ve been lying to you—and, by the way, Dutton is on the island?
“Well?” Aida asked at length. “I thought you wanted to talk.”
“I’m working up the nerve,” Claire admitted.
Aida’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why don’t you just come out with it? You’re going back to him, aren’t you?”
Once again, the fun she’d had with Dutton this morning rose in Claire’s mind. After the first half hour, it’d been like old times. They’d laughed when he unwittingly came out of the restroom with toilet paper stuck to his shoe and talked about his work and her dream of opening another yoga studio. He could easily have treated her as though what he did was so much more important, but he didn’t. He even told her he’d help her financially. And sliding her hand into his as they walked on the beach had been as comfortable and familiar as wrapping herself in her favorite old quilt.
Reconciling with him would be so easy...
But he’d been on his best behavior. She knew that. She also knew deep down that the fairy tale she was creating in her mind was too good to be true. Once he had her back, she’d wonder whenever he didn’t come home on time if he was secretly meeting up with another woman. Even worse, if she let herself take what she wanted at the cost of her friendship with Aida, she’d never be able to forgive herself. That was what she’d realized as the day progressed. As much as she loved Dutton, she was making a mistake. He was missing a sensitivity gene. Between that and his general selfishness, even though those traits only came out occasionally, she couldn’t trust that he could make her happy long-term.
“No,” she said. “I’ve decided to end it, once and for all.”
Aida blinked several times. “Are you serious?”
She nodded. “I know that letting him go is the best thing I could do. When he started calling me again, I...got confused and tried to fool myself, I guess.”
Aida pulled the sarong tighter against the wind that was beginning to ruffle her hair. “I couldn’t be more relieved,” she said, closing her eyes. “But I also feel bad. Maybe I should quit thinking only of myself and tell you to go back to him if that’s what you really want. He and I are over for good. If you two are better suited to each other, I should at least give you my blessing. So—” she drew a deep breath “—I won’t stand in the way if...if that’s what will make you happy.”
That was the sweetest thing Claire had ever heard, and it showed the difference between Aida and Dutton. Aida understood what love was all about; Dutton didn’t. “That’s so nice,” she said. “I love you to death.”
“I love you, too,” Aida responded. “I’ve told you this before, but you’re the only good thing to come out of what I’ve been through this past year.”
“We’re both better off without him,” Claire agreed. “Anyone who’d do what he’s done...that’s a red flag.”
Aida scooted closer and put her sarong around Claire’s shoulders, too, leaving her arm there as they watched the sun sink lower and lower on the horizon. But Claire knew the difficult part was still ahead. After clearing her throat, she said, “I have to tell you something else, Aida. And you’re not going to like this nearly as much.”
She felt Aida stiffen. “What is it?”
“Dutton’s on the island.”
Dropping her arm, Aida shifted so they could face each other. “What?”
Claire winced. “I know. I told him not to come, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
Aida’s mouth fell open. “When did he get here?”
Claire wished she didn’t have to go into detail. But she’d decided to be completely honest, and that meant a full confession. “He arrived while we were in Miami. He’s...he’s rented a small beach house on the other side of the island. For a week.”
“That’s where you were today,” Aida said, catching on. “That’s why I couldn’t find you.”
Claire couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “That’s true. I wasn’t shell hunting. I didn’t go to the club to meet with my boss this morning, either. I’m sorry for lying to you. After all the things we’ve had to say about Dutton and his dishonesty, I haven’t behaved any better. But—and this isn’t an excuse—it took seeing him again to make me realize that I really don’t want to be the kind of person he is.”
Aida sat quietly for a long moment. Then she said simply, “Wow.”
“I’m sorry,” Claire said again. “I hope...eventually, you’ll be able to forgive me.”
Aida reached for her hand. “We all make mistakes, Claire. I don’t hate Dutton because he made a mistake. I hate him because he doesn’t care that what he did hurt me.”
“I care,” she said. “I feel terrible about it.”
“I know. And that’s what tells me you’re a true friend.” Releasing Claire’s hand, she pulled her knees to her chest. “Have you told him what you’ve decided?”
“Not yet. He thinks I’m coming back for dinner.”
She whistled. “He’s going to freak out!”
“I know. I feel terrible about that, too. I created this problem right after you and I promised each other that we were done with him for good. But I tried to tell him not to come. He insisted, and he should take responsibility for that decision.”
“Yet he won’t.”
“Another red flag,” Claire said, “which I tried to ignore along with all the others.” If he really cared about her, he would’ve listened to her when she told him not to come to the island, that she needed more time to herself. He would’ve understood the difficult position he was putting her in. And he would’ve been more respectful of the love she had for her friends. Now that she was being more honest, not just with Aida but with herself, she could see that he’d been covering up his narcissistic behavior with excuses designed to disarm her. I have to see you. I miss you so much. But he’d been thinking only of himself.
“He’s used to getting what he wants.”
Claire tucked the loose strands of hair falling from her messy bun behind her ears. “That’s true. He knows how to go about it. Still, I feel bad that it took me so long to realize what I was doing. It didn’t occur to me—not fully—until I returned to Seaclusion an hour ago. When I walked into the guesthouse and you and Marlow were both gone, I tried to imagine my life without you and knew that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go.”
“You chose us.”
“I did. But I can’t imagine you’ll want to spend the rest of the summer with me after...after what I’ve done. And I can’t blame you. I’ll pack my things and leave as soon as I can make the arrangements.” She grabbed her bag and stood up, but Aida caught her hand again.
“Wait.”
Claire shifted her bag higher on her shoulder.
“Don’t leave the island,” Aida said. “The summer wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Even after what I’ve done?” Claire asked.
“Of course! I’m not happy you lied to me. But neither one of us is perfect. We’re not always going to get it right, but we do what we can to fix our mistakes and move on. The problem with Dutton is that he wants to blame everyone else for his mistakes.”
Relief swept through Claire, as well as gratitude for Aida’s willingness to forgive her. “Thank you. Dutton’s missing out, because there’s no one like you,” she said as they embraced. “And now...I was going to tell Marlow, but maybe I should wait until—”
“There’s no need to say anything to her,” Aida broke in. “She’s going through enough already. Let’s not make matters any worse.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Completely.”
“Okay. Then I’ll call Dutton and get that over with.”
Aida grimaced. “He’s not going to be happy.”
Claire bit her lip. “I hope he doesn’t act too ugly.”
Aida looked worried as they started back to the guesthouse together. “I hope so, too.”