Molly (Perfect Match Book 3)

by Julie Jarnagin

  As soon as she saw him, she gave him a hug. “Sorry to bother you while you’re working.”

  “You’re definitely not bothering me. Can I get you a drink or something to eat?”

  “No, thanks. I just wanted to tell you that I talked to my boss. She’s thrilled with everything I’ve been doing and my ideas for the article.” Her words poured out. “She said that if things keep going like this, the job is as good as mine.”

  He faked a smile. “That’s amazing.” He really was happy for her, but it was confirmation that she would be going back to her own life soon.

  “I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to help me. You have no idea how much this means to me. This is what I’ve been working for since I was in college.”

  Over her shoulder, Cameron gave him a thumbs-up, and Sean’s heart dropped like an anvil on his chest.

  Chapter Nine

  Molly paced as she waited for Sean in front of the crumbling old lighthouse. Away from the main tourist area and without a soul on the rocky beach, it was quiet here. She’d gotten great news from her editor. Everything had gone better than she could have ever wished for, but her time on the island was coming to an end.

  She’d known Sean for less than a week, but the thought of going home, even if she was going back to her dream job, filled her with dread. On the surface, this travel dating site idea sounded inventive and unique, but she’d discovered that instead, it was cruel. It had only set her up for heartache. She was falling hard for Sean, but in two days, she’d go back to New York. After what she’d gone through with Cody and Blair, she didn’t know if her heart could endure another long-distance relationship.

  She could hear Sean’s scooter as it approached. He’d changed out of his Hawaiian work shirt into a white T-shirt and flip flops. After he parked and walked up the stone steps, he pulled her into a bear hug. She loved his hugs, and she would miss them. She rested her head on his shoulder, relishing the feel of his arms around her.

  He pulled back from her. “What are we going to do today?”

  “Whatever you want. Surprise me.” As long as she was with Sean, she’d be happy. She held her phone out to him. “But first…I hate to ask you this.” Especially since their time together was limited. “But will you take a video of me?” She bit her lip.

  He took the phone. “Of course. What kind of video?”

  She shook her head, feeling embarrassed. His kindness was only making things harder. “My editor is making me do this. She wants me to say something to the readers.” She rolled her eyes. “Since people are enjoying the photos, so she keeps asking for more.”

  “Sit on that rock there, so that I can get the waves in the background.

  She smiled. “That’s a great idea.” She squeezed his hand. “Thank you for doing this.”

  He watched her through the screen of her phone as she spoke. “Hello, Gloss and Glitter readers. Greetings from paradise. It has been so fun to share my journey into online dating with you. This week has been full of surprises for me. In the next issue, I look forward to sharing more about my week and let you know how things turned out for me and the mystery man. Don’t miss it.”

  He stopped the video and then held the phone up again. “How about another video? Maybe an interview?”

  “An interview, huh? What kind of questions do you have for me?”

  “So, Molly, tell me, what’s it like dating someone you’ve just met?”

  She cocked her head. “Let’s see. Do you mean before or after I had to beg you to go out with me?”

  He laughed. “You didn’t have to beg, but you did think I was just your surf instructor not your date.”

  She scrunched up her face. “Fair. Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay. I liked you from the moment I saw you.”

  Her stomach fluttered. “I liked you too.”

  She took the phone from Sean and turned it toward him. He spread his fingers and held his palm in front of his face. “Hang on. We agreed no photos. That included videos.”

  “This is just for fun. I’m not going to post it anywhere.”

  Instead of lowering his hand, he grabbed at the phone, but she pulled it away just in time.

  “Trust me. No one will find out you’re Teddy Thomas. You got to ask your questions. Now it’s my turn.”

  He tried to glare at her, but it broke into a smile—that lazy, sexy smile that made her go weak in the knees. “What do you want to know?”

  “Scale from one to ten, how bad was my surfing?”

  “You did great.”

  She shook her head. “Lies.”

  “You should have seen some of the students I’ve had. A couple more lessons, and you’ll be a pro.”

  She slid over beside him and turned the camera on both of them. “How’s this?”

  He put an arm around her. “Much better.”

  Warmth rushed through her.

  “My turn,” he said, his voice low. “You said you would tell the readers how things turn out for us. I’m also dying to know what’s next.”

  She lowered the phone to her lap and looked at him. She was silent for a moment, searching his eyes. “For us?”

  He gave a single nod.

  “I really care about you, Sean.”

  “But we just met,” he said.

  “And I have my job in New York.”

  “And my brother and I have a good life here.”

  They both felt the chips stacking against them. They sat in silence, listening to the waves crash on the rocky shore. “What about long distance?” he finally asked.

  She shook her head and looked at her lap. “It scares me after what happened with my ex.”

  “I’m scared too, Molly. I haven’t trusted anyone in a long time.” He turned to her and held both her hands with his. “But I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”

  A smile spread across her lips.

  He took her face in her hands. “Molly, if you’ll give me a chance, I won’t mess this up. I promise.”

  It was probably crazy, but she believed this might work. Despite their past hurts and secrets, Sean and Molly might both get their chance at true, unconditional love.

  ****

  Morning light streamed through the glass door that led out to the balcony. Still in bed, Molly stretched. Her last day on the island with Sean. Yesterday had felt like a dream, but this afternoon, she would fly back home.

  She picked up her phone to see how much time she had before she was to meet Sean, but before she could notice the time, she saw that she had a dozen missed calls and messages. She sat up straight in bed. Her phone had been on silent. What could have happened last night while she’d been sleeping?

  Teddy Thomas! The first message from her coworker, Whitney, read. I can’t believe it!

  “No, no, no,” Molly said out loud. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a boa constrictor. How could Whitney know? Molly hadn’t told anyone. Maybe Whitney hadn’t spread the gossip to anyone else.

  Then, there was a message from her dad. Who is Teddy Thomas and why did some reporter call me to ask questions about the two of you? By the way, have you heard about the promotion?

  Waves of panic crashed over her. How could everyone know?

  Her fingers fumbled as she skipped the rest of the messages to open the magazine’s social media page. The first thing she saw was a thumbnail of the video she and Sean had made. Not the one of her addressing the readers, but the one where she had mentioned that Sean was Teddy Thomas.

  Fear and regret exploded in her chest. How had she done this? She’d posted the video late last night just before she’d fallen into bed. She must have mixed them up. How could she have done something so stupid? What would Sean say? He would never speak to her again. This would ruin everything for him and his brother. The privacy he’d protected all these years would be gone because of her.

  Molly’s phone vibrated in her hand, and her editor’s name glowed on the screen. She ignored the ca
ll, but a few seconds later, it started vibrating again. Elaine didn’t like to be ignored, and Molly was going to have to face this eventually. “Hello,” she said, her voice sounding weak.

  “Molly, you’re brilliant,” Elaine said. “Everyone is going crazy.”

  She paced across the little room, her stomach churning. “No, Elaine, you don’t understand—”

  “I was irritated you didn’t tell me your crafty little plan from the beginning, but now that you’ve done it—”

  “Elaine, I didn’t have a plan. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to post that.”

  “Sure, you have to say that, but I know the truth, and I respect your commitment to the magazine. And talk about getting back at that baseball player of yours. No one is talking about him and his engagement now.”

  Cody? Elaine thought she’d done this to get back at Cody? Is that what Sean would think too? Her heart ached with regret. “I feel awful.” Tears burned at her eyes. “I hurt him, and I don’t know what to do.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. “I don’t know what to say. You really have feelings for this man?”

  She sniffed. “I was falling in love with him, and I ruined it.”

  “Darling,” she scoffed. “You only met him a week ago.”

  “I know it sounds crazy. It is crazy, but I’ve ruined everything.” The video was still on the site. She had to delete it. “I have to go.”

  “Molly, don’t hang up the—”

  She hit the button to end the call and prayed Sean would find it in his heart to forgive her.

  Chapter Ten

  Sean sat on the Adirondack chair in front of the Surf Hut and waited for Molly. He couldn’t believe this would be their last time together before he took her to the airport. His chest felt heavy. If they were going to have a shot at making this last, he needed to tell her exactly how he felt about her.

  He wanted to her to know that despite the short amount of time they’d known each other, he’d fallen in love with her. The idea of trying to find the right words made his palms sweat, but he couldn’t let her leave without telling her the truth. He wasn’t used to putting his heart on the line like that. If anyone deserved the chance, it was Molly.

  He looked up, but it wasn’t Molly approaching. It was Cameron from the bar. What was he doing here? The last thing Sean wanted on his last day with Molly was company.

  Cameron spread his arms open wide. “Dude, why didn’t you tell me?”

  He stood, hoping he could get him out of here quickly. “Tell you what?”

  Cameron shook his head. “I can’t believe you were famous. No one at the bar can believe it. You should be off living on a yacht somewhere.”

  Sean stiffened. Surely, Cameron didn’t mean what he thought he meant. This had to be about something else, but the roiling in his stomach told him, it was exactly what he feared.

  “And why keep it a secret?” Cameron asked. “All those girls who worshiped you are all grown up now? If it were me, I would have a date every night of the week.”

  Sean’s gaze moved down to the sand, his mind in a fog. Cameron kept talking, but Sean couldn’t even hear the words. How did this happen? Molly wouldn’t have…would she?

  He looked up, and Molly was walking toward him, almost tripping over her own feet. When her eyes met Sean’s, she froze.

  Cameron was still talking. “There’s some video online of you and your island fling talking about it. It has like a million views.”

  “Sean, I’m so sorry.” She stepped in front of Cameron as if he weren’t there. “It was an accident. I swear. You have to believe me.”

  An accident? So, it was true. She’d posted the video. The sounds of the waves and of Cameron talking were replaced by his pulse thudding in his ears. Why? How had this happened? He couldn’t even voice the questions careening through him.

  Molly touched his arm, pulling him out of his thoughts. Sean could only look down at it, which caused her to let go and step back.

  “Uh…I’m going to give you two some privacy.” Cameron patted him on the back. “Come by the bar later. We’ll have a drink. You look like you need it.”

  When Cameron was gone, Molly took in a shaky breath. “Sean, I can’t even tell you how sorry I am. I messed up, big time. It wasn’t intentional. I thought I posted the other video.”

  He nodded his head because he wanted to believe her. This was Molly. The woman he had been about to admit that he’d fallen in love with. Somewhere in his heart, he believed she hadn’t done this on purpose, but he’d also let his guard down and gotten burned. Scorched, even. He felt a familiar wall form around his heart. “It was an accident.”

  “Yes.” He heard the desperation in her voice.

  But what about his brother. Would Jonas’s friends see it? What would they say? How long until those nosy reporters and filmmakers started snooping around and asking questions about the most painful parts of his and Jonas’s past. “I need to go.”

  “Wait. Can’t we talk about this? I leave today, Sean.”

  He had to talk to his brother before someone else told him. “Not now.”

  Her eyes were glassy with tears, but all he could think about was getting to his brother.

  ****

  Sean pulled up to the skate park on his scooter. His brother stood on top of the half pipe and squinted, looking out at him.

  Sean waved, his arm feeling heavy, as if he were moving through sludge. He still had trouble believing this was all real.

  Jonas said something to his friends and sauntered over, his shaggy hair falling in the corner of his eyes. Sean went to meet him.

  His brother wore his usual black T-shirt and shorts. “I thought you had a date today.”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  Normally, Sean would ask if he should be in trouble, but right now, they had bigger problems. “Nothing like that.” For the most part, Sean had been lucky. Jonas hadn’t hit a rebellious stage. Sure, they argued about things like Jonas being a slob and the fact that he waited until the last minute to do his school work, but so far, that had been the extent of their conflicts. Jonas was a good kid.

  Sean pointed to a bench that looked out on the concrete skate park with the mountain covered in vegetation behind it. “Over here.”

  They sat down.

  Jonas squinted at him. “What’s up?”

  Not knowing where to start, Sean studied his hands. “Our secret is out.”

  He pulled his head back. “No way.”

  “There’s a video of me. Apparently, it has been viewed around a million times.”

  “Whoa.” Jonas stared at his friends rolling across the ramps.

  Sean stayed silent to give him a chance to process it.

  “How?” Jonas was a kid of few words.

  “The woman I was dating. It was an accident.” He didn’t know whether to defend Molly or tell him how hurt and disappointed he was over what had happened.

  “Was dating?”

  Sean shrugged. “I don’t know right now. How do you feel about people knowing?”

  His shoulders rose and fell as he took in a deep breath. “Kind of…relieved.”

  Relieved? “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m tired of not being able to talk to my friends about it. Tired of making stuff up when they ask about my parents.”

  Sean had no idea his brother felt that way. He should have known or, at least, should have asked. “I’m sorry. You could have told me.”

  “I knew your reasons. I knew keeping it secret was what you wanted.”

  He’d thought he was protecting his brother when his brother had actually been trying to protect him. But in the end, Sean had been doing what he thought was best for Jonas…for both of them. “You don’t know how crazy it can get. Reporters showing up to our place. People taking our pictures when we don’t know they’re there. A lot of people having opinions about Dad and about our lives. Being in the
public eye gets weird.”

  “I’m not a kid anymore. I’m fifteen. I can handle it.”

  Sean couldn’t help the smile. Jonas thought he knew it all just like Sean had when he was that age. Jonas would learn that life was more complicated than he thought, but Sean trusted that Jonas had a good head on his shoulders. “You’re right. You’ll be able to handle it. Just know that I’ve got your back no matter what.”

  Jonas groaned. “I know. You tell me that all the time.” He looked at him. In his smile was the appreciation Jonas rarely voiced. “What about this girl you’re supposed to be dating?”

  “Molly.” He stared out at the horizon. “I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

  “Why not?”

  “She leaves for New York City later today.”

  “You have a phone. You can afford a plane ticket.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Even though no one would know it with that old scooter you drive around.”

  It wasn’t that simple. For the first time, he’d trusted someone, and this is what had happened. Accident or not, he wasn’t sure he could give away that kind of trust again. Maybe, they were better off on their own. “I don’t know.”

  “You said it was an accident? Or maybe she told you that, but you don’t believe her.”

  He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I do, but it’s complicated.”

  He shook his head, looking disappointed. “Okay. Whatever.”

  “What?”

  “It’s nothing. I liked her, and you were less grouchy this week.”

  He put a hand on his shoulder. “Good to know.” He and his brother were going to be okay.

  Chapter Eleven

  Molly carried a box from her old cubicle to her new office. It wasn’t much bigger than the cubicle, but it had a door and a window where she could look down to the street below. It was everything she’d wanted, but today she felt hollow inside.

  She set the box on her desk and took out the piece of sea glass Sean had given her the first night he’d kissed her. What was Sean doing right now? Teaching a surf lesson? She looked out the window. It was gloomy and cloudy here.