by Avery Aster
“We…well, I…pretended to—”
“I know what you did,” she snapped. She turned away from him, and Malcolm gave her a minute to compose herself and figure out what she needed to say. He waited patiently and finally she turned again. “When?”
“What?”
“When,” she repeated. “When did you do it? Did you and I ever…”
“No.” He took a step forward but froze when he saw her tense. “I only did it because Marcus needed…he…” There was no excuse valid enough for what he’d done and he knew it.
“Tell me when.” Kylie sank to the edge of a lounge chair and pulled her t-shirt down over her knees. She wrapped her arms around herself. “I need to know when.”
“Once was early on. You’d only been dating for a few months and Marcus promised he’d take you to the premiere of the play at the—”
“High school.” She nodded. “A Midsummer’s Night Dream. I remember.” He couldn’t be sure, but thought he saw her mouth turn up into a smile. “I remember wanting to see it and then afterward I was so impressed with how Marcus really paid attention to the show and understood the depth behind Titania. I guess I didn’t think he had it in him to be that culturally deep.” She laughed, but it wasn’t her normal carefree sound. “I guess I was right after all. He didn’t have it in him.”
Malcolm let the silence between them grow as Kylie digested what she’d just learned. “What was the other time?” she asked after a moment.
This was the time Malcolm was most worried about telling her about. But if he was right, she’d already guessed it for herself. “Your anniversary,” he said quietly.
She didn’t react the way he thought she would. He’d expected tears and anger. Instead she was quiet. She looked down and dug her toes into the sand. Perhaps it was the calm before the storm? He didn’t know. When a few minutes had passed and she still hadn’t said anything, Malcolm took another step toward her and crouched in the sand in front of her. “Kylie? Say something. Please.”
CHAPTER 9
Kylie’s mind raced to process everything he’d just told her. He’d not only lied to her: he’d pretended to be someone else. Someone she thought she’d loved. And on their anniversary. On the most special night she’d shared with Marcus. Or…Malcolm. She couldn’t keep up. It was Malcolm she’d cuddled with on the couch that night. Malcolm who rubbed circles on her back, who sat up late and talked with her about her dreams and hopes for the future. Of course. That’s how he’d known about the island and her dreams to one day do all the things they’d just spent the last few days doing.
She was so stupid. How could she have been so blind? But she hadn’t been blind. She’d always known. Hadn’t she? Of course it was Malcolm. It couldn’t have been any other.
“I’m such an idiot.” She spoke the words softly, whispered them to her feet, but Malcolm heard her and caught her chin in his hand. He lifted it so she couldn’t help but look at him. The gesture was intimate and Kylie desperately wanted to sink into it, but she held herself back, armoring herself against more truths.
“Being there with you that night, I would have given anything for you to know it was me and not my brother. He didn’t deserve you and I…I loved you.”
His words resonated through her entire body. He loved her? Back then? When she was with Marcus? It didn’t make any sense. Yet, at the same time, it did.
She suddenly needed space from him and his touch.
“Kylie.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” She needed to know. She wanted to trust in him, she had trusted in him and more importantly, her feelings for him. But she needed to know the truth. “If I hadn’t have heard you on the phone, would you have said anything, or would you have gone on forever, letting me believe that one of the best, most tender nights of my life was a total sham?”
“Of course. I wanted to tell you everything. But I needed to wait. This.” He gestured between them. “Us. It was still so new. I didn’t want to distract you from what was happening between us.”
She nodded but she wasn’t sure she understood. Kylie wanted to believe so. She wanted desperately to think that Malcolm would have done the right thing. Slowly her eyes looked up and met his. She could see the pain and worry reflected there, and no doubt it mirrored what he saw in her eyes.
“I need to think.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
Kylie stopped. The question pierced her heart. No. She didn’t want him to leave. Over the last few days of being with Malcolm, she wanted nothing more than to continue to be with him. But he’d lied to her and she’d been there once before, with his twin brother. It had taken her a long time to recover from Marcus’s lies and the hurt they’d caused. Could she do it again? Did she want to?
Slowly, Kylie turned around again. This time, tears slid down her face. “No,” she answered honestly. “I don’t want you to leave. But I do need some time to think.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she walked back inside, pulled on a pair of shorts and left out the front door.
She didn’t know where she was going, or how she’d get there, but when she stepped outside, a golf cart with Brad, the driver she hadn’t seen in a few days, was mysteriously waiting for her. The island knows what you need. Kylie shook her head. If the island really knew what she needed, she wouldn’t be running away from the man she was falling in love with. The man she was now pretty sure she’d always loved.
* * *
Kylie didn’t tell Brad where to take her; she simply sat back, closed her eyes and did her best to let her mind go blank as the golf cart wound its way up the island paths. When it finally came to a stop, Kylie opened her eyes to see that they were at the castle.
“Ms. Wilson, I thought you might like a drink and just up these stairs is one of the best bars on the island. I recommend you try an Eden Escape. They’re a specialty.”
Kylie nodded and accepted his help out of the golf cart. “Thank you. I could use a drink.”
“I’ll be here when you’re ready to return.”
She forced a smile she didn’t feel and made her way up the windy castle stairs. To her relief, there weren’t many people in the bar area, and those who were there, were mostly seated at private tables on the veranda. Kylie selected a stone table near the balcony and a waitress appeared and took her order before she even had a chance to sit down. Kylie took her driver’s advice and ordered an Eden Escape and sat looking out over the inky ocean. The waves crashed on the rocks far below, but it seemed like the beach was miles away. Kylie had the distinct feeling that she was sitting at a castle in the clouds. Far enough away from her troubles to give her the distance she needed.
“Hey. I’m glad to see you again.”
Kylie looked up to see Jenna, her dark hair falling around her shoulders in a silky wave. She looked a lot different from the last time Kylie had seen her on the dive boat, and she was a welcome distraction. “Hi, it’s good to see you.”
“Do you mind if I join you? I’ve been carrying this around for days, hoping to see you. Where have you been hiding?” Kylie waved to the seat across from her. Jenna sat and placed the gilded hand mirror artifact that Kylie had recovered from the shipwreck on the table between them.
“Oh, I forgot all about this.” Kylie picked it up and turned it over in her hands. After their near accident diving, Kylie had forgotten all about the artifact, focused totally on Malcolm and their time together.
“I took the liberty of cleaning it up a little bit for you.” The waitress arrived and delivered Kylie’s drink. Jenna ordered one for herself and the waitress disappeared again. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” Kylie turned it so she looked in the mirror. There were a few salt water spots along the edges of the frame, but all in all, the artifact had cleaned up beautifully. “It’s gorgeous. Thank you.”
“No problem. Like I said, I’m glad I found you again. You guys have been hiding out down in that bungalow. Not that I blame
you. I think if I had the chance, I’d take Caine and run off to our very own little beach bungalow, too. And that boyfriend of yours is—”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Oh. I just assumed. I mean, you look so good together and he obviously loves you, and…I’ve probably said too much. You can tell me to shut up.”
“No.” Kylie waved away her new friend’s objections. “It’s okay. I really just don’t want to talk about it right now.” She flipped the mirror over again and ran her fingers across the back. She traced the initials of K&M with her index finger. “Tell me about the shipwreck. You said there were lovers on board. It’s so tragic what happened to them, I…” Kylie trailed off. Her story didn’t have the happy-ever-after ending, either. But it didn’t have to be that way. She could change it.
“I don’t think it’s tragic.” Jenna’s drink had arrived and she took a long sip. “I love these things, but they will knock you on your ass if you aren’t careful.” She swirled the straw around in her fingers. “But Kevin and Michelle, I think it’s a perfectly happy love story. I mean, they got their happily ever after, didn’t they?”
“They died.”
“Did they?”
“But you said…”
“I said their ship crashed on the reef and their families grieved. But I didn’t say they died.”
Kylie thought about it for a minute. “Then, what happened to them? I mean, if they survived the wreck, where did they go?”
“Some say they swam ashore to this island and lived out their days in the sun. Other reports are that they were rescued and taken back to the mainland, where they changed their names and started a family. Either way, they were together. That’s not so tragic, is it?”
Kylie let it sink in and she smiled as she thought of these unknown lovers living as castaways on such a beautiful island. “No,” she said after a minute. “It’s not tragic at all.” Maybe there was hope for her and Malcolm. Just because the story wasn’t going to go the way she expected it to, didn’t mean a happy ending couldn’t be written for them as well. Especially if she wanted it.
“How come you’ve never found the artifacts before?” Kylie asked, the question coming to her suddenly. “I mean, you dive on the wreck all the time. Have you ever found any yourself?”
Jenna’s smile was slow and mysterious. “Of course. But my artifacts were those of a friar, not young lovers.”
“What? That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Doesn’t it?” Jenna took another sip of her drink. “The island gives you exactly what you need. For me, it was a shipwreck with valuable religious artifacts. Or at least, I needed to think they were. But for you, the story is different.”
Kylie shook her head. The drink must be getting to her. None of what Jenna said made sense. Except, it did. The island was about fantasy and fulfilling her needs. She nodded and traced her finger over the initials again. The initials that she just realized were the same as hers and Malcolm’s. “Okay,” she said slowly. “So for me, I needed to know that love could exist, that…”
“That maybe there’s more to your own happily ever after than you thought? And things aren’t quite what they seem to be. Sometimes things are worth a second glance.”
A second glance? It was true, Kylie thought, as she turned over the mirror and gazed at her reflection. Things with Malcolm were definitely not what she’d thought. None of it was. She’d thought she was coming to the island to meet Marcus. That he was finally going to stay true to his promise to her, to give her forever. But it wasn’t his promise. It never had been. It had been Malcolm’s. He’d promised her tropical islands, beaches as white as the snow and…he’d promised her forever. Maybe Jenna was right? Maybe it was time for second glances?
Malcolm. It had always been Malcolm.
“Pardon me for saying so, but it looks like whatever it is, you’ve figured it out.” Jenna’s smile was warm and when she lifted her drink in toast, Kylie laughed and clinked glasses with her.
“I can’t be sure, but I think I may have done just that.”
CHAPTER 10
Kylie finished her drink with Jenna, with promises to see her again before she went home. They hugged and with one more reminder from Jenna to trust in the island to deliver exactly what Kylie needed, they said their goodbyes.
She felt better and things definitely made more sense, but Kylie wasn’t ready to go back to the bungalow. She still needed more time to think things over. And she still had one more very important question.
Over two years had passed while Kylie mourned the end of her relationship with Marcus. And she had mourned. She’d been devastated when he took off to pursue his dream without so much as a backwards glance. But why had it bothered her so deeply?
“Can you please take me to the beach?” she asked Brad, who, as promised, was waiting for her return. “I want to be able to walk back to my bungalow.”
“No problem, Ms. Wilson.” He helped her into the back and she stared out into the dark landscape as it blurred past them. Once her driver let her out and pointed in the direction of her bungalow, Kylie walked to the water’s edge and let the water wash over her feet as she made her way slowly down the beach.
She knew why she’d been so devastated when Marcus left. It was because of their anniversary and the night they’d shared together. The night that it turned out Malcolm pretended to be Marcus. Until that night, and that moment between them, she had convinced herself their relationship was over. If she was honest with herself, she had never really seen a future with Marcus. He was too fun loving and free. He didn’t have the maturity to see beyond himself and care about what his partner might want. Things between them were never meant to last forever. And she knew it.
At least until their anniversary date. After that, everything had changed, which is why when Marcus took off only a few weeks later, it left a hole in her heart.
As she sat with him on the couch in front of the roaring fire, it had been the first time they’d talked. Really talked. About things that mattered. The future, her dreams, what that would look like. Usually their relationship was based on the physical. Every time they were together, it quickly turned into sex and there was no denying that they shared a physical connection. But that was it. Their anniversary had been the first time Kylie had ever felt truly cared for. He’d held her, not turning directly to the physical but instead it had been nice. More than nice. And the one kiss they shared as the fire died in the hearth had been different too. Sweeter, yet loaded with a passion she’d never felt before. It had lit her up in a way she’d never experienced before and hadn’t since. Except for the past week, on the island with Malcolm.
She let that thought sink in for a moment as she slowly dragged her feet through the gentle surf. It had been Malcolm who’d kissed her that way. Malcolm who’d held her while he listened to her dreams and they spoke of the future.
The faint glow of the bungalow appeared in the distance and Kylie picked up her pace as all the pieces fell into place. Everything had changed that night because it hadn’t been Marcus at all. It had been Malcolm. She’d fallen in love with Malcolm. Kylie broke into a jog. It was taking too long to get to him.
Kylie slowed to a walk as the bungalow came into view. She tried to control her breath, but she couldn’t be sure whether it was the run, or the anticipation of seeing him after her realization that caused her breath to hitch in her throat.
Malcolm sat in the sand on the beach and when he saw her, he stood and faced her. Even from the distance, he made her heart speed up, affected her in a way that his identical twin never did.
* * *
“Kylie.” The relief from seeing her again overwhelmed him. Malcolm had known deep down that she wouldn’t walk away from him. Not forever. But still, when hours had passed and she hadn’t returned….well, he couldn’t help but doubt himself a little. He stepped toward her and she didn’t pull away.
She was stunning, dressed only in his oversized t-shirt and s
horts. She’d never looked sexier and the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss away all the hurt he’d caused her was strong. But he respected her too much for that. He needed to make it right.
“You said that night in front of the fire, your anniversary,” he swallowed the bad taste just even saying the words left in his mouth and continued, “you said it was the best night of your life.” She tilted her head and waited for him to continue. “It was one of the best nights of mine, too. It killed me not being able to tell you the truth. I hated keeping it from you. I never want to keep anything from you. Not ever. But that night, I’d promised Marcus and—”
“What about what you promised me?” Her voice was soft; it had an edge but it wasn’t angry. Malcolm took that as a good sign. “You promised me everything. You promised me a forever. One that included you. It was more than dreaming about tropical islands and beach getaways, Malcolm. It was our future. I wasn’t lying when I said it was the best night of my life, and that was all because of you and the way you made me feel. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged and that everything I ever wanted could come true.”
Her words caused a physical pain in his gut at the knowledge of how much pain he’d caused the woman he’d loved. “I meant all those things, Kylie. Everything I promised you, I meant it. And I mean to deliver on all of it.”
“Then why did you leave?” Her voice cracked and Malcolm reached out to her. He pulled her close, but still kept a distance between them. He needed them to get everything out. There could be no more secrets between them after tonight.
“It killed me inside to leave you. But you have to understand, we needed time. I needed you to get over Marcus. I refused to be the rebound guy. I wanted forever with you, Kylie. I still do. And I wasn’t going to risk it by being the guy you turned to to get over Marcus.”
“Don’t you get it?” Her lips turned up into a sad smile, and a tear slid down her cheek. “It wasn’t Marcus who broke my heart, Malcolm. It was you. I fell in love with you that night. I just didn’t know it yet. And when you left, it was you I missed.” She waved her arm in the air. “Of course I missed Marcus or what I thought he’d promised me. But it was you, Malcolm. It’s always been you.”