by Lexy Timms
“How do I get back? I need to get back.”
She saw Ash’s eyes flicker with sadness, but she didn’t care. She was trapped on a small island with a man she didn’t know and she wanted to get back.
Get home.
The romance was over, and Ash was nothing but a liar.
“If you need to get back before tomorrow, you can take my family’s plane. There’s one stashed at the small airport on the island,” he said.
Was he serious? This man had more than one plane? Who in the world was he? All Kallie knew was he certainly wasn’t the bartending surfer she thought he was. The bartending surfer he’d painted himself to be. Kallie quickly got off the boat, leaving her stuff below deck. She didn’t want to be around him a second longer.
All she wanted was to be back in her villa.
Alone.
She followed Ash to the airport and they walked in silence. She fell a few steps behind him, not wanting to be next to him. She felt betrayed. Lied to. Like her ex had done to her before their wedding. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe deep. She wasn’t going to cry. She had to be stronger than that.
They got to the small private airport and Ash jogged over to the massive garage. Kallie shuffled on her feet as he readied the plan. She crossed her hands over her chest, bracing herself against the wind pouring over the island.
But Ash’s voice ripped her from her trance.
“Why are you so upset?”
She scoffed and turned around, finding Ash with a confused look on his face.
“Do you not like money?” Ash asked. “Because everyone likes money.”
Kallie opened her mouth, but nothing came out. How could she explain this to him? Rather, how the hell could this man not see what he’d done? He lied about who he was. Painted a false narrative, then dropped his life on her like it was nothing. How could Kallie explain to this thickheaded rich dickhole that she’d been treated like the possession of a rich man for years? That she’d been accused of being a gold digger and people around her laughed like it were a joke? Kallie had sworn off men like her ex. Rich men like James who could own the world if they dished out the right amount of money.
Did Ash really not understand that she felt betrayed? Did Ash really not understand that his allure was the fact that he was nothing like the rich men on the island?
The rich man she almost married?
No, there wasn’t a strict conversation about who he was. But Ash had given her a certain impression of himself. One he’d done nothing to correct. Ash stared down at her as the airplane came rolling out of the garage, and somehow, she found her voice.
“I rushed into this,” she said.
“What?” Ash asked.
“I’d just broken up with my fiancé. I was supposed to be married a week ago, Ash. I was left at the altar by a man who—”
Kallie closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Ash didn’t feel the need to explain himself. That was the issue with rich men. They wanted to complain about how people always wanted their money, then got upset when their rich entitlement didn’t work the way they wanted it to. Ash never felt the need to explain himself when he misled her about who he was, so she wasn’t going to explain herself to him.
“This was a vacation romance,” Kallie said. “Nothing more. And my vacation is almost done. It’s better if we call things off now and I get a couple of days to detox from it before I go back home to my life.”
“Detox,” Ash said.
“Yes.”
Kallie watched his face tighten and his eyes grow guarded. She could see he wanted to say something, but the plane fired up behind them both. She watched Ash turn on his heel and walk toward the plane, and she followed suit.
But when they both boarded, she watched him walk into the cockpit.
Ash was the one flying the plane?
Was there anything he couldn't do?
After a short fifteen-minute plane ride, they were back at St. Barts. Ash held out his hand for her and helped her down the stairs, and for a quick second his touch lingered. His heat sank into her skin. His eyes danced around her face. For a brief moment of weakness, she wanted to take back everything she’d said to him. She wanted to be truthful with him and tell him how she was really feeling.
“Thank you for the ride,” Kallie said. “I’ll find my way back to the resort.”
Before she could double back, she lost herself in the crowd of St. Barts Airport. She could get a taxi back to her villa. She couldn't remember the car ride or paying the driver. She couldn't remember stumbling over to her villa with tears in her eyes. She couldn't even remember packing up her things.
She came to the second she pressed the purchase button on her laptop to buy her plane ticket home.
Kallie grabbed her things and quickly left the villa. She fumbled over the sand as tears streamed down her cheeks. She walked along the side of the road until a taxi pulled up next to her, offering her a ride. She sniffed and nodded her head, watching as the driver quickly got out. He tossed her stuff into the trunk and helped her in the car, and she told him to take her to the airport.
She had a flight home in the next hour and a half.
And she wanted to have plenty of time to dodge Ash and his private plane.
Chapter 27
Ash
Ash spent the night in his bungalow staring out the window. He didn’t sleep most of the night, and when the sun breached above the water he headed straight for the beachside cabana. He had every intention of drinking his evil thoughts away. Of washing the taste of Kallie from his lips before throwing himself at the waves and washing her body from him. Ash was angry. Confused. Humiliated. He really liked Kallie. Enjoyed her in ways he’d never enjoyed with another woman. She was warm and soft and down-to-earth. Intelligent and kind, she tapped into a part of him he’d locked away from the rest of the world. Yet the second she found out who he was, she deserted him as quickly as he’d ever seen.
Why?
Was what she’d said true?
“What’ll it be?” Johnny asked. “Looks like you might need that after-hookup-pickup.”
“Rum and Coke. Easy on the Coke,” Ash said.
“Yikes. Rough night?” Johnny asked.
“You've got not fucking clue.”
“Wanna talk?”
“Nope. I’m good.”
The alcohol burned his throat going down, but his mind still swirled. Was Kallie really not interested in him any longer. Or was there something else there? Yes, he might’ve misled her on who he was a bit, but she didn’t give him a chance to explain. To tell her he did that because of all the gold-digging women out there. She didn’t give him the chance to tell her that she wasn’t like any of those women. Nothing like the girls his parents tossed at him before he left. She didn’t even ask about his family. About his troubled past with them. All she did was ask her questions, make an assumption, then left.
Did what they experience really not matter to her at all?
Because he could’ve sworn she was ready to confess something he felt deep down inside.
“Okay, Sir Mopes-a-Lot. Spill. You need to talk, and today is not a busy day for the Cabana,” Johnny said.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Ash said.
“Then start from the beginning. I’m sure the story’s a good one.”
“You remember the woman I was pursuing?” Ash asked. “The one I was talking to at the bar?”
“The one you couldn't stop staring at a few days ago when she was flirting with another guy?”
“Yeah, that one. It’s ... so long and convoluted—”
“The married one?” he asked.
“That’s the thing. She wasn’t married. She was supposed to be married, and her ex was caught screwing around with one of her bridesmaids before the ceremony.”
“Oh shit! That’s insane.”
“Yeah. It was this whole misunderstanding between us. And she was devastated. This place was supposed to be her
honeymoon, but she came here by herself to get away from everything and heal.”
“And you helped her heal?” Johnny asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Cut the shit. I’m being serious here.”
“Okay, okay. All right. Sorry. Man, she really must’ve gotten under your skin.”
“She did. Kallie—the girl—she’s incredible. Down to earth. Intelligent. Kind.”
“Rich,” Johnny said.
“No. Not rich at all. She has her own business, but it’s nothing like that. Her ex-fiancé was the one fronting the entire honeymoon. Bought and paid for and couldn’t get it refunded.”
“So, she’s a gold digger?”
“She’s not. In fact, after I told her who I was, she ran off.”
“So Kallie isn’t on the island anymore?” Johnny asked.
“Not to my knowledge. Look, I took her out on my boat and we had an incredible time. Before we got ensnared by that storm.”
“Wait, you were out in the ocean for that shit?”
“Yeah. But before all that happened, we had an incredible time. We spent entire days together napping in the hammocks on the other end of the beach. We ate together and drank together. I taught her how to surf and snorkel. Everything she was experiencing—everything we did—was a first for her. And I enjoyed it, Johnny. I enjoyed teaching her and showing her around. And when the two of us slept together—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fireworks and all that shit. Ash, are you sure this woman isn’t a gold digger who’s trying to get you on the hook?”
“It doesn’t make sense for her to run off the way she did if she was trying to bag herself another rich guy,” Ash said. “I mean, she was upset. I told her who I was and hinted at the type of wealth I have, and it only pushed her farther away.”
“Probably because you reminded her of her ex.”
“What?” Ash asked.
“Seriously? You haven’t put this together yet?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, man. Don’t be stupid. If she’s not after your money, and she’s not married, and she’s here on some cheating ex-husband’s rich-ass dime, then she ran from you because of your money. Because your money reminds her of her ex.”
“So she thinks I’m like her ex,” Ash said.
“Yep. If her rich ex-fiancé was an asshole, then you’re an asshole because you’re rich. That’s how she’s equated that in her mind. Trust me, you’re the richest man she could’ve found. If she ran from you after you exposed your wealth to her, that’s the only reason behind it.”
Ash felt like an idiot. Of course that was the explanation. Kallie was too genuine to be a gold digger and too innocent to be anything other than overwhelmed by her emotions. Ash had been swept up in the romanticism of it all that he’d never considered how his wealth would’ve equated him to her ex. Not that he could ever be like that man. Women were supposed to be cherished. Supported. Spoiled. Loved. Not taken advantage of and paraded around like trophies. He tossed back the rest of his drink and told Johnny to charge it to his bungalow, then set off for his place.
He had to find Kallie.
Charing into his private bungalow, he started packing his bags. Throwing everything in his suitcase as he readied himself to leave. Her words echoed off the corners of his mind. The only phrase he had to help him track her down.
So you live in the city too?
Ash hoped that if he tracked her down and told her how he felt, she’d give him a second chance. And if she did, he would do it right. He’d trust her. Be upfront about his life instead of secretive about it. He’d show her all the wonders of the world she could have with him. And if that wasn’t what she wanted, he would show her how simple her life could be while still being with a man like him. He packed up his things and pulled out his phone, then sent a message off to his pilot. His jet needed to be ready to leave for New York City within the next hour.
Then, Ash dashed off to the shower.
He cleaned himself up and shaved, then put on his best suit. He smoothed his hands down his jacket before throwing his toiletries into a bag, then he grabbed everything in his hands. He was on a mission. He had a mess to clean up. How he could’ve been so thickheaded was beyond him, but his mind was already coming up with ways to fix things. To make Kallie happy. To get her to see that the persona he put on wasn’t to intentionally deceive her, but to protect himself. And whatever she wanted to know, he would offer to her. Whatever she needed, he would provide. No matter how quickly or slowly Kallie wanted to take things, all he would ask is that he be at her side while it happened.
Ash flagged a taxi down and told the driver to take him to the airport.
He was headed to New York to find the woman he was falling in love with.
Chapter 28
Kallie
Kallie stood in the small living room of her apartment and stared out the window. She felt like shit. She still had a few days off since she came back from St. Barts early, but that didn’t matter. She hadn’t left her apartment to do much of anything since she’d gotten home. She spent the little bit of extra money she had in her account to have groceries delivered to her. She had no want to go out into the world. No reason to step out into public. She felt led on. Humiliated.
And she hurt more than the day she left.
Kallie wasn’t going to leave her apartment until she absolutely had to. If there was ever a time to wallow in her sorrows, she had hit that time. She dumped one shitty rich man before turning around and running into the arms of another. One lying sack of shit for another. Sure, Ash didn’t cheat. But he lied. Convinced her that he was someone he wasn’t. Then had the audacity to get pissed off when he thought she was married. He was a hypocrite, like James. A liar, like James. Rich, like James.
She didn’t need another James.
She needed to be rid of all rich men for the rest of her life.
In some ways, she could understand Ash doing what he did. Misleading her the way he had. A quick internet search on him when she’d gotten home showed her just how rich the man was. He came from old money, like James. Had billions of dollars to his personal name, plus tens of billions more to the rest of his family’s name. A man like that needed to shield himself from gold diggers. He was a blaring target with those adorable freckles and those mesmerizing hazel eyes.
But Kallie wasn’t going to suffer any of her false monikers any longer. She was accused of being a gold digger for years while at James’s side, and it wasn’t happening any longer. When she did heal and convince herself to begin dating again, rich guys were the type she would avoid. She would no longer put herself in harm’s way and be swayed by their charm. Even though she fucked up by running straight into Ash, she wouldn't do it again. She had enough interaction with them to notice the signs. And she’d be on the lookout for them.
Better yet, Kallie could swear off men in general. It wasn’t likely that she’d find a man as perfect as Ash. Who could sweep her off her feet and make her feel like a goddess in bed. Any other guy who came into her life would pale in comparison, and it wouldn't be fair to them. It wouldn't be fair to hold them to a standard they’d never be able to meet.
That was a good idea.
Swearing off men.
“No more men for me,” Kallie said with a murmur.
The ringing of her doorbell pulled her from her trance. She assumed it was Eris. Coming to comfort her after blowing up her phone with voice messages once her plane landed. Kallie had been ducking Eris’s calls for days. Ever since she and Ash struck things up again on the island. She needed her best friend. The comfort of someone who wouldn’t judge her for her actions. Eris had warned her against something like this, but she hadn’t taken her friend’s advice. It was her fault she was in this situation. At least, that was what she told herself.
But when she opened the door, her jaw hit the floor.
“Could we talk?” James asked.
Kallie’s jaw unhinged as she stared up in
to the eyes of the man who had broken her only a week ago.
“Please?” he asked.
Please? The man had never said that word in all the years they were together.
Kallie stepped off to the side and ushered him in. Her heart was slamming against her chest, but she held her ground. She closed the door behind her and buried her hands into her pockets, trying to project strength while shrouding how violently her hands were shaking.
“What?” Kallie asked.
“I’m sorry,” James said. “I screwed up, sweetheart.”
“You did. And I’m not your sweetheart.”
“Then give me a chance to earn that back,” he said. “I’ll do anything it takes.”
“You want me back.”
“Yes. More than anything. Look, no one ever knows what they have until it’s gone. And when that woman hopped into that limousine with me, the only thing I could think about was you.”
“Did you think about me when you were screwing her in the closet?” she asked.
“I know what I did was wrong.”
“How many others were there?”
Kallie watched James pause and she shook her head.
“Kallie—”
“How many, James?”
“I don’t know if—”
“You can get out if you don’t want to give me the information I want,” she said.
“Four,” James said. “There were ... shit.”
It should’ve been a punch to her gut. Kallie should’ve been devastated. But she wasn’t. She wasn’t even shocked. Four other women, not including the bridesmaid, he screwed around with. At least he had openly admitted it. Usually, getting James to admit anything was like pulling teeth from a hungry hyena. She could tell he was trying. To open up and be honest with her despite their past.
But Kallie wasn’t latching on that quickly again.
“There were four other women, Kallie. But I promise you, none of them held a candle to you.”
Kallie laughed, her body unable to contain the emotions welling in her chest. Was that supposed to make her feel better? That the five other women he’d slept with over the duration of their relationship didn’t suck dick like she could? It was insane. Him being here was insane. All Kallie wanted was a few moments of peace to herself before going on about her life and trying to pick up the pieces, and somehow James had stumbled back onto her doorstep.