"Is he taking care of the whole thing for you?"
"Yeah, pretty much. He's got a real estate lawyer all lined up and the only thing I really have to do is sign the papers when the deal is finalized. I wouldn't know what to say during any of those meetings anyway."
"Wow, that's really exciting. I hope it all works out for you." I paused for a moment before asking my next question. The question that had been on my mind ever since Janine told me about the sale. "So what are you going to do with the land?" I think my nervousness came through in my voice because I could hear it shaking ever so slightly. I really wanted to trust Shane, and when I looked in his eyes and saw the sincerity there, I knew that I could.
"Why don't we talk about that out on the balcony? I'll bring breakfast out there and I can show you what I've been thinking. Maybe you can help me decide," he said with a warm smile.
"I'd like that."
WHEN WE WERE out on the outdoor patio that wrapped around the entire back of the house, Shane brought out a huge tray of fruit and toast and tea.
"I hope you like tea. I forgot to get coffee and this is all there was in the cupboard. Earl Grey," he read off the tag as he sat the tray down in the center of the table and started to pour some for himself.
"Earl Grey sounds perfect." Everything sounded and felt perfect. The incredible view from this gorgeous balcony … and last night with Shane. Being with him was better than I could have ever imagined—and I had imagined it pretty well.
After I ate a huge pile of cubed mango and pineapple, Shane took me over to a telescope and showed me the area of land he was purchasing, which included my secret cove.
Our secret cove, I thought as I looked through the eyepiece and felt Shane's warm body up against mine.
"So, the property I'm purchasing covers the area from the line of short palm trees about forty feet from this house to that second outcropping of rocks and extends about twenty miles south."
"Wow, that's really far."
"Yeah, it's a lot of land, and I really want to do right by it."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't want to ruin any of the natural setting. When I build on it—I'm planning a house for myself and one for my parents—I'm going to have someone come in who will be diligent about making sure the building of the houses and the maintaining of them doesn't have any impact on the surrounding forest. I want to keep everything as close to the way it is right now as possible."
"Wow, that's really incredible, Shane. I'm impressed that you care enough to consider that. You know, this whole area is pretty sacred to the native people on this island. My father's side of the family has ancestors buried here. Plus my grandmother's ashes were scattered at the cove."
"Yeah, I've heard a little about that, but I'd love for you to tell me more. I'd love for you to be a part of this, Maggie."
When Shane spoke those words, I felt like I was falling into a pool of warm water that enveloped my body. His voice and the words he said, it was all so incredible. I felt like this all had to be a dream. It just didn't seem like I could be this lucky.
I turned around and looked up into his eyes. "I want to be a part of it too, Shane." I wasn't sure if I should say what was on my mind, but I knew I had to. "I knew you were buying that property, and to tell you the truth, I was really upset at first. I thought maybe you were going to tear it all up and build some horrible condos or a resort."
"There are a lot of people who want to do that exact thing. I was lucky to get in on it when I did. I don't know how my manager swung it, but I was the first one offered this deal. But now … well … if I didn't buy this property … I know for a fact that there's a list as long as my arm of other people who would snap it up in a second. For twice what I'm paying. And there would be resorts popping up along this shore within months."
"I can imagine." I smiled up at Shane. "I'm glad you're buying it. It feels right."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me, Maggie."
WHEN I GOT HOME I was practically floating on air. Shane and I had finished breakfast on the terrace, then he brought me back to my house around noon. Even though I felt like I had to tear myself away from him, I had lots of things to do before the work week started.
After I walked in the door, I felt my phone vibrate. When I fished it out of my bag I was surprised when I saw multiple calls and texts from Janine. I hadn't even looked at my phone once while I was with Shane.
"What's up?" I asked Janine.
"Where have you been? I've been trying to get ahold of you since last night."
"I'll tell you all about it. But first tell me whatever it is that had you calling and texting me fifteen times. It must be pretty damned important," I laughed.
"You're not going to like this, Maggie."
"What?"
"I talked to one of the lawyers at the firm on the team that is putting together that land deal."
"Yeah?"
"He is totally planning on building condos, right down there on the beach."
"Who?"
"Shane Holloway!"
"No, Janine, that's not possible. I just talked to him and he told me what he's planning on doing. It has nothing to do with condos. He's building a house for himself and one for his parents. He said he doesn't want any of the guys who are thinking about condos to even get their hands on that property."
"They've applied for permits, Maggie. For multi-dwelling structures."
"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. I told you, he's planning on building two homes. That's probably why there's permits for multiple buildings."
"No, not multiple buildings, multiple dwelling structures. Condos."
I was stunned. I still couldn't believe what she was telling me. If what she was saying was true, that meant that everything Shane told me was a lie.
"Are you sure they couldn't be mistaken? Just because there are permit applications, that doesn't mean that's what he is intending to do."
"One of the reasons people apply for permits at this stage is to make sure their plans will be able to go forward once the deal is finalized. If they're applying for them, that means they intend to use them. I hate to say it, Maggie, but it sounds like he was feeding you a story."
"But why would he do that?" A sinking feeling hit my stomach even before the words came out of my mouth.
"Did you sleep with him last night?"
I didn't say anything. I couldn't believe it was true. There was no way my instincts about him could have been that far off.
"Maggie? You did, didn't you?"
"But he didn't tell me about his plans until after … Oh God. Do you really think he told me that to get me into bed?"
"What do you think?"
"I have no idea what to think now! I mean, I obviously can't trust my instincts because I never in a million years would have thought everything he said was a lie."
"What else did he tell you?"
I didn't want to repeat any of it. I was too humiliated to even think about all the wonderful things he'd told me last night and this morning. I couldn't believe how stupid I was.
"I don't want to talk about it right now, Janine. I'm gonna go."
"Maggie, please don't take this too hard. He's just a guy—"
"I gotta go." I hung up on Janine, but I couldn't stand to hear her say another word. I couldn't believe any of this. It just didn't seem possible. But the truth was staring me right in the face. Shane had lied to me … about everything.
CHAPTER 8
SHANE
"I have an interview for you if you're ready for that kind of thing. Someone local. They want to do a piece on the big celebrity coming back to the little island—something like that."
"Already? I've only been back here a couple days."
"Well, you know how it is. The last thing you want is for them to forget about you. You gotta keep moving, like a shark, or … you know … you'll sink faster than the Titanic."
"Thanks for all the analogies, Frank. I think I
got it."
I had just returned from taking Maggie back to her place and was settled down on the couch for some mindless channel surfing when my manager's name popped up on my phone. I wasn't really ready to get back into all that yet, but he was always looking out for me, especially since I had a tendency to keep to myself. If it were up to me I'd never speak to a single fan or reporter, but not because I didn't appreciate them. I did. I just preferred it if we could all appreciate each other from afar, without all that up close and personal, face-to-face crap.
"So how are you settling in up there at your new place?"
"Fine, it's nice and quiet here—"
"Just the way you like it, eh?"
"Yep, just the way I like it. So how's the deal coming along?"
"Well, we're waiting on some signatures, but everything seems to be going as expected. We haven't hit any snags with permits or anything, so things are pretty much on schedule."
"Awesome. Let me know if you need anything from me."
"Oh, I will, don't worry."
"Thanks, man."
"All right, I'll have the reporter call your PR phone, you got that one handy?"
"Yeah, it's around here somewhere. Give me a few minutes to find it."
"Alrighty, oh, and do me a favor. Don't mention anything about the land deal. We don't want any inside info getting out about it before the sale goes through. We're in a pretty coveted spot and there are plenty of bloodhounds that would love to find any loophole they can to take us out of the game."
"Yeah, no problem."
"Okee dokee, talk to you later. Holler if you need anything."
"I will. Later, Frank."
I rummaged around in my suitcase and found the phone I had for interviews and other public relations type stuff. Frank and I shared the line, so if someone called or texted and I didn't want to deal with it, he would take over. I usually didn't even look at it unless Frank set something up for me.
A few minutes later, as I was killing time by jumping my robot unicorn over a chasm, my work phone flashed an unlisted, local number.
"This is Shane Holloway."
"Hello, Mr. Holloway. This is Darlene Simms from The Garden Island. I spoke with your manager, Mr. Frank Jennings, and he told me he'd set up a short interview."
"Yes, I talked to him earlier. I'm happy to answer a few questions."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Holloway—"
"You can call me Shane."
"Thank you, Shane. I'm thrilled to be getting this opportunity. The whole island is thrilled to have you back."
"Well, I'm really happy to be back. I've missed this place."
"So rumor has it that you're revisiting a lot of your past now that you're back. Including the property you're in the process of purchasing."
"Yeah, that's true. I grew up here, so there's a lot of history for me. I have to tell you up front, I can't address any rumors you may have heard about a land purchase. But everything else about my career is on the table."
"Okay, I'll stay away from that topic. Let's see, do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to tell us about?"
"I just wrapped up filming The Impossible Deal, in Mongolia. It's an action flick with an awesome cast. It was a really incredible experience. You can get all the info about it from Frank—the release date and the synopsis."
"So do you like traveling to far-off locales when you're making movies?"
"Yeah, that's one of the best parts of the job as far as I'm concerned. I've gotten to see places that most tourists never get to."
"Can you give me some examples?"
"Well, in this last shoot, we stayed in some yurts with a tribe in northern Mongolia. There were a few down days and some of the members of the tribe took us on a wolf hunt. It was insanely beautiful. We rode these massive reindeer out into snowy fields that looked like they went on forever."
"So did you bag a wolf yourself?"
"Oh, no, we weren't allowed to do any actual killing since we were all residents of other countries. They just let us come along for the ride. I honestly don't think I could bring myself to kill an animal for any reason."
"I hear you on that. So when you're off shooting a movie, how long are you usually away from home?"
"Oh, it depends, sometimes a month, sometimes two."
"And do you miss your special someone while you're out there? Are you allowed to have them on the set with you?"
I laughed at the question. I figured that's what she really wanted to know all along—about my love life. There were always interviewers hounding me for stories about the women I was dating, or photographers following me down the street to get a shot of me holding hands with one of them. It bothered me a lot at first, but I just answer questions as simply as possible now and don't let it get to me. "I've had girlfriends stay with me in hotels during some shoots, but I honestly don't know a woman who would be willing to stay in a yurt with me for a month, no matter how many animal skins lined the sleeping area."
"Yeah, I can imagine," the reporter said with a laugh. "My sources tell me that your last relationship was with Brittany Lake, but that she's returned to the States. Is that correct?"
I wondered how these people got their information so fast. It was entirely possible that Brittany had already talked to some entertainment site, maybe even right when she landed, letting the world know that she was on the market again. "That's correct." I had no interest in giving out any more information than that, though.
"And my sources tell me that you were seen wining and dining an old flame, Maggie Alana, here on Kauai just last night."
I was startled by that last comment. I didn't understand how this reporter could possibly know anything about my and Maggie's past. She specifically told me that she had never mentioned that night we spent together to another person.
"Shane, are you still there?"
"Yeah, I … uh … where did you get your information?"
"Are you saying you didn't have dinner with Maggie Alana last night?"
"No, I'm … well, I'm just curious about your sources."
"I don't have anything listed here, it may have been someone who didn't want their name revealed. Is there a problem with this information?"
"No, I mean, yeah, I think I'd prefer to end this interview."
"Did you move back here to reunite with Maggie Alana?"
"I'm sorry, I have to go." I hit end, then just sat there and stared at the phone in my hand for a long time.
What the hell? I thought to myself. It wasn't a huge deal, but knowing that Maggie had lied to me suddenly didn't make me feel very good. There was no reason for her to have said anything at all, really, let alone lie about it. I hadn't even asked her. I was hoping that maybe it was a misunderstanding and I decided to give her a call. I switched to my real phone and hit her number. It rang a few times but went to voice mail. I didn't feel like leaving a message, and didn't really know what I'd say anyway, so I ended the call.
CHAPTER 9
MAGGIE
I saw the call from Shane but I just couldn't talk to him right then. I still couldn't believe he'd lied to me just to get me into bed. I mean, hadn't he slept with enough women? Did he really have to stoop so low to get a nobody like me to have sex with him?
I poured over the whole evening and morning I'd spent with him and tried to remember anything that would have given me a clue that he was being insincere. But everything he'd said to me came out so naturally and sounded so real and heartfelt that I was starting to feel like I was crazy, or incredibly stupid.
When my phone rang for the second time I froze. It was Shane again. I didn't know what to do, but I figured it would be silly for me to try to hide from him. I took a deep breath and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Maggie, it's Shane."
"Hi." I knew my tone was cold and I was being really short with him, but I honestly didn't know what to say.
"Hey."
There was a long pause where neither o
ne of us said anything and I thought that was kind of weird. As I sat there, waiting for him to say something, my stomach felt like it was free-falling out of my body. I didn't know why he was suddenly so quiet, but I figured it had to be because of what he'd told me.
Everything was starting to make sense. He had said all those things just to get me into bed, and now he was probably going to back pedal like crazy so that he could get out of everything. Maybe even arrange it so that he could keep sleeping with me.
"Maggie, something happened a little while ago that I'm having a hard time understanding. I talked to a reporter, someone my manager had set me up with, and they asked me about you. They referred to you as an old flame. Do you know why they would be asking me about that?"
"What?" My mind was still reeling from the acceptance that Shane was just like every other asshole on the planet when what he said knocked me for another loop. "Old flame? I have no idea—"
"I thought you told me that you never said a word to anyone about us, about our night on the beach."
"I didn't, Shane—" but suddenly I remembered what I'd told Janine just the other day. "I … Shane, I—"
"Did you just use me, Maggie? I didn't think you were like that."
"I'm not, Shane, you know I'm not. I didn't mean to … Shane I honestly didn't—"
"If you didn't tell anyone then how did the reporter know? Can you explain that to me? Can you explain why she would have referred to you as my old flame? Is that what you told people?"
"No, of course not! I can't believe you're accusing me of—"
"Did you lie to me, Maggie?"
"No, I didn't. Not really. But … just wait a minute, Shane. I can't even believe that you're calling me a liar after what I found out."
"I didn't call you anything. I'm asking you if you lied—"
"—because if there is a liar here, it is most certainly you, with your song and dance about wanting to preserve that sacred land. I can't believe I fell for all that crap about you moving back to the island for me. And telling me that you had a hard time trusting people. That's a good one."
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