“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.”