Page 49 of The Sandover Beach Billionaire

Jenna shook her head. “I left a message. Did you try him? He probably didn’t recognize my number.”

“I’ll try again in a bit,” Ethel said. “Nothing he can do now.”

Nothing except be here. Jenna felt anger rise again, clogging her throat. She felt oddly protective of his parents, without having her own to protect. And of all the things causing her emotions to flare, she’d rather focus on this anger than the concern of what was happening with Jackson and the thoughts of her mom.

“Child, go home. You look exhausted. We are fine here. Bob is stable and, thanks to you, I have what I need to stay. Go.”

She touched Ethel’s arm. “Okay. Please let me know if I can do anything tomorrow. I can bring whatever you need. Or just run you home to shower and get the car if you can’t reach Steve. Don’t hesitate to call, okay? Just get some sleep if you can.”

When Jenna left the room, Ethel was tucked into the hospital-issue recliner next to the bed, a taupe-y faux leather chair that probably was incredibly uncomfortable. Jenna’s chest ached. Rage continued to bubble up toward Steve and his brother, Jeff. She had left a message for Jeff, too. He didn’t live On Island, but close by and could have been here within an hour. Ethel shouldn’t be alone. Here in the hospital, or even in the day-to-day at their house. With Bob’s size and his dementia, it wasn’t safe or fair.

For a smaller hospital, Jenna struggled to find her way out of The Cube. The emotions pressing down on her didn’t help. Jenna ran straight into a wall of a man as she rounded a corner.

“Whoa, there!”

Not just any man: Steve. She immediately tried to back up, but he held onto her arms, a little too tightly, forcing her to stay in his space. She glared. He smiled.

“Where’s the fire?”

The crooked grin on his face, the one that used to make her teenaged heart flutter, filled her with rage. “Steve, I’ve been calling you. Your father is up there in a hospital bed and your mother is sleeping in a chair. Where have you been?”

Of all the things her anger could do, it released her tears. Hot and sudden, they spilled over her cheeks and made her voice tremble. Today—this week—it had all been too much.

Steve’s smile disappeared, replaced with concern that only made her more angry and made the tears come faster. He pulled her gently into his chest and she sobbed against him, even as she tried to pull away. After a moment, she gave up and let him hold her. It felt familiar and also wrong somehow, but she didn’t have the energy to fight him.

“Aw, Jenna. I always hated to see you cry. I’m so sorry you couldn’t get me. I was out on a boat. Can’t always hear the phone over the engine. I’m so glad you were able to be here for her since I couldn’t. You have always been so good to my mom. Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

These last words were little more than a murmur, his breath moving in her hair. Jenna stiffened, and felt a shudder move through her. Finding her strength, she shoved Steve back. They still stood in the middle of a busy hallway near a waiting room. Hospital sounds filled her ears at once and she felt instantly mortified. She stepped closer to the wall and out of the way of a nurse who shot them both a dirty look.

Steve leaned against the wall and ran a hand over his jaw. A pleased smile made her want to smack him. The tan line from his ring looked less pronounced and his cheeks were either sun- or wind-burned. His eyes, now that she was looking, had deep circles beneath them.

“You should get up there and see your parents.”

His smile widened. “Always thinking of other people. That’s my girl. I’m glad my family means so much to you.”

Her brain had short-circuited when he called her his girl. She wasn’t a girl. Or his.

“I do care about your parents.”

Thinking of Jackson, she suddenly felt a jolt of guilt. What if he had followed her up here and seen her in Steve’s arms? She had just been obsessing over Jackson’s secretive phone call. Here she was with her ex, having what felt and looked like a more-than-friendly moment. She needed to put as much distance between her and Steve as possible.

Drawing back her shoulders, she crossed her arms. “Your dad is in room 241. I told your mom to let me know if she needs anything. She’ll be glad you’re here. Finally.”

Jenna moved to walk past Steve and out the doors just on the other side of the waiting room. She didn’t think her car was on this side, but at this point, did not particularly care. She needed to get out of the Cube. What she really wanted was to a take a hot shower and burn off this day.

Steve stepped in her path, blocking her. Her head tipped up and she parted her lips to tell him to move. Before she could even speak, his rough hand cupped her face and he crushed his lips into her.

The shock of it should have made Jenna jump back. But she froze. Which apparently made him think that she wanted this. Only when his hand curled around the back of her head and his mouth pushed more roughly against hers did she jerk away from him.

She stared at him, open-mouthed. “What are you doing?”

A slow grin moved over his face. “Nothing that you didn’t want. It shouldn’t surprise you, Jenna. We were always meant to return to each other. Childhood sweethearts, you know?”

“No. That’s not our story, Steve. I’m with Jackson now.”

She hadn’t expected a smile, especially not a cruel one. It was a subtle but powerful shift in his eyes and Jenna felt like she saw Steve—really saw him—for the very first time. Not the childhood best friend and first boyfriend. Not even the guy who had cheated on her and dumped her for Anna. She saw what everyone else in her family must have always seen in Steve. With the mask peeled back, it revealed a Steve she didn’t know.

“How’s that working out? Do you like sharing him with Mercer?”

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