Page 20 of For the Promise

“Now.” I rub my hands together. “What are we going to do with the rest of your day off? Rollercoasters atMermaid Mystical Gardens?Drinks atBootleggerorRumrunner?Lunch atSmuggler’s Cove? Miniature golf atMermaid Mini Golf?Horse riding atSirens & Stables?Visiting the animals atBarnacles & Barnyards?”

She sighs. “I’m exhausted listening to the options, and there isn’t even a festival this weekend.”

I study my friend for a moment. I should probably let her get some sleep. Working two full-time jobs is exhausting. Especially since her job as the personal assistant for a billionaire is more than full-time.

“If you want to get some sleep,I’ll understand.”

We walk outside the motel and stand in the sunshine. “I don’t want sleep. I want to know why you went from chasing Jaxon to avoiding him.”

I scowl. “I don’t want to discuss it.”

She barks out a laugh. “Too bad.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stick out my bottom lip in a pout. “I don’t pressure you to tell me everything you and Rhett get up to.”

“Because you work in the same building as me and get all the gossip from his brothers.”

“Not all his brothers,” I mutter.

“What do you want to do today?”

“Go horseback riding atSirens & Saddles.I’ve never been horseback riding before, but it’s on my bucket list.”

“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go horseback riding with you if you tell me what’s going on with you and Jaxon.”

I snort. “There’s nothing going on.”

“I amend my previous deal. I’ll go horseback riding with you if you tell me why there’s nothing going on with you and Jaxon.”

I open my mouth to say because Jaxon is a scaredy cat who doesn’t realize what he’s missing but she holds up her hand before I can speak.

“Andyou have to be truthful about whether you want him or not.”

I glare at her. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“I work for a billionaire, and I’m dating a control freak. What do you expect?”

I hold out my hand. “You have a deal, but horseback riding better be awesome.”

“There are horses. Of course, it’ll be awesome.”

“You and your obsession with animals,” I mutter as we get situated in my car. I drive towardSirens & Saddles, which is on the other side of the island near Pirate’s Perch.

“Out with it. Why have you gone from chasing Jaxon to avoiding him?” Dakota asks before we’re out of the parking lot.

“I wasn’t chasing him. I wouldn’t chase a man. I’m done with men, remember?”

She lifts her eyebrows. “Are you going to tell me why you’re done with men?”

And reveal what an idiot I was for falling for a man who was a liar, a cheat, and a thief? Yeah, no, I pass.

She sighs. “The reason you’re done with men is off the table. For now. Back to why you stopped chasing Jaxon.”

“I wasn’t chasing him.”

She giggles. “Did you forget how I caught you standing outside the men’s bathroom waiting for Jaxon to exit?”

“He was in there thirty minutes. I was worried about his health.”

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