Page 6 of Summer Escape
One day, I followed him and saw him kiss another woman in front of our neighborhood coffee shop. I'd felt so betrayed that I'd called Grandma from my car in tears, asking if I could stay at the cottage. She'd assured me she'd call the management company and clear it from renters for the summer. But somehow, she'd forgotten, and now I'd have to deal with Marshall Kingston.
I sighed. "I have to talk to him and hope he's on board with the idea."
She wagged her finger at me. "You let me know if he gives you any kind of trouble."
I didn't think she was referring to the kind of trouble I was considering. The kind where chemistry sizzled between us, and we snuck into each other's rooms in the dead of night. But we weren't kids anymore. We had responsibilities and more baggage to carry.
I'd survive the summer, and then I'd move home to Jacksonville to deal with the fallout from the breakup. I'd get my things out of storage and move into a new place.
I couldn't believe that Flynn had not only cheated on me but then moved that woman into the apartment we'd shared together.
Was I so easily replaceable? Was there nothing special about me that kept men around?
"You're going to have a wonderful summer," Grandma said, pulling me out of my musings.
"How can you possibly know that?" I picked at a string hanging off my jean shorts.
"It's impossible not to have an amazing time on the island. You'll never want to leave," she said with confidence.
"I have a life off the island." But I wasn't so sure about that. I hadn't heard from our mutual friends since the breakup. I wondered if they sided with Flynn. The thought sent pain slicing through my chest.
I needed the summer to rediscover my confidence, to remember who I was before Flynn stomped all over my heart. I was worried I wouldn't be the same again. How can you trust someone after your last boyfriend betrayed you?
I drank the rest of the tea while she went to grab sugar cookies.
When she set the container on the table, she said, "Sweets fix everything."
I nibbled on the cookie. "I'm not so sure about that."
"Everything will look better in the morning," Grandma said confidently as if the subject was closed and a favorable solution inevitable.
I had to share the second floor of the cottage with Marshall, and I wasn't sure I'd survive running into him again.
Chapter Three
Marshall
Double-booking the cottage was a mistake, but I wasn't willing to give up the cottage. Even if Hayden was holed up in her room thinking her life was over, I had hopes that this place would bring us together.
So I unpacked my things, confident I'd convince Saylor to move out. I set the recommended book about teen girls on my nightstand and placed my folded clothes in the drawers of the dresser.
The view of the water was beautiful from this room, and I didn't want to lose it. When I was finished unpacking, I went downstairs to fire up the grill. I'd bought necessities from a store off the island, enough to get us through the next few days.
It was weird not having to report to work. I wasn't sure what I'd do with all my free time. I'd hoped to spend it with Hayden, but so far, she'd spent the day in her room.
I wanted to confiscate her phone, but the book I was reading said girls' friendships were important to them. I didn't want to cut her off from them any more than I already had.
I hoped that dinner on the patio, with the sounds of the water feet away and the palm trees, would ease her anger. But I wasn't so sure about that. I had a feeling she wasn't going to like anything I did.
I wanted to figure this out without leaning too heavily on Billie's advice. This was my time to bond with Hayden. I’d make up for the lost time.
When the slider opened, Saylor stepped out. I'd hoped it was Hayden who had smelled the grill and wandered out to talk to me. Instead, it was the one woman I was hoping to avoid.
"I talked to my grandmother," Saylor said.
I tensed. "What did she have to say?"
"She swears she told the management company about my stay." She sat on the couch and kicked her feet up on the ottoman.
