Page 38 of My Ex-Best Men

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“Hold on just a minute. At least let me steal a towel for you.” Jake disappeared and reappeared in no time and passed me a plush, sage green towel. “We’ll see you tonight. Love you, kid.”

I gave him a weak smile. “Love you, too.”

I wrapped the towel around my filthy body and headed towards the beach. The strange looks I got on the way made sense. It wasn’t super often that a sad, mud-covered woman walked around the island. At least, I hoped. For the island’s sake.

Straight into the ocean I went, turning the water muddy until the tide refreshed it. If only it’d refresh me. Through all of my exes, through all of my heart break, through everything, Sophia had remained a rock for me. Sophia was my soulmate, my best friend, and the person who’d saved me from a life of grief and feeling sorry for myself. She was everything to me and I’d hurt her.

There was a deep, deep sorrow weighing me down as I waded deeper into the ocean and let it wash me clean. I went under and blew out a deep breath, letting the bubbles tickle my nose.

When I came up I heard shouting and looked back to see Will coming in after me. His face was a mask of frustration. “If you think you’re getting away from me this easily, you’re sorely mistaken!”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “I’m just…bathing.”

He reached me and grabbed my arms, pulling me into his chest. “Our secret’s out after all of these years, huh?”

I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I feel horrible for upsetting Sophia, Will.”

“I know my sister and how much she loves you, Claire. She’s probably already forgiven you.” He kissed the side of my head and then sputtered. “I don’t think your bath did much. How about you come to my house and we get you a real bath?”

“Your house?”

He smiled. “Yes. I do actually live here on the island, you know?”

I let his body heat seep into my body, bone deep. “Brag.”

34

***Will***

My hands still shook as I held Claire close and led her down the side street to my house. I couldn’t stop seeing the panic on her face when her ex tried to climb into the tub with her. I wanted to murder Jordan. I wanted to pulverize him until he was just a fucking stain on the ground. He couldn’t touch her. End of story. I didn’t even want him to look at her. Ever again.

I looked down at her and blew out a harsh breath. There was something about having her back on the island, being able to touch her again, that had gone straight to my head. I didn’t know what I was going to do when she left.

Claire looked up at me, her big eyes still full of sadness. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Are you worried about Soph?”

Shaking my head, I led her past my truck and to the front steps of my wraparound porch. “No. She’ll be angry at me for a little while but she’ll get over it. Once she understands that itwasn’t some skeezy thing I did to her friend, she’ll forgive me for keeping it from her.”

“So it wasn’t some skeezy thing?” Claire looked at the rocking chairs on the porch and her mouth hung open. “This is your house? It’s so beautiful, Will.”

I opened the door for her and guided her inside. The open floor plan, single floor house was decorated sparsely but I’d taken the time to pick each item I brought in. I was proud of my home and proud to show it off to Claire. “This is mine. I bought it a few years ago and have been working on it ever since. It a was a time suck in the beginning but it was worth it.”

She did a little circle as she looked at everything. “You really are so impressive. The apartment I rent in London is pathetic. It’s the size of a closet and I never bothered to decorate it. It’s never felt like home.”

“Maybe it’s never been home.” I took her hand and pulled her with me towards the bathroom. “I know that Soph and Sal would both be over the moon if you decided to move back here.”

She hesitated when we reached the bathroom. “And you? Would you be happy if I did?”

I held her gaze as I slowly undressed her. The towel pooled at her feet and the ruined bikini went into the sink. Then she was bare before me, her hands itching to cover herself but she didn’t. She stayed perfectly still and let me look at her. “If you came back, you would never say those words again, Claire. You would never stay somewhere that didn’t feel like home because I’d make damn sure every place you laid your head was somewhere you knew you belonged.”

Her eyes watered before she tucked her face into my chest and sniffed. “I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore, Will. I didn’t come back here thinking that I’d feel things again. I especially didn’t come back thinking I was going to be thrust into analternate dimension where my exes all want me. I’ve never quite understood how I caught one of you, much less all of you now.”

I ran my hands down her sides and watched as her eyes went wider than usual and her cheeks flushed a pretty deep red color.

“Not that I’ve caught you. Or all of you. I’m not saying that. Or even that you all want me. That sounded presumptuous, didn’t it?” She groaned. “I’m just going to break my glasses and throw away my contacts. If I can’t see the way people look at me when I say things, I’ll never know if I should be horrified by the things I say.”