Page 42 of One Night in Hawaii

“I’m sure you will,” I muttered. “We’ll talk when I get home.”

I ended the call and walked back to the bedroom just as Shiloh was jerking back her blankets. She had put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. The dirty look she shot me made it pretty clear sex was off the table. I took off the condom and tossed it in the trash.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“That was your fiancée, right?”

“She’s not my fiancée,” I corrected.

“Yes, she is. You’re going to go back and marry her. I’m not an idiot. I knew you were just using me for sex. Well, sorry, I’m not a pin cushion. You don’t get to fuck me and walk away to get married.”

“It’s not like that,” I said.

I was feeling pretty vulnerable having an argument in the buff. I quickly pulled on my briefs. She threw my shorts at me, hitting me in the face. I snatched them up and put them on as well.

“You better get out of here,” she said. “I refuse to be the other woman. How dare you put me in that position? Just get the hell out of here!”

“Shiloh, you are not the other woman. Never. I’m not getting back with her.”

“Yes, you are. I heard you on the phone earlier and now she’s calling you. I am not interested in getting in the middle of something. You need to go home and handle your shit.”

“You don’t understand,” I tried to explain. “She doesn’t mean anything to me. You do!”

“Bullshit!”

“I’m serious,” I told her. “I’m falling for you like I have never fallen for anyone else. I have never felt like this about anyone! I swear to you I am not going to go back to her.”

“That’s what they all say,” she said.

“I’m going to make you believe me,” I said. “I’m going to prove I’m not going back to her.”

“Don’t bother,” she said. “You’ll be gone and that will be that. I guess her timing was pretty perfect. I can’t believe I almost had sex with a married man.”

“I’m not married,” I corrected.

“Basically.”

“No, not basically. I didn’t love her. I haven’t been with her in months. She means nothing to me. You were the first woman I wanted to have sex with in a long time.”

I took a step toward her and she took a step back. She was near the end of the bed, with me stuck in the doorway.

“I don’t care,” she said. “This was nothing. Penelope paid me to hang out with you.”

“What?” I was convinced I didn’t hear her correctly.

“All of this between us wasn’t real,” she said. “You’re not falling for me. You’re on the rebound. You got jilted and you’re just looking for a way to get back at her. You’re going to have to find someone else to take to bed.”

“What do you mean my sister paid you?” I asked.

“Just what I said,” she said, shrugging. “We met at a cafe the day before your yacht trip. She asked me to hang out with you and show you a good time. Sex was never part of the equation.”

“Bullshit,” I hissed.

“It’s true. Ask her. Now, go away. I want nothing to do with you. Tell Pip to keep the money. I never want to see you again.”

She pushed me back and slammed the door in my face. I stared at the closed door for several seconds. I was confused and hurt. I walked on deck and stared at the bonfire on the beach. They were all still partying. I put a hand to my chest, realizing I left my shirt in her room.

I grabbed one of the Ziploc bags I knew Shiloh kept in her gear bin and stuck my phone inside. I stuffed it in my pocket and jumped overboard, making a very loud splash. I swam back to shore.

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