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“Ok.”

“And it was Aiden.” I winced, waiting for the explosion.

“What the hell?” He slammed the tea on the bedside table. “What is that son of a bitch doing in my motel? You checked him in?”

I sat on the opposite side of the bed, careful not to jar his leg. “I had a reason.”

“And what’s that?”

I inhaled, knowing Cole probably wouldn’t buy this argument. It made

sense at the time. “I thought if he spent time there, he would fall in love with it like I did and he’d stop all this crazy talk about tearing it down.” I sighed. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Damn it, Kaitlyn. You think that’s help? He is going to sue me for full ownership. You let that vicious asshole under my roof. He’s going to be hanging around every day, digging into our business. I said it before. He’s after more than just the Dunes. Now he’ll get to see you every day.”

“Not that again.” I stood and walked to the deck door. The sun was still high, and the gleam off the water was bright. “I was trying to figure out a way to convince him the Dunes needs to be left alone. I don’t want him to tear it down, and I don’t want him to sue you. I am not interested in Aiden and that had nothing to do with my invitation.”

“He is after you, Kaitlyn. Open your damn eyes,” he growled.

I faced Cole. “Do you need anything else?”

“What?”

“Pills? Water? Extra pillows?” I planted my hands on my hips.

“No, why?”

I turned the handle on the door. “Because I’m going out for a walk on the beach. I’ll be back later.” I slammed the door behind me, intentionally loud. I wasn’t going to stand there and listen to that jealous shit another second. Aiden? Me? Cole was the one who had lost his damn mind.

I walked and walked until I wasn’t sure how long I had been gone. I liked this end of the island. The wildlife park was quiet and isolated. Only the locals knew about how great this part was.

I sat near the dunes and watched the seagulls fight over a school of minnows. Survival of the fittest, I thought. The minnows might get away if the gulls got too wrapped up in their territory war to notice their prey was swimming away.

I wasn’t sure how Cole and I were going to get through this storm we were being tossed around in. First Aiden, then the accident, then Aiden again. I buried my head in my hands. We were still supposed to be in the honeymoon phase. After Ryan had knocked Cole on his ass, I thought the hardest part about living together would be figuring out where to put our toothbrushes or arguing over who stole the most covers. I wanted the romance and the dancing in Mexico.

My skin started to turn slightly pink from the afternoon sun. I hopped up and sanded off the back of my shorts before walking toward home. Enough beach for the afternoon. I couldn’t leave Cole stranded. I had to pick Grayson up soon.

I trailed the surf, dodging the waves on my sneakers. When I reached our beach access, I turned and cut across the sun’s path. Right smack into Aiden.

“Whoa, Kaitlyn. Watch where you’re going.” He laughed as he jogged backward a few paces.

“I—I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I stammered. Aiden was shirtless, sweaty, and out of breath.

“No problem, sweetheart.” He shoved his shades on top of his head, making his eyes glisten. I noticed they were trailing my legs.

“Enjoy your run.” I scooted past him on a mission to reach our stairs before he pulled me into a conversation, or I saw his eyes creep up any further.

He rested a hand on the railing next to my hip. “Want to join me? I’m going to check out that end of the island.” He pointed to the open space of the park. “I still need a tour guide. Trying to get my bearings around here.”

“The beach is beautiful down there. You’ll like it.” The truth was I had no idea what kinds of things Aiden would like. So far, he hadn’t shown much interest in maintaining the integrity of Padre. Why would a natural park appeal to him?

“You sure? I promise not to run too fast. I bet you can keep up.”

I shook my head. He had placed a foot on the bottom step and was inching closer. “No, thanks. You have fun. I have to pick up Grayson from school.”

“Who’s that?” he asked.

I turned from him and took two more steps.