Page 8 of Broken Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #1)

I turn and walk back to where the guys are sitting, Kai now laughing at me.

“Burned, huh?”

Kai asks with a grin. “Knew you fucking liked her though.”

“Fuck off,”

I reply, flopping into my seat, having no desire to tell them about whatever that was just now with Sage. I don’t even know what it was or what the hell possessed me to go over there and ask her to stay.

Why the hell was I suddenly thinking about kissing her?

Fucking hell.

“Gonna guess that was Mitch’s long-lost daughter?”

Tanner asks, shocking the shit out of me.

My head snaps around to where he sits next to me, an unreadable expression on his face. “You knew he had a daughter?”

I ask and Tanner just nods as he takes a sip of his beer. “Did you two know?”

I ask, turning to Miles and Kai.

“What?”

Kai says, clearly confused. “Mitch has a daughter?”

I turn to Miles, the quieter of the two of them, and he just shrugs and says, “Nope, had no clue.”

I turn back to Tanner, more confused than ever. Why was Mitch so secretive about his daughter and why do only select people apparently know about her? And why the fuck has Tanner never said anything?

“When did you find out?”

I ask him, my words harsh.

“When she was born,”

he replies, as though it’s obvious.

My eyes widen. “And what, you never thought to mention it?”

I blurt out, angry.

Tanner blows out a breath, sinking lower into his chair. “It wasn’t for me to tell, Nate,”

he says. “Mitch stopped talking about her a while ago and asked me to do the same, and I respected his wishes.”

“Why the fuck didn’t he want to talk about her? Or anyone to even know about her?”

I ask, knowing Mitch never seemed like the kind of guy to keep secrets. He was pretty much friends with everyone on this island and it always felt like we were all friends with him too. Like hanging out with Mitch was one big family gathering where everyone was always included.

Tanner takes another long sip of his beer as though he’s contemplating his answer. None of us say anything as we wait for him to speak. Eventually, he lowers his beer and says, “That’s not an easy question to answer, and to be honest, I’m not sure I know the answer anyway.”

He pauses to take another sip of his beer. “I know he had regrets about it all, and maybe that was a part of it, but I don’t know the full story.”

I shake my head, knowing that answer isn’t good enough, that it doesn’t even begin to answer the multitude of other questions I now have about Mitch. I seriously thought I knew this guy who took me in, no questions asked, who protected me and gave me a place to live and a job, and so much more.

Now it feels like I barely knew him at all.

“I didn’t even know she existed until she showed up here,”

I mumble. “She doesn’t even know him or any of us, and she’s gonna ruin everything.”

“Nate,”

Tanner says, leaning forward to rest a hand on my shoulder.

“What?”

He squeezes my shoulder, leaving his hand there as he says, “You didn’t know about her, and I’m gonna guess she didn’t know about you either. You aren’t the only one to lose Mitch, you know? Maybe go easy on her. It can’t be easy showing up here to a bunch of strangers who seem to think she has no right to mourn her father.”

I lean forward, pulling away from Tanner’s grip as I rest my elbows on my knees. I know what he’s saying is true, but it still doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. Sage might be his daughter, but as far as I can tell, she had no relationship with him.

But I did. I did have a relationship with him and I’m here, and still, I knew nothing about her.

I thought I could get to know my dad.

Her words from earlier ring in my ears, and I glance up at the apartment, wondering what she’s doing right now, if that’s really why she’s here.

“Maybe,”

Tanner now says, interrupting my thoughts. “If you got to know her a little, you might also get to know Mitch some more.”

My eyes close as I scrub a hand down my face and stand from my chair. “I’m going to bed,”

I say, not acknowledging Tanner’s comment as I turn and walk over to the guesthouse.

I roll over to check the time, knowing I may as well just get up considering I pretty much got zero sleep last night, Tanner’s words on a constant repeat in my head as I stared up at the slowly turning ceiling fan.

Deep down, I know I’ve been a dick to Sage. Just like even deeper down, I know she doesn’t deserve it.

“Shit,”

I mumble, sliding out of bed. The sun is barely peeking above the horizon, but I still pull on my boardshorts, grabbing my board on the way out and crossing over the road to the beach.

I paddle out to where the waves are just starting to crest, sitting on my board as I wait for the perfect wave. When I see the ocean swell, I get ready, feeling the lift as I paddle my hands through the water, standing to catch the ride.

In my head, I hear Mitch’s voice, “Let the wave guide you.”

But I already know I’ve fucked it, the wave breaking onto me as I’m thrown from my board.

It’s a fucking rookie mistake and not one I would normally make, but I know my head is still all sorts of messed up about last night, about the last couple of days, really. Blowing out a breath, I climb back onto my board, paddling back out as I force myself to clear the thoughts from my head.

I manage to get an hour or so of surfing in, my mind now blank as I focus only on the waves and the swell, on the perfect moment as I stand on my board.

By the time I’m walking out of the surf and over to the coffee shop, my head is clearer even if I still don’t have any answers to the million questions that linger at the back of my mind.

“Couldn’t sleep, huh?”

I look up to see Tanner standing at the counter, waiting for his order. I offer him a smile as I shake my head and say, “Not really.”

“Yeah, me either,”

he says, grabbing his cup when the barista calls his name. “Been working on the board for Alana and I keep second-guessing the design.”

“You know Mitch loved all your boards. Pretty sure you can’t get it wrong,”

I say, yawning.

Tanner chuckles as the server asks me for my order. I open my mouth to speak, but for some reason, nothing comes out. It’s not until Tanner nudges me and says, “If you can’t sleep, I’ll bet she can’t either.”

I want to roll my eyes at his comment, even if a part of me knows it’s probably true. And clearly my morning catching waves has cleared my head more than I realized as I say, “Two salted caramel cold brews, thanks,”

before tapping my watch on the card machine. I turn back to him as I wait for my order. Tanner is watching me with a small smile on his face that makes me feel uncomfortable enough that I ask, “What?”

“I know this isn’t easy, Nate,”

he says, his words low. “Mitch meant a lot to you, I get it.”

I nod, not saying anything as Tanner continues. “He meant a lot to me too. And to Kai and Miles.”

“I know, okay,”

I say, blowing out a frustrated breath. “I’m not trying to make out like I’m suffering the most here with him dying. That’s not?—”

“I know you’re not,”

he says, cutting me off as the barista slides the two drinks along the counter to me. “Just remember, he probably meant a lot to her too, in his own way.”

I blink rapidly, my eyes suddenly stinging, which I blame on the saltwater from the ocean. Scrubbing a hand down my face, I don’t look at Tanner, just offer him a quick nod as I grab the coffees and turn and walk back to the shop.

After a quick shower, I get changed into some shorts and a T-shirt, stepping into some flip flops before grabbing the coffees and taking the stairs up to Mitch’s apartment. I knock once, my stomach churning with nerves as I wait to see the reception I’m going to get.

“Hey,”

I say when Sage finally opens the door. Her hair is all messed up, like she’s just rolled out of bed, but her eyes are red-rimmed, like she’s been crying or has barely slept. Maybe both. “Peace offering,”

I quickly add, holding out the cold brew to her.

Her gaze drops to the cup in my hand before lifting to mine. “Is it poisoned?”

she asks, her voice husky, as though these are the first words she’s spoken in a while.

I bark out a laugh, not expecting her to say that. “No,”

I reply, taking a sip from the straw before I realize what I’ve just done. “Shit, sorry,”

I say holding out the other cup to her.

Sage takes it from me, the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips as she says, “Thanks.”

I rock back on my heels waiting to see if she’s going to invite me in. When it’s clear she’s not, I ask, “Can I come in?”

She takes a sip of her drink, her eyes closing briefly as she savors the flavor and caffeine hit. When she opens them, I’m staring at her mouth, at the way she licks her lips after she swallows.

Fuck.

“I just…I just want to apologize,”

I say, shoving my free hand through my still wet hair. “I know I?—”

My words are cut off as Sage opens the door wider, indicating she is inviting me in. I step inside, hearing the click of the door closing behind me and then following as she walks over to the large glass doors and steps out onto the balcony.

It’s only now that I’m standing behind her that I realize she’s dressed in a tiny pair of sleep shorts and a tight tank, which does absolutely nothing to hide the amazing body she has.

She might not be tanned like the locals, but she is definitely lean and in great shape, and as I walk out behind her, my mouth goes dry at the view in front of me. I take a long pull of my coffee as I sit down in one of the chairs and Sage takes the other.

I didn’t spend a ton of time up here with Mitch, most of our catching up either happened in the shop, out on the ocean, or around the firepit, but I did come up here occasionally. When he renovated the place just over a year ago, it was my opinion he asked for when trying to decide if he should knock down the walls and make the place more open.

I knew he didn’t have any family, just the occasional girlfriend, so I’d told him to do it because what was the point of the second bedroom when there wasn’t anyone to use it? Thinking back on it now, I remember the weird look he’d given me, the sad smile that had crossed his face as he’d nodded in agreement.

Why the fuck did he never tell me about Sage?

“So,”

I eventually say, the two of us staring out at the ocean.

“So,”

Sage repeats, and I can’t help but smile as I turn to her. “What?”

she asks when she catches me watching her.

“Mitch did that all the time,”

I say, chuckling.

“Did what?”

she asks, her brow narrowing in confusion.

“Every time I started a conversation with ‘so’, he’d smile and repeat it right back to me. I think he knew it was because I was about to say something that made me uncomfortable or whatever, and he was trying to lighten the moment.”

Sage blinks at me, and I realize that’s probably the most I’ve ever said to her in one go. It’s also something about Mitch that I’ve shared with her.

I watch as she swallows hard before saying, “I don’t know if I ever noticed that.”

I turn away, shrugging as though it’s no big deal. “I guess maybe he didn’t do it with everyone,” I murmur.

Sage doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her eyes on me, the way she stares at my profile as though she’s waiting for something. Eventually, she takes another sip of her drink before she says, “So what were you about to say that was making you uncomfortable?”

The laugh falls out of me before I can stop it, and shaking my head, I say, “Fuck me, you’re so much like him.”

“I am?”

she asks, surprised.

I turn to face her, nodding once as I say, “Yeah, I think you are.”

Sage licks her lips, and my gaze drops to her mouth again. “I don’t know that much about him, really, so I wouldn’t know.”

I lift my eyes back to hers, giving her a small smile. “I know, and I know that’s why you’re here,”

I tell her. Sage nods but doesn’t say anything. I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly before I say, “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick.”

Her eyes widen at this, and I can’t help but laugh, especially when she says, “Seriously?”

“Seriously, I’m sorry or seriously I’ve been such a dick?” I ask.

Sage smirks. “Um, both?”

I smile. “Yeah, fair enough, and it’s both,”

I tell her.

She tips her head in acknowledgment, and we both turn back to face the ocean. “I kinda get it,”

she eventually says. “I mean, I don’t, but I get why me showing up would be a shock.”

“I knew nothing about you,”

I tell her.

“I knew nothing about you,”

she counters.

I turn back to find she’s watching me again, an unreadable expression on her face. “Why do you think he never mentioned…”

I trail off, knowing it wasn’t just that Mitch didn’t tell me about his daughter. He clearly didn’t tell his daughter about any of us either. “Why do you think he never said anything?”

I now ask.

This time, it’s Sage letting out a long breath as she turns away again, sinking into her chair.