Page 28 of Fragile Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #3)

It’s been nearly a week since Sloane went and saw her mom, and while she hasn’t seen or heard any more from her, I can tell it’s all still weighing on her.

She’s been a little quieter than usual, and while she is still working and going to school and coming surfing with me, our nights have been spent holed up at home on the couch watching movies.

I get it though, because as much as she saw her mom to try and get some sort of closure, she’s still affected by her just showing up out of the blue like she did.

I think she’s also still affected by making the choice to say no to her mom and cut her out of her life.

I have no idea what that must feel like, never having been in a situation even remotely close to what Sloane is going through.

I wish so badly that she didn’t have to go through any of this, but I am glad that I can be here for her. That she isn’t running or pulling away from me because of all this.

“What are you up to today?” Sloane asks, her voice still husky with sleep as she rolls into me, the morning sun streaming into our bedroom.

I lift my arm so she can get closer, her head now resting on my shoulder as she drops an arm across my stomach, letting out a sigh.

Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her in, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“We are going surfing,” I tell her, “and then we are going to go catch up with Flynn and Alana.”

“Hmmm,” she mumbles sleepily as she burrows her face into my neck, her lips resting against my skin.

Chuckling, I drop another kiss on the top of her head. “Hmmm?” I repeat. “That’s all I’m getting, is hmmm?”

Sloane lets out a soft laugh, lifting her head from my shoulder. “Sorry, that sounds good,” she says, smiling at me.

I brush the hair back from her face, tucking some loose strands behind her ear.

“How are you doing?” I ask her. I’ve been trying not to ask her this too much, not wanting to pressure her.

I want her to know that I’m here and she can talk to me whenever she wants, but that I also respect her privacy.

She tilts her head a little, as though she’s thinking about her answer. I twist strands of her long blonde hair slowly around my fingers while she does, until eventually she says, “I’m good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” she confirms. “It feels good having said what I said. I don’t know if she believed me or if she’ll listen, but I’m glad I said it.” She smiles at that, and I return it, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone. “And maybe she did get the message because I haven’t heard from her since, so...”

“You think she’s left?” I ask, wondering where the hell she would even go. Maui isn’t that big, and I kind of get the feeling if she was hanging around, we’d somehow know about it. Although I guess Sloane didn’t really ever know where she went every other time she left.

“I don’t know, maybe,” she says, shrugging. “Is it bad that I hope she has?”

“Absolutely not,” I say, leaning up to kiss her. “You are allowed to feel these things, Sloane. It doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“I know,” she replies. “It’s just...I don’t know, hard, you know?”

“I get that, babe, but this will get easier, and I’m here, always.”

She smiles now, and for the first time since her mom showed up, her smile actually reaches her eyes. “Thank you, Owen,” she says quietly. “I don’t think anyone has ever had my back like you have.”

Chuckling, I lean up and press another kiss to her lips, my hand curling around the back of her neck as I bring her back down to the pillow with me.

“Babe, I’ve got your back, your front, your sides, every fucking part of you, okay?

Don’t ever forget that.” She giggles at that, and it’s fucking adorable. “Should we get up?” I now ask.

“Hmmm,” she says, a sexy smirk on her face.

“Hmmm?” I repeat.

Grinning, she leans in, pressing several quick kisses to my lips. “Pretty sure there’s something else we could do first,” she whispers, nipping playfully at my bottom lip.

“Is there?”

Sloane shuffles so she’s lying on top of me now, her fingers combing through my hair, my already hard dick pressed against her. “Yes,” she murmurs, leaning in to kiss me again, deeper this time.

“OH MY GOD, it’s so good to see you!” Alana yells as she comes running toward me and Sloane.

I let go of Sloane’s hand, laughing as Alana throws her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug, the two of them rocking together.

Flynn and I look at each other, and he laughs, rolling his eyes, before we clap hands, and he says, “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good, good,” I reply with a laugh. “How was California?” I ask as we sit down at the table they were at out on the deck of the restaurant overlooking the water.

“Awesome,” Flynn replies, glancing over at Alana. “She kicked some serious arse.”

“And you?” I ask as the girls walk over and join us.

Flynn shrugs. “Yeah, did pretty good,” he replies as Alana scoffs, elbowing him in the side as she sits down beside him.

“Pretty good?” she repeats. “’Cause a second and a third place after, like, what, three years off surfing, is pretty good?” she says, air quoting the last two words.

Flynn laughs, throwing his arm around Alana’s shoulders as he pulls her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Okay, babe, it was very good.”

Alana rolls her eyes even as she nods in agreement before turning back to me and Sloane, a big smile on her face. “So what’s been happening with you guys?” she asks. “I mean apart from the whole being in love thing?”

I laugh as Sloane shakes her head at her friend before saying, “We went to the opening of Owen’s family’s new hotel.”

“Oh wow, the one on Lanai?” Alana asks. “Nice.”

“It was amazing,” Sloane replies, giving me a quick smile because it wasn’t just the hotel that was amazing, but the whole weekend. “Annnnnd, my mom showed up.”

“What?” Alana shouts, the smile immediately falling from her face. “When?”

Sloane shrugs, glancing at me once more before she says, “About a week ago. She showed up at work.”

“What the fuck did she want?” Alana asks, practically spitting the words out.

Sloane rolls her eyes at this, leaning forward, her elbows resting on the table. “At first, she said it was just because she wanted to see me, catch up, you know. Claimed she just wanted to spend time with me.”

“Bullshit,” Alana snorts as Sloane nods.

“Yeah, it was,” she says. “I saw her a bit later to tell her I don’t want her in my life anymore, and of course, she was high.” Sloane stops, rolling her eyes again before she continues. “Dropped off by some random, tried to pick a fight and blame it on me, you know, the usual.”

Alana’s eyes narrow as she glances at me before turning back to Sloane. “And how are you with all of this? It must have been...” She trails off, not finishing her sentence.

“I was pissed she showed up, but yeah, I told her I didn’t want to see her anymore, and she doesn’t get to do this to me,” Sloane replies.

Silence falls over the table as Alana stares at Sloane, her eyes wide now. Suddenly, she jumps up from her chair, coming around to the other side of the table to throw her arms around Sloane in another tight hug.

“Fuck, I’m so proud of you, Sloane,” she murmurs, tightening her arms.

“You are?” Sloane asks, an adorably confused expression on her face.

“Yes!” Alana shouts, letting her go as she moves back to her chair. “This is huge, you telling her to fuck off and not, you know...” She pauses, waving a hand at Sloane in explanation.

“Spiraling?” Sloane suggests.

“Yeah,” Alana replies, sinking back into Flynn’s embrace as she smiles at Sloane. “Seriously, this is awesome. And I think this,” she says, pausing to wave her hand at me now, “is a big part of it.”

Sloane smiles at that, a light blush coloring her cheeks as she turns to look up at me. “It is.”

I smile, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “I didn’t do anything, babe,” I tell her.

Sloane rests her hand on my thigh, her smile widening as she says, “Yes, you did, Owen. You are here, you stayed. That’s everything.”

“It really is,” Alana echoes, her gaze moving to Flynn, who chuckles before cupping her cheek in his hand and pulling her in for a deep kiss.

“Couldn’t get rid of me if you tried,” he says to her when they eventually pull apart.

Alana’s smile widens, and Sloane and I glance at each other, Sloane laughing as she says, “You two are so sappy.”

“Pfft, please,” Alana scoffs, waving a hand at us. “Like you two are any different! Now tell me what else has been happening besides you telling your mom to fuck off. How is our little fluffball?”

We spend the next couple of hours catching up with Flynn and Alana over lunch. It’s great hearing all about their two surf competitions and just how excited they both are about all of the amazing opportunities they are now getting, not just with surfing but sponsorship and promo things too.

It’s super cool seeing them not only do well, but also so happy, especially after everything that went down with Jade.

Just as we’re finishing up, my phone starts to ring, and when I glance at the screen, I see the security company’s number flashing on my screen.

“Shit, sorry, just gotta take this,” I say, standing as I move away from the table, answering with a “Hello” when I answer.

“Owen Sinclair?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” I confirm.

“It’s David Marsh from Security Protect,” he says. “Can you confirm your date of birth and address, please?”

After I recite the details, I ask, “What’s this about?”

“Your monitored home alarm has been tripped,” he now says. “Would you like us to send someone over there or switch the alarm off?”

“Shit,” I mutter, turning back to the table. “Can you switch it off so my dog doesn’t freak out?” I ask. “I’ll head home now and see what’s going on.”

“Can do,” he replies. “Although we advise that you don’t enter the premises if there are signs of a break-in.”

“Okay, I won’t,” I say, making my way back to the table.

“Would you like me to send someone, just as a precaution?”

“Um, I don’t know. No,” I say, having no clue what the right thing to do is. “Let me go check it out, and if it looks sketchy, I’ll call the police,” I suggest.

“Okay, best of luck,” the guy says before disconnecting.

“Hey,” I say as I reach the table. “Gotta go, sorry. The house alarm has just been triggered, and I need to go find out what’s going on. Babe, do you wanna stay, and I’ll come get you when I’ve taken care of this?”

“No, I’ll come with you,” Sloane immediately says, standing.

“You need some help?” Flynn asks, a concerned look on his face.

“Nah, it’s cool, thanks,” I say with a smile. “It’s probably just Mochi, trying out his new dog door with too much enthusiasm,” I suggest, hoping that’s all it really is.

“Oh, he’ll be going crazy with the alarm going off,” Sloane says.

I grab her hand, smiling as I press a kiss to the back of it. “They’ve turned the alarm off. Don’t worry.”

She nods in response, and I can see the concern still on her face. We say our goodbyes to Flynn and Alana before walking back to the car, making the short trip home in silence.

When I pull into the driveway, the house looks completely normal, the silent blue flashing light at the side the only indication that something is wrong.

“What should we do?” Sloane asks from the passenger seat.

“Babe, wait here,” I say, squeezing her hand. “I’ll check it out and see what’s going on. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Sloane licks her bottom lip before pulling it between her teeth. I squeeze her hand once more before getting out of the car and walking up to the front door. I try it first, only to discover it’s still locked, so I unlock it carefully and then push it open.

“Fuck,” I breathe out when I get a look inside.

Behind me, I hear Sloane open her car door, the slam of it shutting before she walks up to join me, her hand gripping the back of my T-shirt. “Oh my god,” she whispers when she sees the state of the living room.

It’s like a fucking tornado has ripped through it. All the couch cushions are on the floor, a side table overturned, Sloane’s and my books and study notes from the dining table are strewn everywhere.

“Owen,” she whispers, her grip on my shirt tightening, just as Mochi comes running through the house to us, barking his head off.

Sloane lets go of me, crouching to catch him in her arms as she hugs him to her chest. Turning, I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling the two of them close as I drop a kiss to the top of her head. I can see Mochi is trembling, his entire body shaking as he licks at Sloane’s neck.

“I better call the police,” I say, pulling my phone from my pocket.

Sloane looks up at me, her eyes filled with tears as she says, “Do you think...do you think she did this?”

I drop another kiss on her forehead, my eyes closing briefly as I silently hope that it wasn’t her mom. She doesn’t know where we live, I’m sure of it, and we’ve heard nothing from her this past week since Sloane cut her out of her life.

“I’m sure it was just a random break-in,” I tell her, giving her a small smile. “Don’t worry, babe, we’ll get it taken care of,” I add before making the call.