Page 29 of Storm Warning

A giggle rolled from Callie’s lips. “I had a blast. Now, enough about that. I need to know—have you met any cuteguys yet? Did you break out one of those bikinis in public? That’ll pull them in!”

Callie’s playful insistence nudged Kate’s mood higher, a flush creeping up her neck.

“Oh, have I got a story to tell you. Hang on a second, and let me put my earbuds in.” She slipped them in, her fingers trembling, before diving into the tale of her arrival—recounting everything from the snafu at check-in to her encounters with the charismatic trio of brothers, glossing over the men’s suspicions of sabotage and their unsettling request that she keep her eyes open.

By the time she finished, silence lingered on the line, thick and weighty.

“Callie? You still with me?”

“OMG. I can’t believe you met three gorgeous gazillionaires. And, are staying in their guest suite. How do you do that? You have got to be the luckiest bitch on this planet,” Callie squealed, half in laughter, half in envy.

“Calm down.” Kate shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself. “It wasn’t exactly a fun time, you know.”

“Oh, whatever. You’re in paradise. So…” Callie’s tone turned sly. “Was there chemistry? Tell me you might be eyeing one of them.”

Heat crawled up Kate’s neck, and she pressed her palm to her burning cheek. “Well… one. Nick. He’s… incredibly charming.” Even saying his name made her chest tighten in a way that was both exhilarating and unsettling, her heartbeat quickening.

“Your voice went all breathy.” Callie teased.

“Oh, stop it,” Kate mumbled, though she was smiling, her reflection in the window glass betraying her flustered expression.

“So Nick caught your interest?”

She stared at the pale green curtains billowing in the salt-tinged breeze, watching the fabric dance. “He’s… different from the guys I’ve met before. He's… anchored. But also… I don’t know. Intimidating.”

“Intimidating how?”

Kate’s mouth went dry, her tongue thick. She tried to pin down the thought. “He’s just… so sure of himself. So… polished. Confident. Like he’s never had to doubt he belonged anywhere. Sometimes, when he looks at me, I feel like he sees more than I’m ready to show.” Her voice dropped to a whisper.

Callie was quiet for a beat. “Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”

“Or it’s a disaster waiting to happen. I mean, he’s the owner and freaking CEO of a multinational corporation! One he built from the ground up.”

Callie sighed, and Kate pictured her pinching the bridge of her nose. “Listen to me. You have got to stop letting that idiot ex of yours rent space in your head. He didn’t belittle your job because it was silly. He did it because he couldn’t handle that you had a purpose he couldn’t control. That you, a mere woman, had a better lifestyle than he did.”

Kate’s throat tightened, her eyes stinging. “It … he made me feel like all this—” She gestured helplessly at the laptop, the scattered manuscript notes, as if Callie was there and could see. “—was a game. Like I was playing at being a writer. Sometimes, I still believe him.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue.

“Of course you do,” Callie murmured, her voice soft with understanding. “Because he said it over and over until you internalized it. But it's not true, Kate. You know how many women would kill to have what you’ve built? Your books matter. Your voice matters.Youmatter.”

A rush of tears pricked her eyes, hot and insistent, and she pressed her knuckles to her mouth, fighting the tremor in her chin.

“As for Nick,” Callie went on, voice firming, “perhaps he isintimidating, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want something real. That you couldn’t have something special with him. Please… don’t write it off without giving it a chance.”

Kate swallowed hard, her heart hammering against her ribs. “What if I do? What if I let myself want him, and it ends like before?”

“Then it ends. And you’ll still be you—smart, talented, successful. The same woman who wrapped a tour most authors would envy. But maybe it won’t end the same. Maybe it’ll be better.”

Silence stretched between them, filled only by the hum of her whirling thoughts and the distant crash of waves.

“You’re a catch, Kate,” Callie added. “Never forget that.”

BZZZZT.

Her phone vibrated hard in her hand, the buzz sharp against her palm. She glanced down—and froze.

The resort’s app was open, a glaring red emergency alert pulsing at the top:

TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED – EVACUATE BEACH AREA IMMEDIATELY