Page 105 of Until August

But like Sasha said, Sage was an old soul.

When the timer went off, I set the sponge aside and gently peeled off the paper, revealing the blue octopus tattoo. It was about the same size as the palm of his hand. “What do you think?”

He tipped his chin down and squinted with one eye closed. “I can’t see it that good. How does it look?”

“Pretty cool.” I pulled up the camera on my phone, flipped it to selfie mode, and handed it to him so he could study the tattoo more closely.

His eyes widened, and his mouth formed a comical O. “This is the coolest thing ever. Wait until my friends see it.” He looked out at the beach, toward the pier again, keeping tabs on when his friends would arrive. “They’re here!” He ran to the railing and waved his arms, screaming their names. “Bodhi! Kai! I’m over here.”

The sea breeze swallowed up his words, and it was too far away for them to hear. He looked at me expectantly, bouncing on the balls of his feet, itching to leave. “Can I go see them now?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, not sharing his eagerness. “I’ll walk you over.” No sooner were the words out of my mouth when he crawled through the railing, jumped to the sand, then tore off, in a hurry to move on to the next part of his day—hanging out with his friends.And Travis.

I grabbed his rash vest and backpack from the deck and strode across the beach to the small group setting up beach chairs and a blanket under an umbrella. They’d brought surfboards and a cooler, all prepared for a day at the beach.

Sage was already showing off his octopus tattoo when I reached them. I put my hand on his shoulder, staking my claim. I wasn’t ready to let him go.

Sage looked up at me and then at his friends. “This is my dad.”

There he went again. At this rate, I’d be crying like a baby before the day was over. After introducing me to his friends, he turned to face me. “Are you going to hang out with us?”

As much as I would love to stay and hang out with Sage, I had no interest in spending time with Travis. Besides, these were his friends, not mine, and I had to get to work. “I have to work now. But I’ll see you in six weeks, okay? And you can call me whenever you want.”

He bobbed his head. “Okay.”

I gave him a hug, only a quick one. He looked like he was dying to join his friends, already heading down to the water. Sure enough, as soon as I released him, he said bye and chased after the other two boys. And just like that. He was gone.

“We haven’t met.” I turned to the woman with long black hair and aquamarine eyes. Most likely the former model. “I’m Remy.”

“August.”

She smiled, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t dazzling. She was beautiful. Not my type. But beautiful all the same. “I know. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

I pushed my hand through my hair. “I can only imagine what you’ve heard.”

“It’s all good,” she assured me, and I wondered who her source was. Sage? Before I could question it, Shane and Travis joined us, and Remy left to look after the boys.

“He’ll be back before you know it,” Shane assured me as if reading my thoughts.

Travis offered no such assurances. “Can I have a word?”

Can I have a word?

I’d love to have a word.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX

August

I saidgoodbye to Shane and started walking away without waiting for Travis. I turned to face him when I’d gotten a few feet away and jerked my chin at him. “Say what you have to say but make it quick.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I have to get to work.” There was an edge to my voice that I didn’t bother hiding.

We weren’t friends, and there was no reason to pretend we were.

He widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest, adopting the same pose as me. “I told you when we met that I’m not the enemy.”

I huffed out a laugh. Despite his words, it felt like once again we were at a stand-off and battle lines had been drawn. “No. You’re the guy who paid off my debts and stepped in to play dad,” I said, letting the bitterness seep into my words. “Thesameguy who wants to move my son to fucking Hawaii. So why don’t you tell me what I owe you, and I’ll start paying it off.”

“You don’t owe me anything.” He pressed his lips together, looked out at the water, and then back at me. “Did Sasha tell you about my brother’s son?”