Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Relax?” she exclaims. “You were missing for two weeks, Avery! Two weeks! I thought I was going to have to name my kid after you or something!”
I snort. “I mean, Avery is a great name for a baby…”
June narrows her eyes at me, but her lips twitch like she’s trying not to smile. “You’re impossible.”
I shrug, leaning back against the pillows. I don’t want to be sad. I don’t want to cry or wail or complain. I just want to feel warm. My gaze drifts to Beau, and before I can stop myself, I ask the only question truly burning me. “Have you seen Henry? Is he doing okay?”
“He’s on another floor because Mom bribed the nurses to give you this room since it had the best view,” he answers.
My head jerks to my mom petulantly. “And you didn’t bribe them to give Henry a good room too?”
She frowns. “Of course I did. They only had one room with a good view on each floor.”
I shake my head lightly, trying to seem nonchalant, but my chest is much tighter than I let on. I wish she would have kept us together.
Is he alone? I know it shouldn’t matter, but it does. Henry doesn’t have family anymore. Just Ronnie and Maverick and Beau—but one of them is in my room with me. My throat feels dry, and I swallow hard against the uncomfortable sensation.
“Is…is anyone with him?” I ask, my voice quieter than I intend.
Beau shrugs. “Yeah, Ronnie and Maverick and Ashley. Ron says they’re still doing evaluations, but so far, so good.”
“Good,” I manage to squeak out. “I’m glad someone is with him, at least.” Even if one of those someones is his dumb girlfriend.
June laughs. “Honestly, I’m surprised there weren’t more girlfriends waiting for him on the tarmac. You know Henry and women. As soon as news of your plane disappearing hit the papers, I figured they’d be crawling out of the woodwork like roaches.”
Beau chuckles. “Ah, but the news of his survival is fresh. There’s still time.”
“Henry is such a nice young man,” Mom says, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “I hope one day he’ll decide to settle down.”
“Doubtful,” Beau snorts. “He’s always been a bit of a lone wolf when it comes to long-term relationships. He only turned semi-monogamous when he realized he was the only one left without a girlfriend.”
Their words sting more than I’d like to admit. Henry might be a lot of things—restless, unpredictable, a little reckless—but for the past two weeks, he’s been my everything. I don’t like feeling like an outsider in this conversation, and I don’t like feeling like someone knows him better than I do. At all.
I gave myself to him. Completely. Something I’ve never done with anyone else, and even with the uncertainty of all this, I don’t regret it. But I don’t know where we stand. I don’t even know if he wants to stand anywhere with me at all or if it’s a long-lost memory stuck on the island we aren’t on anymore.
“You know,” June says, breaking into my thoughts. “It’s kind of funny Henry and Avery were stranded together.”
“Why?” I ask, sitting up a little straighter. There’s an edge to my voice I don’t mean to add, but it sure sounds like the very thing I’m crying over internally is about to be the butt of a joke.
“Because he’s like the male version of you, you know?” June says. “I mean, I didn’t even know much about your boyfriend Justin. Hell, today was the first time I actually met him, even though I’m pretty sure you’ve been dating for, like, two months.”
“A boyfriend who apparently wanted to propose,” Beau chimes in.
“Ju…he wasn’t going to propose,” I argue, but even as I say it, I have to work to remember his name. Justin, Avery. Your boyfriend’s name is Justin, for fuck’s sake.
“I don’t have the best eyesight these days, but the boy got down on one knee, sweetheart,” Dad says, crossing his arms.
“He needed to tie his shoe,” I lie.
“He was wearing loafers,” Dad counters.
“Which is clearly a fashion offense punishable by jail and not the sort of thing a man I’d consider betrothal to would ever do,” I say, pointedly rolling my eyes and glancing down at my father’s favorite Gucci leather loafers that he’s currently wearing. They’re from ten seasons ago, and the leather is so worn it looks like he attempted to hike Mount Everest in them.
“Nice deflection,” my dad muses, and I roll my eyes again. Though, I know he’s not wrong. None of them are. Justin was about to propose, and while stringing guys along while they jump to fulfill my every whim isn’t new, it also isn’t right. I need to cut him loose as soon as possible.
As if on cue, the door swings open, and Justin walks in with a massive bouquet of flowers. Red and white and pink roses bundled together in an arrangement so large, he has to bend at the hip to show his face. Several sets of wide, amused eyes turn in my direction, beaming against my embarrassment like a spotlight.