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Chapter Nine
Gia
A week passed. After me and the girls moved resorts to keep our location a secret, most of my time was spent with Sloane.
Seven entire days with him, and it was like a dream.
No paparazzi. No creepy fetish weirdos.
Just me and “my guy” as the internet was calling him. And boy, did I like the sound of that. Sloane did too, because when I told him about it, his grin got big enough to blot out the sun.
Our days were spent at the beach. We shopped on the boardwalk and ate our fill of crab legs. He even took me snorkeling for our “four day sext-aversary” as he called it. Life with Sloane was outrageous and lovely. An adventure in falling headfirst in love.
But it was only temporary.
My gut clenched at the reminder.
Vacation was officially halfway over. Every day, every hour even, was starting to feel like a countdown to doom. I could feel it. He could feel it. There was a growing desperation between us that neither wanted to admit. Like if we spoke it out loud, we would crash and burn.
And don’t even mention the havoc it was wreaking on our bodies. The sexual tension had notched up to nuclear levels even though we’d taken things no farther than we did the first night.
It was safer that way.
For my heart especially.
Because Sloane was coming to mean way more to me than just a summer fling. I’d never met a man who listened to me like Sloane. Who protected me like Sloane. Who wanted me the way he did.
Totally and completely. With all my baggage and needs.
We complimented each other. We matched, in deeper ways than what could be seen on the outside. He was the answer to my questions. The medicine for my soul.
I didn’t know how I would ever be able to leave him.
Sadness wracked my body and I breathed through it.
“Oh, no,” Helena whispered from her spot on the sofa where she was scrolling her phone.
The four of us were packing to move to another resort. A week in one place was long enough for the media to find me if they wanted, so it was better to head that off. Besides, the others were jonesing for a new part of the island to explore.
Maisy lounged across from me on the bed. She had nothing to pack because she’d practically moved all her stuff to Malachi’s bungalow. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to be leaving Ember Island with the rest of us.
Kara was viciously throwing things into a suitcase. Something was bugging her, but I knew she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. When she was, I’d be there to listen.
“No, no, no.” Helena’s whisper of unbelief brought my attention back to her.
“What is it, Hel?”
She found my gaze and shook her head, eyes wide. “Gia…”
My stomach sank like a stone. Something was wrong.
I straightened, reaching for her hand, but she’d looked back to her phone and didn’t see me. Her head moved from side to side in disbelief, as if she was a robot on autopilot.
“This can’t be real,” she murmured.
I exchanged a concerned glance with Maisy. “Hel, you’re worrying me.”
Helena’s mouth fished open for an explanation, but no words came. Until finally she passed me her phone with a timid, “Here.”
