AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is it? What’s wrong?” All kinds of terrible situations flashed through his mind and he struggled to know which one to pick. Had she been assaulted? Mugged? Maybe she’d gotten in a car accident? He was going to go crazy if she didn’t tell him right now.
“Levi broke up with me.” She wailed, and relief flooded over him.
Was that all it was? Her boyfriend broke up with her? Then another thought struck him, and he gritted his teeth. “He didn’t hurt you, did he? I mean, physically?”
“No,” she said through another sob. “Why would you think that? I love him.”
“I don’t know. You’re just crying so loud.”
Her wails increased, and he cringed. Man, he was bad at this. What should he say to her? He didn’t know what would make her stop. And that’s all he cared about right now. For her to stop crying.
Nara’s lips pressed together, and she held out her hand for the phone. “Let me talk to her.”
Derek nodded and held up his finger. “Nara wants to speak to you. Is that all right?”
“Okay,” she said through another sob.
He shoved the phone at Nara like it was a bomb and he needed to get rid of it before it exploded. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he began pacing the room. Nara was so calm, talking to Brielle. How could she be so calm? It made him extra anxious any time a woman was crying like that. Was it just him? Was he overreacting? And why did he want to pound that guy into the ground for making Brielle cry?
“Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry.” Nara cringed as she listened to whatever Brielle was saying.
Derek’s gut clenched. What could he do to help his sister? He felt so powerless. Helpless.
“Oh, no, don’t worry about it. We’re fine.” Nara made a face, and he wasn’t sure what that meant, but then she said, “Okay. I’ll talk to you later,” and hung up.
“What did she say? Did she stop crying?”
“She’s upset, but every girl gets upset when there’s a breakup. She’ll be fine. She felt bad for calling while we’re on our honeymoon.” Nara set the phone down on the table and scooped up another bite of breakfast.
“What can I do for her?”
“Nothing,” Nara said around her pancake. “Just be supportive. She’ll cry for a while, then she’ll start calling him fathead, then eventually she’ll get over him and move on.”
Derek stared at her. Fathead. That’s what she called her ex. He swallowed, a funny feeling enveloping him. “Is that what stage you’re at? The calling him fathead stage?”
Nara exhaled and her shoulders slumped a little. “Probably.”
So, she wasn’t to the ‘get over him and move on’ stage yet. Which probably meant she still had feelings for her ex. Nice. Another reason this whole sham of a marriage wasn’t going to work.
Deflated, Derek sat back down in his chair. He picked up his fork, but wasn’t hungry anymore, so he ended up just pushing his eggs around on his plate until they were stone cold. He did eat his bacon though. Because who leaves bacon uneaten? He wasn’t a heathen.
Chapter 16
Nara gripped Derek’s arm as the lights in the cave went out. The guide had told them he was going to shut them off, so they could see how dark it was. But now, being under the surface of the earth with no light whatsoever and imagining whatever else might be in the cave with them was freaking her out.
“Pirates used to use these caves to hide from storms. Legend has it that there is pirate treasure in these caves. Can you imagine what those pirates felt like, down here, with just a small flickering flame to light the way?”
“I don’t have to imagine,” Nara whispered to Derek. “I’m feeling it just fine.”
His arm slid around her middle, and the flutters of attraction that she’d been feeling over the past few days intensified. He pulled her to him, and she fit under the crook of his arm. Snuggling into him felt amazing. Like she belonged there. It was no longer feeling strange to be with Derek. Maybe she was just getting used to it, but she thought maybe there was something more going on.
She was actually starting to like him.
The thought should have startled her, but it didn’t. It was like slipping into a comfortable pair of jeans. He’d always been there in her life, she’d just never realized it in that way before. She liked being around him.
The guide turned on a flashlight and shone it across the stalactites hanging down. “These caves were formed over millions of years.” He pointed his light on one section of the wall. “If you look close you can see a fossilized backbone of a fish right there. Over here,” he pointed at a different area. “You can see a fossilized shell. This tells us at one time all of this was under the sea.” The guide turned all the lights back on.
“Cool,” Derek muttered.
