“I know you want Evan to leave. That you want to spend the next two weeks alone with me. I know you want to talk about what happened so we can get past it and move forward with our relationship.” She couldn’t bring herself to mention marriage. There was too much uncertainty inside her.
At the sour expression on his face, she realized that he didn’t want to talk about it at all.
Right, he’s a guy. What was I thinking?
“But … I’m afraid that…” She hesitated. “If Evan goes back now…” She glanced from one to the other. “The way it’ll be between us … the awkwardness. I’m sure we’ll never see Evan again.” She glanced at Brent. “You won’t want him around. You’ll resent him.” She turned to Evan. “And Evan will be uncomfortable being around us.” At the rigid stance of both men, she knew this wasn’t going very well. “You two have been friends for too long.”
She knew how much they meant to each other. How deep their friendship had been. She didn’t want that to end. If there was any way she could salvage that …
“Crystal, you can’t honestly expect us to continue our friendship as if nothing happened,” Brent said.
“No, you’re right. The real issue is that something did happen.” She stood up straight and pushed back her shoulders. “Evan and I have slept together. And we’ve discovered we have strong feelings for each other.” She stared Brent straight in the eye. “And I don’t think I can just walk away from that.”
“Are you saying you’re choosing him over me?” The pain in Brent’s eyes tore at her heart. “But last night I thought … I was sure you still loved me.”
“I do still love you.”
“Then why would I stay?” Evan asked.
“Because I think I’m falling in love with you, too.”
Ten
“So let me get this straight.” Brent leaned back in his chair and stared at Crystal.
After her shocking statement, they’d decided they needed to regroup. Go outside and get some fresh air. Now they sat at the table on the patio overlooking the pool and the glittering turquoise ocean beyond.
“You want Evan to stay at the villa with us?” Brent continued.
“That’s right.”
“In the next room?”
She hesitated.
His eyebrows arched. “Are you saying I’m going to be in the next room?”
“Well … uh … no.”
Damn, she hadn’t thought this out. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was suggesting. She just knew she needed time to figure things out. And if Evan left this island and went back home, she’d probably never get the chance.
“I assume Crystal doesn’t want me to just be a houseguest on your honeymoon,” Evan said. “Don’t you want to explore your feelings for me? See where that might lead?”
“And how is that going to help us patch things up?” Brent demanded. “I take it you’re suggesting you have sex with him. While I’m sitting in the next room.”
“And I assume she’ll still be having sex with you, too. With me in the next room,” Evan said.
Brent’s hard stare latched on to her. “What exactly are you suggesting, Crystal?”
“Oh, God, I don’t know exactly. This is hard on me, too. I didn’t ask to be put in this situation. If I could unwind the clock to last Saturday, I would. Then you and I would be married now.” A quick glance at Evan and the devastated expression on his face sent her heart clenching. “Except that would be a lie. I guess that’s not what I want at all. All things happen for a reason. I believe that. And this happened so I’d wake up and realize that the attraction I felt for Evan couldn’t be ignored.”
“The attraction you felt for Evan? How long has that been going on?” Brent demanded.
Her stomach fluttered and confusion skittered through her. God, she’d already hurt one marriage because she’d had feelings for another man. Was she destined to ruin her relationship with Brent in the same way?
“It’s not like that,” Crystal responded. “I was attracted to Evan the first time I met him, but I was already going out with you. And I knew I was falling in love with you. So I suppressed my feelings for Evan, assuming they were just an attraction to a handsome, sexy guy. But when I thought you’d left me … when I faced those feelings without you in the picture…” She sucked in a breath. “Brent, if I’m really in love with you … ready to commit to you for the rest of my life…”
Oh, God, could she really say this out loud? She drew in another breath. “Then why am I feeling this way for another man?”
“That’s easy. Because you were confused … hurt…” Brent’s jaw clenched. “Maybe you even wanted to hurt me back.”
Her heart constricted. “No.” She leaned forward and stroked his cheek. “I would never want to hurt you. I hate that this whole thing is hurting you. But…” She didn’t want to say this, but she had to. “If I were to just go ahead and marry you now, I’d always wonder. Should I really be with Evan? Did I choose you just because I met you first? I think in the long run, I would hurt you far more if we wound up getting married, then divorcing later.”
His lips compressed. “We’re not even married and you’re already talking about divorce. I thought you were all about seeing it through the rough patches.”
“So the alternative is staying together despite the fact that I might be in love with someone else? Living a lie?”
He took her hand and drew her closer. “I don’t believe we’ve been living a lie. You love me, I know you do.”
The fierceness of his tone thrilled her. He believed in them, and she felt the heat sizzling between them.
“You have to give me time to be just as sure as you are. But until then, I need to explore my feelings for Evan.”
“So,” Evan said, “you’re saying at the end of this vacation, you’re going to choose between us?”
Brent glared at Evan, then shifted his hard gaze back to her. “Is that true?”
Her stomach twisted at the pain she saw in his face. She drew in a deep breath, then nodded.
* * *
Crystal walked along the beach, her sandals dangling from her fingers. The warm white sand squished between her toes as she walked. She’d had to get away from the building tension between the two men.
Three days had gone by since Brent had arrived. Three shaky days. After their conversation that first day, she and Evan had gone scuba diving, as they’d planned before Brent had arrived, then they’d all had dinner together, which had involved a lot of uncomfortable silences. That night, things got really awkward as bedtime approached, until finally she’d told them the only fair thing to do would be for them to all sleep separately. She needed time to figure all this out.
“Hey there. Beautiful morning.”
Crystal glanced up to see a tall, leggy blonde woman wearing a short red slinky bathing suit cover, sunglasses, and a broad-brimmed straw hat walking along the beach, heading for a set of four lounge chairs with umbrellas. Her long, wavy hair caressed her shoulders and glimmered in the bright sunlight.
“Hi,” Crystal said.
“Which villa are you staying in?” the other woman asked.
“Um … it’s behind that gate right back there.” Crystal pointed behind her at the wooden gate she’d exited to access the beach.
All along the beach were wooden fences that stopped people wandering from the beach onto the villa property beyond and gave privacy to the individual yards and pools. Their pool was well hidden, but the patio that overlooked the private pool offered a view of the ocean beyond.
“That means we’re neighbors. My name’s Sarah.”
Sarah held out her hand and Crystal shook it.
“I’m Crystal.” She glanced around. “It’s pretty quiet. I’m surprised. It’s such a beautiful beach.”
“Well, this stretch of beach is reserved for the villas along here, and there are only eight of them. Right now, I know that includes a honeymoon couple, a couple celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary, and six college students sharing one. We’re not likely to see the honeymoon couple, the students will probably spend all their time at the bars, and I’ve seen the older couple taking early morning walks. Then there’s me and my guy. And you. I don’t know about the other three.”
“Actually, I’m part of the honeymoon couple.”
“Oh, sorry. I hope I didn’t embarrass you with that comment.”
“No. Don’t worry about it.”
“So … where’s the other half?”
Crystal’s lips tightened in a straight line. “Well, it’s complicated.”
She didn’t know why she hadn’t just said he was having a nap, or reading the morning paper, or anything that didn’t sound out of the ordinary. Now this Sarah would probably ask her about it. And maybe that’s exactly what she was hoping for. Maybe she needed someone to talk to.
“Complicated? That sounds interesting.” Sarah dropped her beach bag onto the chair. “I’m going to sit and soak in some sun. Want to join me?”
Crystal walked to the chair beside Sarah and dropped her sandals beside it. “Yeah, sure.”
Sarah pulled a large blue-and-red towel from her bag and spread it out on the lounge chair, then she untied her wrap. Crystal’s eyes widened as Sarah opened her top, revealing full round naked breasts. Crystal had been expecting a bikini top.
As Sarah slipped off the top, her shimmering blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and around her rosy nipples. She pushed it back out of the way. From the lack of a tan line, clearly this wasn’t the first time she’d been sunbathing like this.
“This is a nude beach?” Crystal asked.
“No. Topless is okay, but keep your pants on.” Sarah laughed. “At least, that’s the official line. But if you want to go all the way, it only matters if someone complains, and then you’ll just get a warning from the management.”
“I see.”
Sarah sat on the chair and stretched out her long legs. She pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her bag and squeezed some onto her palm, then began spreading it over her shoulders and arms. She squeezed out a little more, then started rubbing it over her breasts. Crystal sat down, trying to ignore the woman as she caressed her breasts. It just felt a little too … intimate for a public place. Private beach or no, it was shared by eight villas. Someone might happen by any minute.
“So, why don’t you tell me what’s complicated.” Sarah leaned back in her chair, the brim of her hat covering her eyes but the sun washing over her mostly naked body.
“Well, it’s a long story.” Crystal felt very conspicuous sitting beside the perfectly composed but bare-breasted Sarah, almost as if she should take off her own clothes so she didn’t look out of place.
Sarah’s full lips turned up in a smile. “I don’t mind long stories.”
Crystal glanced at Sarah. Should she really tell this woman what was going on? It was all a little strange and confusing, and most people would think her crazy for inviting Evan on her honeymoon. What would Sarah think of it all?
Crystal had a feeling that Sarah was not at all conventional and that she wouldn’t even be fazed, but that was just a hunch, based on the fact that the woman didn’t mind sunbathing topless.
Sarah tipped her glasses forward and peered over the rims. “I know we’ve just met, but if you’re worried about unloading on a stranger, think about this. Since I am a stranger, it really doesn’t matter what I think. I’m probably way better than talking to a sister or a friend because I’m totally unbiased. And if you don’t live in Chicago, which is where I’m from, we’ll probably never see each other again after this vacation. So feel free to tell me whatever you want.” She pushed her glasses back in place.
Crystal nodded. That made sense.
“Okay.” She drew in a deep breath. “Last Saturday was my wedding day, and … Well, Brent—the man I was supposed to marry … he left me at the altar.” Even though that was less than a week ago, it already felt like a lifetime.
“Wow, I’m so sorry to hear that.” She pulled off her sunglasses and sat up. “So you came on the trip alone? Well, good for you.”
“No, not exactly.”
Sarah arched a well-shaped eyebrow.
“You see, the reason Brent left was because he saw me kissing Evan, his best friend.”
“Really? Now I see why things got complicated.”
“Evan kissed me, but then I told him I was still going to marry Brent.” Man, this wasn’t coming out in a very coherent manner. “You see, Evan told me he loves me and I was strongly attracted to him, but I ignored it because I love Brent. But when Evan told me that, I wound up kissing him.… Oh, God, I’m not explaining this at all well.”
Sarah smiled. “Look, I get it. Evan sprang this on you right before the wedding. You kissed him because it just makes sense to kiss a man who’d just told you he loves you, especially one you have the hots for, but you came to your senses and told him you were still going to marry your fiancé.”
“How did you figure that out?”
“Because you said he left you at the altar, not the other way around.”
Crystal nodded. “That’s right. But Brent saw us, only we didn’t know. That’s why he left. After that, my sister sent me off with Evan while she explained to the guests, and … well, Evan and I wound up … you know, being together.”
“Sure, why not? As far as you knew, the groom had left you high and dry. This Evan is in love with you. You were on the rebound. I bet you’re going to tell me next that you invited Evan on the trip with you.”
Crystal nodded, thankful that Sarah was taking all this in stride, with no air of judgment.
“But that’s not why it’s complicated.”
“Really?” Sarah said again.
“The day after Evan and I arrived here, Brent showed up wanting to win me back.”
Sarah smiled broadly. “Oh, how romantic! So what happened then?”
“Well, Brent wanted to send Evan home.”
“That makes sense.”
“But I told him I didn’t want to do that.”
“Mmm. Now it’s getting interesting. Do you still love your fiancé?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“And how do you feel about Evan?”
Crystal gazed at her hands, lying in her lap. “I think I might be falling in love with him, too, which makes it even more complicated. I don’t know how I’m going to explore my feelings for Evan while Brent is in the same house.”
“Well, it seems to me you could simplify things quite a bit by simply suggesting a threesome.”