Casanova(71)

“Never wasn’t,” I replied simply. “I just hid it under my anger. How could I get over her? I never had closure.”

“And she’s Lani.”

I swallowed. “And she’s Lani.”

“You have to do something,” she said quietly.

“Like what? Midnight serenade about how sorry I am? Write her a fucking love letter? Ask the Doctor to bring the TARDIS to go back in time and change everything?”

“God, you’re one mopey bastard when you don’t get your own way.” Camille stood up. “Do something, Brett, Jesus! Make her listen to you, even if you have to break into her car and plant a CD with a recorded apology on—wait, no, don’t break into her car. That won’t help.”

“Ya think?” I quirked an eyebrow. “It’s not as simple as you think it is. You didn’t see her, Cam. You didn’t see the look in her eye when she was letting it all go. Nothing I do will ever be enough, because there will always be a part of her that will hurt. And I can’t take it away.”

“That’s your problem!” She pointed her finger down at me. “You can’t take someone’s hurt from them. It’s a part of them. The way you made her feel will forever be a part of her life, and I bet if you asked her, she wouldn’t want you to take it away.”

“Thanks for that, Dr. Phil.”

She kicked me. Actually fucking kicked me. “You can’t take that away, you insensitive shit, but you can make it better. You can’t say sorry enough because sorry isn’t a word, it’s a feeling. You have to show her that you’re sorry.”

I took a deep breath. “Cam?”

“Yeah?” she said softly, sitting down next to me.

A lump hit my throat hard. “Don’t let her leave town.”

“Why?”

I peered over at her, looking at her properly for the first time since she joined me here on the beach. “Because I don’t know if I can lose her again.”

She smiled sadly and rested her head on my shoulder. She wrapped an arm around me and squeezed. “She’s your person, isn’t she?”

“My person?”

“Yeah, you know. Your person. The one whose soul clicks into place against yours. Evens you out. Makes you whole. She’s your person.”

The lump in my throat felt all too thick as I looked back out at the water. She was right. There was no doubt about it.

Lani Montana was my person.

“What do I do?” I said in a low voice, running my hand through my hair.

Camille sat up and moved onto her knees. “Make her believe it.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

“Where are you going?” I looked up as she stood.

A grin spread across her face. “I’m going to make sure she doesn’t leave town. And I’m taking Raven with me.”

Was it too late to retract a request?





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


LANI



A distinct lack of privacy was one of the things I’d forgotten about Whiskey Key. It didn’t matter that I’d begged to be left alone after my mammoth cry. It didn’t matter that I said all I wanted was to eat pizza and work. I was ignored, and the last two hours had not been what I’d expected them to be.

Namely because Camille showed up with Raven right behind her. And with Raven came two large-ass coolers of alcohol for cocktails and a box with different glasses. Apparently, it was blasphemy to serve cocktails in the wrong glasses.

“Holy shit,” I said, looking at the boxes. “You’re a portable cocktail bar.”

Raven laughed, flicking her black hair over her shoulders. “That might not be a bad business choice, all things considered.”

Connie wrinkled her face up. “This seems highly unfair to the pregnant woman.”

Raven turned her bright blue eyes in my sister’s direction. “There’s another cooler in the car. You get corresponding mocktails.”

“And you just became my new best friend.”

She laughed and stood up with a wink. “I’ll be right back.”

Camille grinned. “Am I not the best friend ever?”

“No debate about it,” I said. “But I’m a little upset I can’t just mooch around in my bed with my laptop.”

She snorted. “Over my brother? No. Oh, by the way, I punched him for you.”

My lips cracked into a little smile. “Hard?”

“I think my knuckles still hurt.”

Connie leaned forward and put her hand out for a high five. “Attagirl.”

Cam looked at her wide open legs and then her hand. “Is it a high five or a low two you want?”

“There’s a person’s head in my pelvis. Do you want to go there?”

Needless to say, my sister got her high five pretty swiftly.

“Right, clear the coffee table.” Raven hauled a third cooler into the living room and set it down just away from the others. “I’m going to mix drinks while you tell me what he did.”

I moved my phone off the table. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“But you’re gonna. Even if I have to get you drunk to do it.” She flashed me a grin before she shoved the small box of glasses at Camille. “Unpack those.”