“You look like you’re in deep concentration,” Lexi says, her voice gravelly.
“Just watching my beautiful fiancée sleep.”
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she says softly, making my entire body go rigid.
“Do what?”
“Surf today.”
I release a sigh of relief. I finally have Lexi in my life, there’s no way I’m letting her go now. I don’t know what the hell I would do if she said she meant she couldn’t be with me.
“I’m not going to tell you that you have to.” I pull her on top of me, then pull us up the bed, so I’m sitting against the headboard and she’s straddling my middle. “But if your reason for not wanting to surf today is because of that asshole, I’ll say what I said before, don’t let him win.”
“I’m scared,” she admits, so unlike the Lexi I’ve known most of my life. I hate this for her and would do anything to make sure she’s never scared again.
“Of what?”
She averts her gaze—something both she and Georgia do when they’re lying—telling me that whatever she says won’t be the entire truth. “Of choking out there…I haven’t practiced in the last couple weeks.”
“The Lexi I know wouldn’t let fear stand in her way.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Everyone will be there, watching you, supporting you. My family, your parents, brother and sister, Micaela and Ryan will even be there. If at any time you don’t feel up to it, then we leave.”
“Okay.” She leans forward and kisses me. “I’ll go get ready.”
We get to Huntington Beach, and I remain by Lexi’s side the entire time she’s setting up and getting checked in. The beach is packed with hundreds of people since this is a pretty big competition.
We find our families, who have a spot on the beach with a blanket and beach chairs. Lexi hugs them all and thanks them for coming, then heads off to practice. There’s a short window of time allotted to surfers practicing before the competition begins. I watch as she grabs her board and drops it into the water, then paddles out.
“How’s she doing?” Tristan asks.
“She’s having flashes she thinks might be memories, some nightmares,” I tell him. “She won’t really talk about it, though. I told her she should see a therapist.”
“I’ll find a couple who take her insurance,” he says. “She’ll get through this. We just need—”
“What’s wrong with Lexi?” Max asks, cutting his dad off.
My eyes quickly find her. She’s standing along the edge of the water, her fists at her sides. Her board is in the water floating away, and she isn’t moving, isn’t attempting to grab it. I follow her line of sight, and that’s when I see him: Motherfucking Jason.
“Grab Lexi!” I yell to her dad, as I jump to my feet and run toward Jason. I’ll be damned if he’s going anywhere without me finding out who the fuck this guy is.
I try to keep eyes on him, as I run up the beach, but there are too many people, the beach is too packed, and I lose him. I scour the area, the parking lot, combing the beach, but I can’t find him.
When I get back to the area where everyone is, Lexi has a large towel wrapped around her and her sister is hugging her tightly, her mom and dad both hovering over them with pained expressions on their faces.
“What did he do?” I ask her, taking her from Georgia.
“He didn’t do anything,” she says, her voice cracking with emotion. “It was just…the way he looked at me.” She visibly shivers. “I don’t want to be here. Please take me home.”
My eyes meet with her dad’s, and his jaw ticks, but he nods once, silently asking me to do as she wants. I fucking hate this asshole for getting to Lexi, for fucking with her, and I’m not going to stop until I find him and uncover what he did to her. Lexi needs answers, and if I have to beat them out of him, I will.
After saying our goodbyes to everyone, we head home, where Lexi excuses herself, saying she’s tired. Unsure if I should lie with her or give her some space, I pace the hallway, until finally I’ve had enough and I go in.
She’s curled up in our blankets, her eyes closed. I know she’s not sleeping because she isn’t softly snoring, but she must want me to think she is. So I edge onto the bed next to her and wrap my arms around her carefully, holding her close but not too hard. She sighs in contentment and a few minutes later the snoring comes.
Lexi
“Oh, Lexi,” Mom breathes. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”
“I agree,” Mila says. “Stunning.”
Georgia nods. “Most beautiful bride ever.”
“It’s perfect.” Micaela sniffles. “Sorry, I’m just kind of emotional right now.” She wipes a tear, and everyone laughs. She recently found out that she and Ryan are expecting their second baby and she’s been crying over everything.