“How was Ava?” she demands without missing a beat.
“So that’s it, isn’t it?” I sigh tiredly. I have more to worry about than her mistaken assumptions about Ava and me, and I wish she could see that. “You were ignoring my calls because I met with Ava? How about trying not to interpret every single situation to confirm your insecurities?”
She exhales sharply. “Why would I feel secure about the fact that you saw your former long-term girlfriend without letting me know, even though you’re aware that I have an issue with your continued relationship with her?” The words tumble out of her in rapid succession. “Maybe you need her to convince her family to sell you a few more properties, or maybe she needs some comforting seeing as her asshole brother is going off the rails. And you’re so considerate of her feelings, aren’t you, even when your safety is at stake.”
I take a deep breath. “Don’t be like this.”
“Why did you meet her?”
“Evans left the rehab facility, and I haven’t been able to find out where he is. I thought she might know.”
Her silence goes on for a few seconds. “When?”
“More than a week ago.”
“More than…” She makes a frustrated sound. “You didn’t tell me! I was right there with you and you didn’t tell me? You let me travel…” Her voice constricts with pain. “You keep treating me like I’m some piece of candy on your arm. I ask you to see someone about your nightmares—you don’t. You have a problem and you ignore my input, and the problem escalates but you choose not to share it with me.”
She’s right. Everything she’s saying is right, and I should have seen it before now.
“I want to trust that I’m your partner,” she continues. “Not just a replacement for Ava, the woman who somehow keeps popping up in your life, in our lives.”
She’s not a replacement for Ava. How many times do I have to tell her Ava means nothing to me and she never meant anything compared to what I feel now?
“Stop it,” I reply. “You’re making this much more than it is.”
“Am I? Why did you have to meet with her? Why couldn’t she tell you on the phone if she knew where he was? Did she ask to set a date, tell you she’d rather talk in person? I’m sure she did, and of course you couldn’t say no because…Ava.”
How can she be so wrong and so convinced she’s right? “You’re obviously not prepared to listen to me. I have a lot to deal with over here. If you want to be supportive instead of creating a scenario in your head and refusing to entertain anything else, understand that I have a lot on my mind.”
“So, I’m being unreasonable,” she mutters. “You know what? I don’t feel like talking anymore. I want to go to bed.”
“Rachel—”
She ends the connection before I can say anything else.
I arrive in Barbados late at night the next day. Rachel is still not taking my calls, so I leave her be, trying instead to get some sleep before the wedding the next day.
It’s a beautiful ceremony right on the beach. Laurie is glowing with happiness, and Brett looks like he can’t believe his luck. The sight of Rachel in her bridesmaid dress makes my heart expand, and I know right then that one day, it’ll be me and her, planning to spend forever together.
If only she’ll trust me.
I don’t get a chance to talk to her until after all the pictures have been taken. When I walk up to her, she glances up at me, a shadow passing over her eyes. Her hair is braided with flowers, and the salty breeze ruffles them gently. She looks like a sea nymph, beautiful and sad at the same time.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“Hey to you too.”
“You look lovely.”
She sighs. “So do you.”
“But I don’t have flowers in my hair.”
Reaching into hers, she pulls out a flower and sticks it in my hair. I don’t resist, though I’m sure it makes me look ridiculous.
Our eyes lock and I can’t go one more moment without addressing our fight. “I’m sorry—”
“No,” she interrupts. “I’m sorry. I said a lot of things I didn’t mean.”