At least, that looked to be his trajectory.
But he wasn’t getting away this time.
“What is your problem?” Kallie asked.
She charged down to him and Ash stopped in his tracks. He cocked an eyebrow in the air and it only served to make Kallie more infuriated. Did he think she was crazy? Because she sure as hell wasn’t crazy.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ash said.
“That little show of manliness there, with the volleyball. What was that about?” she asked.
“Would you have rather me kicked it?” he asked.
“Cut the crap, Ash. We had a good time last night. At least, I thought we did. I did. A very good time. But you hurried out with some bullshit excuse about working and you didn’t work. You weren’t at the Cabana cleaning up like you said you had to. You hurried out of my villa like your ass was on fire, and now you’re ignoring me.”
Ash stared at her hotly and it made Kallie even angrier.
“At least have the decency to acknowledge me, even if you didn’t have a good time,” she said.
Ash’s face was a thundercloud. His eyes darkened and Kallie’s heart leaped to her throat. He dropped his board to the sand and took a step toward her, and she instinctively stepped back.
“I enjoyed every second of the time we spent together. Every part of it. I worked through every barrier you threw at me to get more time with you, and then I figure out you’re married.”
“What?” she asked.
“I saw the bouquet of flowers sitting by your bed last night. That fun little note. I don’t make it a habit of sleeping with married women. Despite what most people in this world think about the aging ritual, I happen to find it a very binding commitment between two people. And I don’t appreciate being misled.”
“You think I would be the type to cheat,” Kallie said. “Are you serious?”
“You’re married, Kallie. The jig is up.”
“There is no jig, and it isn’t up. I’m offended you would even—”
Kallie’s breath caught in her throat as tears rose to her eyes. She shook her head and looked away, trying to keep her strength. This was the confrontation she wanted. She wanted answers as to what happened. But her emotions were flying out of control and her stomach was rolling with sickness.
“I could never be like James,” she said breathlessly.
“Who the fuck is James?” Ash asked.
“My ex-fiancé!” Kallie roared. “I caught him fucking his best man’s wife—who happened to be one of my bridesmaids—and this was supposed to be our damn honeymoon!”
She hated that the booze was taking over. That Ash was looking at her with a pathetic look on his face. She didn’t want his sympathy. She didn’t want his pity. All she wanted was to have a good time. To feel beautiful and no longer feel vulnerable. She stumbled back from Ash and he went to reach out for her, but she ripped herself away.
“I could never be like him,” she said with a whisper.
She ran for her stuff and sprinted back to her villa. Stumbling along the sand and losing her balance multiple times. She felt horrible. Childish. Disgusting. Drunk. She felt like an idiot, and she was ready to go home.
Kallie barged into her villa and dropped her things to the floor. She slammed the door behind her as the room began to tilt. She rushed to the bathroom and fell to her knees, jamming her head into the toilet. All of the liquor she’d been using to give her strength and give her courage was finally coming up. All the self-medicating was finally getting to her, and she began to vomit. Over and over, her stomach heaving as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Then, a knock came at her door.
She ignored it, favoring the cool seat of the toilet against her cheek. But the knock came again. She closed her eyes and pulled herself from the bathroom floor, then grabbed her toothbrush and put some paste on it. She held it to her teeth as the knocking on the door started up again, but this time it was louder. Faster. Harder. Until the person was banging with their fists hard enough to make her skull vibrate.
She slammed her toothbrush down onto the counter and held her head in her hands.
She walked over to the door and answered it, only to be faced with Ash. The man she’d just run away from. There was nothing but concerned etched in his features and she saw a covered bowl in his hands. She scoffed and shook her head, unable to deal with whatever reason he had for standing at her villa.
Without a word she walked away, leaving Ash to make his own decision.