Once she was far enough ahead of him, he pulled in behind her and followed at a safe distance. All he needed was a few minutes to plead his case. To convince her of his good intentions, if not his actions.
She wove her way through the streets of town and turned into the public lot next to the beach. He stayed back until she climbed out of her car. Then he parked in the spot beside hers. This was perfect. They had shared many special moments together at the beach. Like him, she appreciated the quiet splendor of the water crashing on the sand, the sun sinking down beneath the ocean as day turned into night. And the bright colors of the sky as the sun rose over the cliffs and reflected bright on the water.
As he watched from his truck, Erin walked down the steps to the beach. She yanked her shoes off when she reached the bottom, much like she had their first night together, and then walked for a minute before reaching an open spot. After spreading a blanket out on the sand, she sat down, her feet stretched out in front of her, her face tilted to the sun.
Once she was se
ttled, he ran through his speech one last time in his mind. Groveling was the first order of business.
His trip down the stairs didn’t take very long, not nearly long enough for him to calm his racing heart. Just the sight of her, relaxed and open, took his breath away.
He strode down the beach, stopping just behind Erin’s blanket. “You’re in my sun.”
“Is this seat taken?”
She leaned her head back, squinting against the brightness. Her eyes flashed with recognition and her lips pressed into a line.
Okay, so this was going to be harder than he expected.
She turned back to the ocean, summarily dismissing him without even giving him a chance to apologize. “I came here to be alone.”
Well that just wouldn’t do. He sat down beside her, propped up his feet and leaned his arms on his knees.
She looked at him, opened her mouth then closed it again.
The air crackled with tension between them, but that he could handle. Giving her a moment to adjust to his presence, he stared out at the ocean, the waves crashing on the hard-packed sand at the edge. Seagulls chirped as they glided and swooped around the water’s edge, filling the silence between them.
Finally, she sucked in a breath. “What are you doing, Jake?”
She swept at the hair blowing across her face. He clenched his hands into fists so he wouldn’t reach out and tuck it behind her ear. “I want to apologize.”
She stared at him, her eyebrows raised.
Okay. He had to dig a little deeper. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him. And she shouldn’t. He was an idiot, as Austin had so gracefully pointed out. Jake had always felt that the direct approach was best, so he went right for the bottom line. “I’m not getting back together with Lindsay.”
Erin’s mouth fell open and he studied her expression as she processed his words. As the realization sank in, tears pooled in her eyes and she turned away from him.
He hated that he’d done this to her. He moved to place his hand on her shoulder, to provide some amount of comfort, but he pulled back. He lost that right when he drove her away. But nothing was stopping him from apologizing.
“I was wrong to tell you I was when I really wasn’t.”
“Why did you?” Her voice trembled, and she refused to look at him.
He rolled his neck and a sigh escaped his lips. “It’s hard to explain.”
“It can’t be that hard.” She spat out the sentiment, but still didn’t look at him. “The words seemed to come easily that day.”
“I know.” He paused. This was the moment of truth. Erin could tell him to get lost or that she was leaving town immediately. But either way, she would make the decision with all the information he had withheld last time. “I saw the letter in your desk.”
“What letter?”
“Your resignation.”
Her head snapped around and her eyes locked on his, a storm brewing in their depths. “What? How?”
He raised his hands. “I wasn’t snooping, I swear. It was hanging out of your drawer that day when you went in the back to get Austin. I was tucking it back in and I saw it.”
“You read it?”