“You don’t have to fake it, Lock,” Jules says, holding my hand.
“I’m not. I just have to stop smiling.”
She snorts and shakes her head. “Typical.”
“What?”
“You, always pretending to stay strong.”
“Who says it’s pretending?” I reply, cocking my head.
“Right,” she says, grinning like crazy.
Her mother and father come back and sit down too, giving Jules and me a cup, but just the smell of it makes me want to puke. I can’t believe people actually drink that shit.
“Here.” Jules quickly grabs my cup of water from the nightstand and puts it down in front of me, winking.
It’s as if she can read my mind, and I love her for it.
She always knows what I want … what I need.
Her.
She’s enough.
As her father and mother bombard me with questions I don’t have the answers to, I take a sip of my drink. The cup empties quickly.
It’s not that I don’t want to talk. It’s just that I don’t know what to tell them. The truth will only make them unhappy. I’m a savage. A violent man who lives on his own and prefers it that way.
Instead, I tell them about the beauty of my island, and how lucky I am to have met Jules.
She doesn’t mention that I made her helicopter crash. Doesn’t say a word about how I treated her … put her in a pit … tied her up.
She leaves out all the pain and focuses only on the nice.
As if it’s all she can see.
Or maybe she’s blinded by love … blinded by having almost lost me.
I’m not sure it’s right, and after sitting through it for so long, everything bursts out. “I’m not right for your girl!”
Everyone looks at me as if they’ve seen a ghost.
“What?” her mom mutters.
“Lock!” Jules says, making a face at me. “Don’t.”
“I can’t sit here and lie,” I say. “That’s not me, and you know it.”
She shakes her head, but I place a hand on her knee and squeeze. “Please … let me do this.”
“Do what?” her father asks, frowning.
“I …” I take a deep breath and lay my hands down on the table. “I kept your daughter from leaving the island. I made her stay.”
Jules squeezes my hand so hard it feels like it’s about to fall off.
“What?!” Her mom’s voice is louder than before. “You would keep our little Jules as some sort of … prisoner?”
“He didn’t,” Jules interjects before I can even open my mouth. “He just didn’t know what to do with me. He isn’t used to people, Mom. He doesn’t know how to behave.” She briefly glances at me. “I’m trying to teach him.”
“How?” her dad asks.
“Just … you know. By setting the right example. And by not judging him for being this way. There’s a reason for it all.” She gazes at me first, and I nod. She wants to tell them what happened to me before … before the island.
I hate to discuss it, but if it makes them trust me more, then it’s for the best. I don’t want her to lose that bond with her family, not because of me. I may not have a family of my own, but I understand their importance. Especially to her.
They need to know she’s okay, and that I won’t get in the way.
If that means I’ll have to stop being close to her, then I’ll do it. If it means being honest… if it means they won’t be mad at her. I just want her to be happy.
By the time we’ve answered all the questions her parents had to ask, many hours have passed, and I’m glad to see them leave. I’m tired and need to take it slower if I want to recover quickly. No time to waste on trying to get people to like me. It won’t work anyway.
“I think they like you,” Jules mutters as she closes the door behind her.
“Yeah? Good.” I sit down on the bed, groaning from pain. I still don’t believe they do, but as long as she believes it, I’m happy.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, helping me with the bedding.
“It’s fine. I had to meet them someday and ask permission.”
“Permission for what?”
I grab her hand. “To make you mine.”
A blush spreads on her cheeks, and she grins. “Stop it. You don’t have to ask them anything. They don’t decide for me. I do.”
“And? Do you?” I ask, raising a brow.
She leans over and kisses me on the forehead. “The answer is yes.”
I smile and take her face with both hands, kissing her deeply, greedily, with all the pent-up desire in me. I have to take what I can right now because the moment is fleeting, just as our time together is.
Because soon, she’ll want to go back to her home.
And I’m not prepared.
I don’t want to lose her.
When our lips unlock, I let out a breath and focus on memorizing her beauty and strength.