Waterfall Kisses (The Kisses 9)

“Fine. I forgot my wallet. The bartender is new and wont give me credit.” I slumped forward and played with the empty glass as Bastian laughed. I glared at him. “I'm glad you think it's funny.”

“A little,” Bastian said with one last chuckle. “And that was a nice attempt at getting me off track. Why are you here, Charlotte?”

I sighed. “Leo and I had a fight.”

Bastian frowned, obviously confused. “About what?”

“I overheard something...” I didn't want to tell him about the phone conversation or the money missing from the slush fund. Not yet. I couldn't do that to Leo, not until he had the chance to make it right. I couldn't do it to him. “I don't know. Just a fight.”

Bastian stood up and put his hands on my shoulders. It felt like the weight of the world.

“You know Leo. He's hot-headed,” Bastian said. “He'll go do something to cool down and he'll apologize tomorrow. Just like he always does when he does something stupid. Things will work out just fine.”

I flipped the shot glass upside down, wishing I had another. “I hope so.”

Except we'd never had a fight like this. I'd never seen Leo with eyes so angry. I'd never pushed him that hard. I'd never had him look at me like that. His eyes and whatever terrible emotion that I was trying to avoid identifying was going to haunt me forever. This wasn't a normal fight.

“I know so,” Bastian told me, his voice full of confidence I didn't share. “Come on. You need food.”

“Restaurant's closed now,” I informed him, even though he had to know since he had just come from there.

“How about a Rough Day Sandwich?” he offered.

“Yes, please.” It wasn't going to fix my problems, but Bastian's Rough Day Sandwiches were good for the soul.

“Okay.” Bastian gave my shoulders one last squeeze before letting go. “Let's go rescue Robbie from Ava and we'll head home.”

I nodded, slowly sliding from the bar stool. As I followed Bastian out of the bar, I looked down at the path Leo had taken, wishing that we had never had this stupid fight.

I hoped Bastian was right. I hoped that Leo was just off cooling down and that we'd be right as rain in the morning.

I hoped. But I wasn't going to hold my breath.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I couldn't sleep.

The clock said I had been trying to sleep for the past three hours, but it felt more like an eternity. Bastian's sandwich lay heavy in my stomach since it was too knotted up with fear and heartbreak to actually digest any food.

I kicked off my comforter and was immediately too cold. But it was too hot to sleep with it on. With a sigh, I got up and went to the thermostat for the fourth time tonight. I couldn't find the right temperature and I had a feeling it was more to do with me than the thermostat.

I was hot with anger and cold with shame.

Giving up on the thermostat, I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Maybe a walk on the beach would put me in a better mood. The ocean was usually magic for heartbroken lovers, right?

Yeah, to drown their sorrows, I answered myself bitterly. Still, walking the beach sounded like a better idea than tossing and turning in bed for another five hours.

The house was silent as I crept to the back door and escaped out onto the porch. The night air was hot after the air-conditioned house and far more humid, but the breeze off the ocean was pleasant. The crickets were almost deafening at this hour. I hoped they were having better luck with their mates than I was.

I paused at the steps down to the beach, my hand on the railing. This is where Leo kissed me. This porch. Two steps to the left.

I closed my eyes and replayed our fight for the millionth time, trying to figure out how I could fix it. But the truth was, I couldn't. I couldn't fix this. Not without Leo's help. I’d hurt him. Even if he was gambling, I shouldn't have accused him without being sure. I could only imagine how it must have felt to have his biggest secret thrown back in his face at the first hint of trouble, yet I knew he was still hiding something from me.

That wasn't why he told me about it. He had trusted me. And by accusi

ng him, I had betrayed that trust. There were other reasons the money could be missing from the slush account. Maybe it really was just coincidence that he was being blackmailed for that amount. Maybe Gabe had taken a model out on a jet trip and forgotten to expense report it right away.

“He'll go do something to calm down...” Bastian's words echoed in my mind as I looked out at the water. The moon was barely a sliver of light on the dark water.