“I was just thinking the same thing. It took us what? A year and a half to get here, give or take?”
“Something like that.”
He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly. “I finally have you all to myself,” he said just above a whisper. “Leaving is the last thing I want to do, but Baz and Evie, his assistant, are doing surgery on a couple of the dogs tonight, and I promised I’d go back to help.”
“Oh my gosh, Justin!” She pushed to her feet and said, “Let’s go. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you late.”
He stood up and took her hand, like it was natural. She liked the way they fit together as they walked toward the path. His hand was big, rough, and strong, just like him. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Rose had given him CliffsNotes from their conversation.
After stopping to put on their sandals and boots, Justin took her hand again and said, “I want you to know something. Vi and I slept together as teenagers when she was here for a few weeks over the summers. We trusted each other, and we kept each other safe, but it was never a boyfriend-girlfriend thing. Then we didn’t mess around at all for about ten years or so, until she was tricked into coming to the Cape by her mother the summer it happened. She’d left Andre overseas in the middle of the night without telling him. She didn’t even leave a note, and she and Desiree had barely known each other. She was the saddest I’d ever seen her. She was desperately in love with Andre, and she was really messed up. She honestly thought if she could—not to be crass, but—fuck like she used to, with no emotion, just filling a void, she’d get over him. That night was a one-time thing, and it was literally just two friends fucking with the purpose of getting rid of her love for him. She ended up in tears, Chloe. It’s not a good memory for either of us. We both knew she’d never move past Andre. She loved him too much. And she hated herself for leaving him the way she did. But I was there to hold her while she cried and to remind her that she was loved and—probably more important—lovable. Lovable as a friend to me, not in the own-your-heart kind of way. But to the right man, to Andre, she was lovable in the way a life partner should be.”
The honesty in his voice, and his need to explain, touched her deeply. “You really didn’t have to tell me all of that. What you said on the beach told me how important you are to each other.”
“I know, but I want you to know that what happened between us was a moment in time. Just like the time I posed naked for her and spent the night. You already know nothing happened between us then. Those things were moments in time, and they’ll never happen again. There have never been romantic feelings between us, and there never will be. Even if she and Andre were to break up, which I don’t think they ever will, there would never be a Justin and Violet. Do you understand what I’m saying? She’ll always be one of my closest friends, and I hope you can accept that because I will always be there for her, but not in that way ever again.”
“Okay,” she said, knowing she could trust his word. “She’s my friend, too, and I guess I do feel better knowing that.”
He exhaled loudly. “Great. Thank you.”
They headed up the path, and as the sand turned to gravel, Chloe felt like she was leaving the chains of her past behind. The Salty Hog came into view, lit up like a celebration against the night sky. Music hung in the air as they crossed the parking lot to her car.
Justin gathered her in his arms. Moonlight reflected in his eyes, and she felt like she was seeing the real Justin Wicked for the first time. Not because he’d never shown her before. The openness, honesty, and appreciation in his eyes had probably always been there, but her armor had been too thick for her to see all of that for what it was.
“Look at us, heartbreaker. What do you think?”
“I think it’s new and a little weird to be standing here