right and my granny was just batshit crazy.
But unbelievably cold rain is falling on my head as I paddle my way across a bay I can’t even remember the name of—after encountering the angriest man I’ve ever met—and the only things ahead of me are a 100-mile drive, seven-plus hours of flying, and a catastrophic end to my dream career.
So, now, I don’t know what to believe.
“It’s the small things,” Momma had said. “They might seem meaningless at the time, but they have the power to change everything.”
Well, Momma, I’ve got a lot of big things going on right now, and I don’t have a freaking clue how to handle them.
I rub the water away from my eyes with the back of my hand and squint to try to see through the downpour. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s soaking me all the way to the bone, I’d almost believe it was a television screen filled with white noise.
I can’t see a damn thing.
Panic takes hold in my chest pretty quickly as I realize how serious this could get. I don’t know what I’m doing in a kayak on a good day…what happens if I end up somewhere in the storm that I don’t know how to get back from?
Quickly, I shake my head and let out a little scream to ward off tears. Freaking out isn’t going to help me right now. My stupid phone has no service, so I can’t call Birdie for help, I can’t use it to map my location, and I can’t turn back toward Luca’s—the current is way too strong.
I only have myself to rely on, and I have to figure out how to step up to the plate.
I pick my oar back up and paddle it side to side to try to get control of the direction I’m heading. Now that I’m once again in a rhythm, a little smile of victory forms on my lips.
Unfortunately, that makes it all the more surprising when the kayak jars violently against the unexpected rocky shoreline and tips far enough that I can’t stop myself from falling into the water. I fight and gulp and kick for the surface, but my boots are filled and weighing me down.
I go under again, the icy water piercing my chest and making my lungs ache as I struggle to hold my breath. I grab one boot and yank it off, and then the other, and I’m finally able to surface again as they sink to the bottom.
I suck in a huge helping of air and flail to grab on to something at the shoreline before getting sucked farther downstream. My muscles burn and my arms feel scraped and bruised as I finally manage to grab on to a rock and bear-hug it desperately.
Oh God. I’m in trouble here.
“He…Help!” I yell through shaking lips. “Please! Someone help me!”
Oh Jesus. Tears hit my eyes, the surface of the cold rock scratching slightly against my face. Am I really going to die out here? Because I couldn’t keep my big fucking mouth shut long enough to realize Luca Weaver was a promise I couldn’t keep?
The sound of a dog barking startles me from my crying jag, and I whip my head around to see if I can find the source. Upriver, a light shines on a small boat as it motors toward me, and the dog barks again.
I try to turn my face and make my voice as loud as I can manage. “Help! Please! Over here!”
A shiver racks my body, and I have to readjust the grip of both of my hands to keep them from slipping off the surface of the wet rock, but the boat keeps coming, the dog barking harder now.
I watch as closely as I can until the light on the front shines directly on me, blinding me instantly to everything around and forcing me to close my eyes. I hear a flurry of activity as the boat pulls up beside me, and next thing I know, two strong hands are lifting me away from the slimy rock and up into the boat.
I look up, right into familiar, intimidating blue eyes just as Luca lays me down on the bottom of the boat and grabs a blanket from his side to wrap around me.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice gritty and gruesome and unbelievably sexy all at once. Streams of water run off the pointy tips of his messy wet hair, and I get