True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,15

because she was sure it was flaming. Why hadn’t he just gone on and left her alone? Now he’d made it awkward.

“Well, okay. Thanks for asking.”

He nodded, then strode into the water, and when it was waist high, threw himself onto his board and paddled out.

Quinn watched him for a moment. He was far enough out now that she could look without fear of him catching her. From the distance, it was hard to tell much about him. She’d seen other surfers that morning wearing black wetsuits. Not him, though. It appeared that he sported only a pair of swim trunks. No shirt. His hair was dark. Cut short. His profile was strong—a defined nose and forehead, but the other features were still shadowed by the sun.

She could, however, barely make out some sort of tattoo snaking around one of his biceps. He moved gracefully, his form seeming to be one with the motion of the waves, as though confident they would carry him and not let him down. It must be an amazing feeling, but she wondered if he thought about sharks, or if being in their domain was thrilling enough to counteract the chances he took.

Ethan was that way—the kick of adrenaline was what made him tick. He’d bungee jumped off high bridges, skydived out of planes, and once on a dare had climbed out of a seventh-story window and Spider-Manned his way down to the ground. He always had to have a challenge, something to tame. Sometimes Quinn thought that was why he’d picked her. He saw through her facade of self-confidence to the girl who might shatter at any given moment.

Well, here she was in Maui, and things weren’t going exactly as planned, but she hadn’t shattered yet. More than that, she hadn’t allowed him to step in and fix everything.

Somehow, she’d figure out what to do with Maria, and she’d not only get the house emptied of the unexpected family but would turn it into a place that would make Ethan shocked by what she could do on her own.

A few hours later, Quinn approached the house warily, her car moving like a snail as she turned into the driveway. Once she’d left the peace of her beachside chair and traversed the pool area, now packed with families, then stepped into the elevator and rode up listening to another couple happily chatting about where they’d go for dinner, she felt those old insecurities slip back in.

She tried to call Ethan then, just to hear his voice, but was unsuccessful in reaching him. She wavered between wanting to be independent and worrying that he’d been right about the entire situation.

Her bravado faded quickly, and she’d waited until nearly noon, trying to work up the courage to arrive at the house to insist on a solution from Maria. A few cosmetic issues that a shipment of tiles and a coat of paint could fix was one thing, but never had she imagined she’d be dealing with people still living there. It didn’t feel like she owned a new home yet, that was for sure. She wanted to blame the jet lag on her sudden reticence to get things done, but something told her it was her fear of failure.

Still, she’d already bought the house and couldn’t just walk away from it or let someone else straighten matters out. So she got into her car and headed there, intent on making some sort of progress in the mess that was now her life.

As soon as she climbed out of the car, she heard a burst of yelling and then a door slam around the back of the house.

Pali was obviously awake. So much for the myth of teenagers sleeping late into the afternoon. Or maybe someone had dared to poke the sleeping dragon.

She was considering just turning around and leaving, coming back later when things were calm, but then the door opened, and Maria appeared.

“I know I’m in a tight place, but I won’t take your charity,” she said, then waved an envelope.

“Oh, hi, Maria. Good morning. Not sure what you’re talking about, though.”

Maria put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes, staring at Quinn for a moment. “You didn’t leave me five hundred dollars last night?” she asked. “In this envelope behind the storm door?”

Quinn was taken aback. She wanted them out of her house, but she hadn’t even considered paying them to leave. Now she felt stupid. She should’ve offered the money yesterday.

She shook