decided she’d never been happier despite the chill in the air.
The walk from her home to Crescent beach wasn’t far, and when she rounded the dunes, she immediately spotted Sebastian’s SUV in the small parking area. He was early. She smiled to herself and kept walking, scanning the deserted beach for him.
There was nothing but moonlight, sand, and the sound of crashing waves. It wasn’t often that Gigi was out at night on the beach, but she had to admit there was a peacefulness about it that called to her. Maybe she could talk Sebastian into celebrating the full moons out there on the beach. It could be their thing.
Once she passed a large rock outcropping, she spotted Sebastian. He was standing facing away from her, looking north. He was wearing a long black jacket and had a knit cap on his head. There was a blanket with a picnic basket right in the middle.
He looked so stoic, standing there with the beach backdrop and the moon highlighting him. She was silent as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. But as soon as she felt his body, alarm bells went off and she instantly sprang back and stumbled over the picnic basket, landing flat on her backside.
Frozen in place, she watched with wide eyes as the figure turned to look at her.
Her throat tightened, and the world narrowed to just the man standing over her with a self-satisfied smile on his face. Gigi had thought him attractive in his youth with his dark blond hair, green eyes, and angular jawbone. But now, all she saw was an abuser. He couldn’t have been more unattractive if he tried.
“James,” she finally forced out. “What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I came to get my wife back.” He kneeled down and held his hand out to her.
Gigi’s flight instinct kicked in, and she scrambled back and onto her feet. The shock of seeing him had rendered her speechless at first, but now she had plenty to say. “Are you insane? We’re divorced. You tried to beat the shit out of me. Do you really think I’d give you the time of day after everything that happened?”
“Now, Gigi. Don’t be so dramatic.” James took a step forward but stopped as soon as she stepped back. He let out a sigh. “Can’t we just talk for a minute? Maybe take a walk and catch up?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. How dare you? And where’s Sebastian?” she demanded.
James stared her down, his expression full of pity. “You really are slow, aren’t you?”
Rage surged through Gigi and she wanted nothing more than to deck the man standing in front of her, but if she attacked him, she’d never find out where Sebastian was or why James was there. “Clearly I’ve missed something. Why don’t you fill me in?”
“Who do you think introduced you to that hard cider you demanded I keep stocked in the fridge? Or those apple turnovers that came from Aunt Helen’s farm? You stopped eating those and drinking that cider after you gained twenty pounds and couldn’t drop it. Did you really think your boyfriend had any idea about those two things?”
Gods, she hated him in that moment. He was right, of course. They had been together when she’d started on that kick. She just hadn’t remembered exactly when it was or if Sebastian had still been in town. That meant that he’d somehow found out that she was on Exclusive and then catfished her. But how had he known? Surely he hadn’t just been browsing and stumbled upon her profile. But that would mean he’d gotten to someone within her inner circle. Nausea made her mouth water, and she willed herself to not vomit. “Why?”
“Why what?” he asked, eyeing her thoughtfully.
“Why did you set up this elaborate scheme? Why pretend to be Sebastian while you messaged me on a dating app? Why did you lure me here to the beach at midnight?” She was shaking with anger as she added, “What is it you want from me?”
“You blocked my number, Gigi. Remember that? I had no way to contact you. If I’d messaged you as myself, would you have shown up tonight?”
“You could have knocked on my door,” she said, just out of spite. They both knew he’d never do that. Not as long as she lived in a haunted house where the ghosts had helped her kick his ass.