We stopped near the bow of the boat, where the rest of the world felt miles away. The music was a faint hum now. All I could hear was my heartbeat, and his silence.
He finally turned to face me.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, voice low but tight.
“What was what?” I snapped, folding my arms.
“Don’t y dumb, Emily. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Do you mean the part where I wasughing? Or where I was having a good time, before you stormed in like a thundercloud?”
His expression hardened. “You know what Kelvin’s doing. He’s using you to get under my skin.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So now I’m a pawn? You don’t get to y possessive one minute and then ice me out the next. It’s exhausting, Liam.”
He ran a hand through his hair, muttering curses under his breath. “You seriously don’t get it… or are you just pretending not to?”
“God, no, I don’t get anything!” I snapped. “Because you’re the one messing with my head! And I’m tired, Liam. Tired of this game.” <fn3eaf> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on find?novel</fn3eaf>
I turned before he could reply, marching away toward the others with my head held high and my pulse screaming.
I spent the next half hour avoiding Liam like he was andmine. One wrong step, and I’d explode again.
I stood by the railing, soaking in the sea breeze, trying to convince myself everything was fine. It wasn’t. Not even close.
Linda appeared beside me, holding out two sses of something fizzy.
“Drink this,” she said dryly. “You look like you just fought off a shark,”
<b>07.09 </b>
288 Vouchers
I took one without hesitation and sipped. “He’s messing with my head,” I muttered. “Liam. One minute he’s all intense and the next he’s acting like Imitted treason forughing.”
Linda chuckled. “Wee to the world of ck men. Emotional whish is their lovenguage.”
I managed a small smile. “He’s driving me insane.”
Linda gave me a sidelong nce. “You think you’ve got it bad? Noah and I… we’ve been coasting for months. Years, maybe. I don’t even know when we stopped being us.
I met her eyes, my voice low.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She took a slow sip from her ss, then nodded.
“Sure. It’s always work. Meetings. Travel. I talk, and he listens…sort of. But he never really hears me. After a while, I just felt like background noise.”
“Have you
told him that?”
She scoffed. “You think I haven’t?”
I looked back at the ocean. “Then maybe it’s time you both start from scratch. Relearn each other. Communicate better. Speak the love n
Linda went quiet, then smiled. “You sound like someone who’s figured that out.
Iughed. “Please. Look at the mess I’m in.
”
“To rity,” she said, lifting her ss with a wry smile.
We clinked lightly.
After we docked, I tried sneaking off to my room, but Jay had other ns.
He spotted me and immediately grabbed my hand. “Nope. That look on your face? Uneptable. Come on.”
07:09
798 Vouchers
“Jay…”
“Nope,” he said cheerfully. “You’reing with me. You need to loosen up, drink something cold, and remember that you’re on a damn ind vacation.”
Before I could argue, he whisked me off to a cozy beach setup: throw nkets, soft lights, a portable speaker humming R&B, a mini firepit crackling in a steel bowl. A few cousins lounged barefoot with wine and beers. The air smelled like salt and citrus.
I sighed, giving in, and sat down slowly.
Jay handed me a cup. “Now tell me I’m not your favorite person here.”
“You were my first friend,” I said, smiling. “Even though Sophia’s officially snatched me
“She’s evil like that,” he grinned. “But I’ll allow it.”
He draped an arm around my shoulder dramatically. “Now drink,ugh, and don’t let the brooding storm cloud ruin your night.”
<i>“</i><i>} </i>
“Toote.”
“You can’t let Liam get in your head, Em. He’s wired like a mystery novel written in reverse. And also? You’re too cute to be this stressed.”
I couldn’t help theugh that slipped out. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Exactly why I’m valuable.”
More cousins trickled in. The music got louder. Laughter flowed like the drinks. The mood lifted. Sophia danced barefoot with Leo. Linda sat close to the fire, watching it like it held answers. And just like that, it started to feel… warm again.
Then Kelvin dropped beside me with a teasing grin. “Looks like someone found her spark again.”
“Might be the tequ,” I said.
“Nope. That was all me,” Jay chimed in.
Kelvinunched into stories about Jay’s teenage obsession with velvet tracksuits and how he once tried to teach a parrot to swear. Iughed until my face hurt.
07:09