“I know I don’t need to point out that you share his gene pool, Perry. You’re his twin. If Park has it, you might too, and so might someone in your family. Who is that? Your dad, your grandfather? Do you really want to sully their memories with these ideas?”
“Not really. But if there’s something we can do, we should. It’s like you’ve forgiven him for all his lies and half-truths.”
She shakes her head. “I will never forgive him. But you can’t hold Park accountable for what a stranger’s done. Peyton Flynn’s actions are his own.”
“They found the last woman he kidnapped alive. I heard that on my way down here. Breaking news.”
A little lightness in her, at last. “That’s good. That’s a huge relief, isn’t it? But there still no sign of Peyton?”
“Not that I know of. I’ve been a little busy, though. Olivia, this is what we have to do. I can’t live with myself pretending I don’t know these things. At the very least, we need to confront him. I want you to come back home with me. Back to Nashville. We have to get to the bottom of this.”
No. No way.
“I understand,” she says. “But let me call him and ask him to come down here, so we can do this on neutral ground. I’m not going back to Nashville. I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with that yet.”
“Fair enough.”
Olivia gets her phone and calls, but Park doesn’t answer. “We can try again later.”
“I’ll try.”
Perry calls, but Park doesn’t answer for him, either. “Well, you have to admit, the two of us are probably the last people he wants to hear from. I’ll try Lindsey. She might know where he is.”
“Perry, wait. I don’t want to drag her into this until we have to. Legally, she might find something that we’re missing and be obligated to report things before we get answers.”
He takes a huge, deep breath, looks around as if he’s seeing the room for the first time.
“It’s pretty here.”
“If you can call a construction zone pretty, yes. It is. It’s going to be lovely when I’m done. Very beach chic. It’s a new direction for me.”
“I like it.”
That crooked smile breaks her apart inside. “I’m glad. Since you’re here, can I borrow your strong back?”
“What?”
She rubs her collar bone. “Still a little sore, and I have a delivery today. I was going to get help from the store, but since you’re here…”
Perry’s face darkens. He’s still upset, and she can’t blame him. But she also isn’t willing to drive off the cliff of throwing Park to the wolves, either.
“I know,” he says, quietly.
“You know what?”
“I know about prom. What happened after. Lindsey told me.”
Olivia stares for a moment until she realizes what he’s talking about. Lindsey told him? How dare she?
“Don’t be mad at her,” he says, reading her mind in that crazy way he has. “She couldn’t bear it any longer.”
“She couldn’t bear it? She couldn’t?”
Olivia storms out onto the deck. Perry follows.
“Liv—”
She whirls on him. “Is that why you’re so hell-bent on taking Park out? You’re mad at him because of what could have been between us?”
“I’ve always been mad at him, Liv. But my God, a baby? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want to ruin your life.”
He grabs her hand.
“You wouldn’t have.”
“You don’t know that. I was a baby myself, and you were just starting out. Trust me, I’ve had enough guilt about it all these years.”
“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty. I am hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”
“It wasn’t that.”
“Then what was it?”
“I was scared. I was scared of what it meant. I was scared you didn’t love me. You were leaving. You’d made up your mind. I couldn’t beg, and I couldn’t have taken it if I told you and you’d left anyway.”
They are shouting at each other now.
“You thought that little of me? That I would walk away from you, from us, from our family? Liv. I can’t believe you didn’t have faith in me, after all of that.”
“I did. I loved you. I still do!”
Shock ripples across his face. Then his mouth is on hers, the kiss so violent, so explosive, that she has no time to react, only to sink into him, into his body, revel in his arms, the strength of him holding her. He pushes her up on the railing, his body hard between her legs, and the heat of him drives her wild. Her legs go around him, pulling him close. His shirt is off a moment later, and she runs her hands over the broad expanse of his chest.
He pulls away slightly, as if in question, and in response she arches her back, arches into him, every line and contour of her body screaming yes! Her shorts are off now, and his pants, and he takes her, there on the deck, under the brightening sky, the seagulls and sandpipers and sea oats the only witness to their passion.
It is over too quickly, and they are left panting in the morning heat, both trying to find a way to get closer, waves of pleasure crashing through them.
“Inside,” she whispers, and he picks her up as if she weighs nothing and carries her into the living room.
They stretch out side by side, and she is amazed at how they fit together, even after all these years. So perfectly, as if they’re made for one another.
They make love for hours, until the sun is drawing low and the shadows high.
She hasn’t been this happy in a long time. Being with him again is just as wonderful as she’d dreamed.
Perry, too, seems more relaxed, though there is still a tension in him. He’s probably thinking about Park; she wants to tell him that this is their moment, not to let in the chaos they’ve managed to flee, if only for a few hours.
“Is this going to be weird?” she asks softly.
“No. Only I don’t think I could ever get enough of you,” he says, and she smiles, snuggles against him.
“Then run away with me. Stay here. We can start over, together. Take the chance we never had.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible, Liv. Not until we get things settled with Park.”
“Is this why you want him taken down? So he’s out of the picture? Let me tell you, Perry, you needn’t worry about that. Park and I are over. I’m free. My heart is free, I mean. The rest is just paperwork.”
“It’s not that. I can’t live with myself knowing what he’s done.”
He pulls on his jeans and shirt, leaving them both unbuttoned. She feels so far away from him already, though he’s standing five feet away.
“It’s time to call him again, Liv. I have to resolve this in my mind. I’ll leave it up to you if you want to tell him about—” he points to the living room floor, littered with cushions and clothes “—this.”
“This?” She’d be amused if she wasn’t so desperately afraid of what might happen next.
“You know what I mean. Us.” He looks confused and abashed. “I’m going to take a shower.”