Callum
We’re halfway through dinner and Bella still has a sour attitude. I asked her if she preferred to eat in the dining room in the house, or even in one of the cabins below deck, but she insisted we stay.
“How did you like the lobster?” I ask her as she sets her fork down and puts her hands on her full belly.
She holds up a finger as she finishes chewing then swallows down her bite. “Delicious. A little heavy on the parsley but still good.”
I’m surprised she’s admitting to liking something that I planned for her, although, it’s not a compliment meant for me, it’s for the chef.
I pat my mouth with my napkin, then set it on top of the table. “I’ll be sure to let the chef know.”
Serena comes over and offers to take our plates. I don’t acknowledge her, while Bella, on the other hand, glares a warning in her direction. Serena takes notice and lets out a giggle. “Are you two lovebirds having dessert? Possibly something vanilla?” She looks at me with a crooked grin.
She wants to stir trouble and I won’t allow it. Not with my date.
“We’ll be having dessert on the sundeck. Please make sure everything is set and then you may leave for the night.”
“But, Mr. Davis said—”
“I don’t care what he said. You are finished for the night. See yourself off the boat and Mr. Davis will handle your final paycheck.”
“You mean…I’m fired?”
I pick up Bella’s plate and place it on top of my dirty one she’s holding. “Precisely. Goodnight, Serena.”
“Because of her?” Serena spits out in a fit of rage.
“This has nothing to do with Bella. This is due to your lack of professionalism on the job, as well as your poor bedroom skills.”
Serena’s face blares crimson as she stomps her feet like a child. “You know what, Callum, you might be a billionaire with a big dick, but you’re the most selfish asshole I know.” Her hands cup around her mouth, although she speaks loud and clear. “For the record, you never even got me off. You will pay for this. Mark my words.” She storms off in a fury and I shoot Bella a look before she busts out laughing.
“Should have at least made her clean the bathroom first. I imagine she dirtied it while she was lost.” Bella smirks before finishing off her drink.
She’s on her fourth martini of the night and the white of her eyes are now streaked with red.
“Serena,” I call out. She turns around to face me with hope in her eyes. “Since you like to wander into the restrooms, why don’t you clean those before you go?”
Serena snarls in disgust. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?”
Once she stomps away, probably cursing me internally, I look at Bella who is laughing hysterically. “Let’s have dessert then get you back to your room. You need sleep.”
“Sleep?” she laughs, “I’m not even tired, besides, the sun just set ten minutes ago.”
I push my chair back and stand, offering her my hand. She looks at it like it’s diseased before breathing out a hefty sigh and accepting it.
We pass by the bar where Arabella wipes down the counter, quietly. I’m sure she just heard the outburst from Serena, and if she wants to keep her job, she’ll remain quiet.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” I ask Bella as we walk up the stairs to the sundeck. Granted, the sun has set, but there’s an open view of the stars over the bay.
“As much as I can knowing that I’m trapped on an island by a man who hates me and won’t let me leave. Oh, and stole my virginity.”
“You sure do like to speak your mind.”
“I’m not one to hold back, much like you. So, tell me Cal—why are you being so nice to me?”
There’s a nip in the air, once we’re at the highest level of the yacht. Bella hugs her chest, shielding herself from the cold. I unbutton my jacket and slide it off, then wrap it around her shoulders. “Just because I’m a forward man doesn’t mean I’m not a gentleman. I know what I want and I never stop until I get it.”
“And I suppose I am what you want?”
Narrowing my eyes with hers, I make myself perfectly clear. “I already have you. What I want is for the people who hurt us to pay for their sins.”
Her expression becomes solemn, eyes pinched together, shoulders drooping. “No one hurt us, Cal.”
It’s best if I just let this go. Bella never needs to know the truth about what happened that day and why I was punished, but that doesn’t mean that those who had a part in my demise won’t pay. It all begins with her, and here she is.
“Have a seat,” I angle my head toward the small round table beside us, “I had the chef prepare something special.”
“What?” Bella looks at me sideways as she lifts the lid on the silver platter. Her eyes shoot back to mine. “Blueberry pie?” There’s a hint of a smile on her face and hope is not lost for the night.
“It was always your favorite.” I grab the pitcher of lemonade—also her favorite—and begin pouring her a glass.
“Our favorite,” she deadpans. I give her a look and she repeats herself. “It was our favorite. Don’t you remember the day Mrs. Webster baked three blueberry pies for the town’s pie cook-off that we weren’t allowed to attend? We snuck downstairs in the middle of the night and took a pie to your room and ate it with our fingers.”
I sit down at the table and Bella does the same. “And the next morning when we denied it, she noticed your fingers were dyed blue and you took the full blame.”
“You had just gotten in trouble for fighting Trent and I knew you were on your last strike.”
If only she could have saved me the last time I got in trouble. Did I expect her to? No. But, I never expected her to just leave without even letting me explain what happened. All these years she’s been a sister to Mark and a girlfriend to Trent, not even knowing what they did.
“I wrote you letters. A lot of them.” Bella scoops a slice of pie onto her plate and I’m surprised when she does the same for me. She digs in while so many unanswered questions swirl in my head.
There’s a sting in my chest, but I ignore it, while she keeps talking.
“It took me a couple weeks before I got the courage to do it, but once I did, I just kept writing them, hoping one day I’d find your address and I could mail them. I never did find it. I tried, though.”
I had no idea.
This subject needs to change fast because I refuse to overthink this. It doesn’t change that she left me. If she did write letters, it was out of pity and that’s something I do not fucking want.
“Why did you turn down Juilliard?” I shift to a lighter conversation, at least for me.
Bella grabs the bottle of whipped cream and begins topping her pie. “Why do you always change the subject when the conversation is about you?”
“Because I’d rather talk about you.”
“Couldn’t afford it. Plain and simple.” She takes a bite, her eyes close, and she moans at the deliciousness. “This is really good.” She points her fork to the pie.
“You had a full scholarship.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “No, I didn’t.”
“Bella, you can’t lie to me. I did an insane amount of research on you. School records, criminal records, medical records. By the way, I’m happy to see that the scar on your forehead is minimal from that rollerblading accident when you were fifteen.”
There’s a loud clunk when her fork hits the ceramic plate. “Why would you snoop around in my life like that? Those things are private!”
“I wasn’t about to let a hard-earned criminal move into my house. Or someone with a nasty venereal disease.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Most of the time, yes. Why’d you turn down the scholarship?”
There’s a brief moment of silence between us. Bella picks her fork back up and takes another bite, chewing sluggishly.
“I guess I just wanted to make up for lost time and leaving would only cause me to miss more time.”
“Did they ask you to turn it down?”
Another beat of silence.
“No,” she spits out. “They’d never ask me to turn it down. We all just thought it would be a good idea if I stayed. Mark was already accepted into law school and preparing to leave since he was a year ahead of me. I didn’t want them to be alone.”
“So Mark gets to chase his dreams, but you don’t?”
“Music is a hobby, not a career.” The fork jabs into her mouth and she rips off the piece of pie aggressively.
“You’ve got a career now in interior design, so maybe it’s time to enjoy music again.”
Bella blows a sarcastic laugh. “I wouldn’t call it a career. A degree doesn’t give me experience and even you were hesitant on my ideas.”
“I think you had great ideas. In fact, when I set up the conference call with Barbara, I mentioned so.”
“Can we drop this? None of it matters.”
“Sure, it does. What if I told you that I could make your dreams come true?”
Bella slides her plate across the table while licking a smidgen of blueberry from her lips. “I’d say you’re out of your mind.”
“Maybe I am. But we both know that interior design is not what you’re passionate about.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough.”
I won’t stop tossing the bait. She’ll bite when she’s ready. If she lets me, I’ll give her a good life, as long as she’s with me and away from them.
“Are you ready?” I ask, before finishing off my lemonade.
She nods, then pushes her chair back and stands. I do the same, rounding the table and taking her hand in mine without her permission. “I hope you enjoyed tonight.”
“Aside from the deep conversation about my career choice,” her shoulders shrug, “it was all right.”
I smile at her snarky response. She’s got quite the attitude, and it’s due for an adjustment.
We’re walking down the dock when my phone rings. I stop, forcing her to do the same by holding tightly to her hand.
Byron’s name flashes on the screen. I hold up a finger to Bella, then take the call. “Why are you calling? You know I’m busy.”
“Just thought you might want to know that there is a gentleman on the main island waiting to board a boat to Cori Cove.”
I look at Bella, brows pinched together, while she stares up at the sky with her head tilted back.
“Who?”
“Trent Beckham. Want me to take care of him?”
“No,” I growl. I tuck my phone to my side, covering the speaker, and grab Bella’s attention by dropping her hand. “Why don’t you go inside and I’ll be in shortly.”
“Okay,” she drawls before turning and walking away.
I wait until she’s working her way up the stone path before I put the phone back to my ear.
“Put him up for the night—someplace nice. Have Jeffery escort him before breakfast.”
“You’re sure?” There’s a hesitation in his tone. “Isn’t he the boyfriend?”
“Not anymore.” I’m about to end the call when I remember that I’m pissed at Byron. “Oh, and I know that the female staff was no accident. I don’t know what you’re doing, but you know I don’t play games.”
“Oh, come on.” Byron laughs. “One day, Bella might want to partake in the festivities on the island. I bet she has a freaky side to her. She might enjoy it.”
Acid climbs up my throat at the thought. “She will never partake. And if you pull a stunt like this again or even have a thought of her in that way, this friendship will be void.”
“Whoa. Calm down, Ellis. It was a simple suggestion. Besides, this friendship will never be void, I know too many of your secrets.”
Byron ends the call, purposely infuriating me. Gripping my phone tightly in my hand, I growl audibly, feeling the veins in my neck balloon while my pulse throbs in my throat.
Now that Bella is back in my life, she’s all that matters. I’d bury my only friend before I let anyone touch a hair on her head.
