Page 108 of Here & Now

Twenty-four

Zane tried not to panic, but it was getting harder by the minute. He’d left several messages, and when his workday ended and she still hadn’t returned his calls, he’d started to worry.

Why was she avoiding him? Did she think things were moving too fast, or was she trying to distance herself because she knew she was leaving? Fretting over this was foreign to him because he’d never been this invested in a woman before.

As he drove home from work, he tried talking some sense into himself. She could be doing any number of things: working, packing, shopping, swimming. Maybe her phone had died, or she’d forgotten to turn on the ringer this morning. (They’d both silenced their phones when they were together last night.) Maybe she was napping since they’d stayed up so late. Her silence nagged at him until he pulled onto their street, hoping like hell she was safely at home. Her driveway was empty, though, and his heart sank.

At that point, he didn’t think any physical harm had come to her. He was certain that this was her way of sending him a message and pulling away.

He got out of the Jeep and stood there for a moment, worried and angry. How could she do this after everything they’d shared? Was he just a fling to her, someone to pass the time with until she returned to her real life in Michigan? If that were true, she should have told him instead of ghosting him.

Panic set in again. What if something bad had happened and she couldn’t get to the phone? She could have fallen, hit her head, and passed out. She might be lying on the kitchen floor right now, unconscious.

He jogged up to the front door and rang the doorbell, calling her name at the same time. He waited, and when there was no answer, he tried the doorknob just in case she’d forgotten to lock it. It didn’t budge.

Next, he looked through the front window, but he couldn’t see much through the gauzy curtains. He went off the porch and down the strip of grass between their houses to the lanai.

Knowing she kept the screen door unlocked for the pool cleaners, he went inside and glanced around. There was no evidence she’d been there recently, so he went up to the patio door and peered inside.

The house was neat and orderly, with no dishes on the counter or in the sink and nothing lying around. Where were all the boxes she’d packed? He tried the door, and to his surprise, it opened. He felt a prickle of fear, thinking a criminal could have gotten in instead of him.

He poked his head inside and called her name again.

No answer. He should probably close the door and leave. If she didn’t want to see him right now, that was her prerogative, and he should give her some space. On the other hand, maybe she’d left behind a clue to her whereabouts.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Before he went poking around, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number again. If she answered and let him know she was okay, he’d leave.

To his surprise, he heard her phone ringing in the house, and he followed the sound down the hall and into her bedroom. Her clothes were lying on the bed, and the sound was coming from underneath them. He clicked off his phone and put it back in his pocket. Then he lifted her shorts, felt in the back pockets, and pulled out her phone. A business card slipped out with it and fell on the bed. He picked it up and frowned.

He didn’t know Justine Flowers, but it was the name of her company that made him frown. Why would Bree want to work with anyone from Scott’s office? Had she met with the woman today? Why hadn’t she mentioned it? He was perplexed and disappointed. This proved that she still planned on leaving the island, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

He was standing there, holding her phone and the business card, when he heard a noise behind him and whirled around.

“What the hell happened?” he said at the sight of her.

“What are you doing in here?” she countered.

“First things first. Where do you keep the aloe?” She was wearing a cover-up over her bathing suit, but it was see-through, and he saw the bright red glow of her burnt skin.

“I don’t have any.”

“What?! Everyone who lives here keeps aloe on hand.”

“I don’t live here,” she reminded him.

“Come with me.” He took her hand and led her out of the room.

“Where are we going?”

“For once, can you not argue and just trust me?”

She sighed and allowed him to pull her down the hall.

“Why did you let this happen?” he demanded as they went through the house and out the patio door.

“It was an accident. I had sunscreen on when I went to the beach, but then I went for a swim…”

“And forgot to reapply it afterward.”