Summer Ever After: A Sweet Romantic Comedy

Chapter 25

Dr. Carbonell glancesdown at my wringing hands. “There’s nothing to be nervous about, Jane. Wisdom teeth removal is pretty straightforward.”

“I know, but I read online that there are more risks getting them out when you’re older.”

His crow”s feet deepen, letting me know he’s smiling under his mask. “You’re not that old. And this surgery is more proactive than reactive.” Just like my summer dating plans. “I fully expect everything to go smoothly.”

“Okay.” I suck in a deep breath as I nod back at him.

“Who’s picking you up after surgery?” The nurse stands above me with a clipboard.

“His name is Beau Palmer.” Her pen wiggles back and forth as she writes the name down. “He should be here in a half hour.”

“The surgery will take forty-five minutes, but we’ll send him back as soon as you wake up.”

“He’s just a friend.” I’m not sure why I defined my relationship to the nurse, but I did.

Everyone should know Beau is not my person. That was made clear by the surprise on his face when I asked him yesterday if he could drop everything in the middle of the day and pick me up from the oral surgeon’s office on the mainland.

It’s a big ask, a role that goes to the one person who has your back—or to the friendly neighborhood policeman when you don’t have anyone else.

This surgery is the most obvious sign of where I’m at in life.

Alone.

With Beau Palmer as my emergency contact.

It’s a depressing realization.

I wish Walker were picking me up.

I gently bang my head on the cushioned pad, trying to knock away the thought. Walker isn’t someone I can rely on, and the sooner my heart and mind accept that, the sooner I can move on with my life.

Besides, I haven’t seen Walker in days. We shared the best day and night of my life with each other, and then nothing. He vanished. I didn’t even see him around the island.

“Okay, Jane. We’re ready for you to count backward from one hundred.”

Maybe I should count all the reasons why I can’t fall for Walker Collins.

He probably doesn’t feel the same way.

He’s Capri’s brother.

He doesn’t live in Sunset Harbor.

I’ll always be second to golf.

He’ll just leave me like he left his family…

I glance again at the text thread between me and Beau.

Beau

Hey, Walker. I need to ask you a huge favor. Pete Luca said you were on your way back to Sunset Harbor this morning. I told Jane I would pick her up from her wisdom teeth surgery on the mainland, but something’s come up at the resort. Like a stalking thing with a high-profile guest, and I need to stay on the island and check things out. Are you in the area and able to pick Jane up for me? If not, no worries. Tala said Heath could cancel a few physical therapy appointments and pick her up if not.

Walker

I’m in the area and can totally pick Jane up. Send me the address and the details about what time I need to be there.

I wasn’t really in the area. I was just about to pull Stan’s boat into his slip on the canal, but I turned that boat around so fast I almost capsized it. The man who runs the garage at the mainland marina gave me a funny look when I asked him to get my car back out—the one he had just put away—so I could drive it to the surgeon’s office. I made it just as Jane’s procedure finished, but my heart still pounds with urgency.

The nurse opens the waiting room door, smiling at me. “Beau?”

“Yep.” I hop to my feet, pushing my phone into my pocket. “That’s me. Beau Palmer.”

“Jane is just waking up. Follow me.”

“How did it go?” I ask as we walk down a long hallway.

“Everything went great. But she’s a little weepy.”

“Weepy?” Maybe she meant sleepy.

“Yeah, she’s been crying a lot.”

That doesn’t sound like Jane at all.

She pulls a curtain back. “Look who’s here. It’s Beau.”

I hesitantly step inside, suppressing my smile over how cute she looks with hooded eyes and puffy cheeks.

“Beau?” Her voice is dry and cracked. She peeks one eye open. “You look like Walker.”

The nurse gestures to the seat beside her bed. “I’ll be back with her prescriptions and post-op instructions.”

“Thanks.” I drop into the chair, watching as her smile morphs into a frown.

“I wanted Walker, but it’s Beau.” It sounds like she’s crying. “And now my eyes are broken because I only see Walker.”

I place my hand on hers. “I am Walker.”

“You’re Walker?”

“Yeah, I’m Walker. How are you feeling?”

“I can’t feel my tongue.” She flops it out. “Ish it still shere?”

“Yeah, it’s still there.”

“Good.” She closes her eyes again and leans back. “Where’s my phone? I need to tell Capri I’m okay.”

“I don’t know. Probably in your purse.”

“I tell Capri everything. She’s my best friend.”

“I know.”

Her eyes open and drift to me. “I think you’re not Beau.” She grabs my baseball cap and looks inside of it for a second before setting it over the back of her head sideways.

“My hat looks good on you.”

Everything about her face is straight. “I like you.”

“Yeah?” I laugh.

“I think…” Her words hang between us as her finger slides over my lips like she’s tracing something.

“What do you think?”

Her finger moves from my lips, and her eyes narrow as if she’s really studying me. “You’re cute,” she says at the same time her finger taps against my forehead.

I laugh despite the seriousness behind Jane’s expression.

“I’m going to blow your mind right now,” I say, watching as her face stays even. “Do you want to know how?”

I lean in, pressing my lips against her forehead. It’s not a quick peck. It’s intentional and heartfelt. I pull back, laughing at her wide eyes and her attempts to drop her jaw.

She turns her head, calling to the nurse, who’s nowhere in sight. “That cute guy is kissing me!”

Laughter spills over my gigantic smile. “Just on the forehead.”

Anything more feels wrong with her in this state.

She blinks back at me a few times before switching gears. “Where’s my phone? We need to tell Capri I don’t have any more teeth.” Her eyes close as she pushes her lips into a pout. “They took my teeth.”

I now understand the nurse’s sentiment about Jane being weepy.

“Shh.” I brush her hair away from her face. “Don’t worry about any of that. We’ll tell Capri.” I pause for a minute then say what’s really on my mind, because she won’t remember any of it. “I missed you, Jane. I went home to Jupiter the last two days and golfed on the course there. I did okay—not anywhere close to where I need to be, but better. I’m starting to wonder if you’re my lucky charm.” I shrug. “Well, being with you is my lucky charm.”

Her lids blink a few times before opening. She runs her fingers over the sides of her jaw. “I can’t eat Lucky Charms. I don’t have any teeth.”

I smile, really liking this version of her.

“I’m going to play in the Rocket Mortgage Classic next week. I just thought someone should know. Someone close to me.”

Her lips quiver like she might start crying again. “I want to go in a rocket.”

The nurse comes back in with a stack of papers. Jane tries to get her attention the entire time she’s giving me the instructions.

“Hey, hey, hey.” She finally tugs on her scrubs. “This cute guy kissed me.”

“Uh”—I look at the nurse guiltily—“just on the forehead.”

“This isn’t Beau. This is my brother, Walker.”

Brother? Really? I hate when Jane calls me that, even in her drugged-up state. And thanks to her blurting out that I kissed her, the nurse probably thinks I’m a disgusting brother at that.

The woman ignores her like she’s done this a million times before and shifts her gaze back to me. “Let us know if you have any questions.”

“Thanks. I will.” I help Jane stand. “Alright, let’s get you home.”

“Who’s going to take care of me?” I help guide her down the hall. As we pass by the front desk, she yells at the secretary. “I live alone. Who’s going to take care of me?”

Something about that innocent worry of hers tugs at my heartstrings.

“I’ll take care of you, Jane. Don’t worry.”

Her head flops to me with a goofy grin spread across her mouth. “Okay.”

We drive to the marina garage in silence, aside from a few random tears about how much she wants to go to a Morgan Wallen concert but can’t now because her cheeks are swollen.

Getting her into Stan’s boat took three people plus strapping a life jacket to her since Medicated Jane is apparently scared of water. But within a half-hour, I had her safely back to her own house.

“Where do you want to rest? The couch? The bed?”

She plops down on the floor in her kitchen, getting teary-eyed again. “I don’t know.”

“How about your bed?”

Her shoulders slump. “I don’t think I can make it.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” I bend down, gathering her in my arms, half expecting to feel pain in my back as I lift her, but it looks like my lumbar microdiscectomy is still doing its job. “Okay, where’s your bedroom?”

“Up.” She rests her head against my chest, snuggling into the cradle my arms make.

My eyes close, and my shoulders drop in satisfaction.

I don’t think I’ve ever cradled a woman in my life. Even if I had, Jane is the best thing I’ve ever held—and I’ve held a lot of prestigious golf trophies in my lifetime.

I appreciate the feeling of her against my chest for one more second before climbing the stairs and depositing her on her mattress.

I position her pillows how she asks, and when I’m sure she’s comfortable, I stand and say, “I’ll go pick up your prescriptions and be right back.”

Her hand grabs mine. “Don’t leave me.”

“You need your pain medication.”

“Lie with me, just for a second, so I’m not alone.”

I brush her hair back from her face and sit on the edge of her bed.

“That feels nice.” Her brows lift, but her eyes stay closed. “Why won’t you lie with me?”

“When you wake up, I think you’d be mad at me if I did.”

“I wanted you to lie with me on the boat, but you didn’t.” Her words come out very matter-of-factly. “My parents fell in love in one bed.” Her doe eyes open, staring me down. “But it didn’t work for me.”

My lips lift as I brush the side of her face with my knuckles. “It worked better than you think.” I haven’t been able to stop dreaming about waking up with Jane in my arms.

“I just thought it would work.” She sighs, closing her eyes again. “Especially with you.”

My lips lift. “Why with me?”

“I’ve loved you my whole life.”

I blink down at her, not sure if I heard right.

That has to be the meds talking.

Before I can ask for clarification, she softly snores her way to sleep, leaving my heart more confused than ever.

Capri’s words ring louder in my ear more than ever.

She’s not your summer distraction while you’re in Sunset Harbor, or your rebound girl after Lydia, or how you console yourself while you’re down in the dumps. Jane deserves more than that.

“Ouch!” I wake up with aching gums and a dry mouth.

Aside from a small light shining from my bathroom, the room is mostly dark.

I sit up, running my fingers gently over my ginormous cheeks. I bet I look terrible. My hand reaches for the lamp next to my bed, flipping the light on. Bottles of pills and a glass of water are strategically placed on my nightstand, waiting for me with a note. I pick it up, squinting at the scribbles.

Jane,

I didn’t want to wake you, so I put your medicine here for you when you’re ready to take it. There’s also some chicken noodle soup in the refrigerator—compliments of Ivy from the café—several things of yogurt, and even some Otter Pops in the freezer. I didn’t know what you’d feel like eating. Tala said she was coming to check on you tonight, and I’m only a few minutes away if you need anything—just text me. I hope you get some rest and feel better soon.

Walker

I fall back onto my pillow, immediately regretting how it jars my mouth.

I thought Walker picking me up from the doctor’s office was just a dream—a really good dream that I didn’t want to wake up from. But now that I’m more coherent, I see flashes of moments: him helping me into his car, wearing a life jacket on his boat, crying on the floor in my kitchen, resting my head against his chest, and even him brushing my hair back from my face with so much tenderness my heart nearly breaks open.

What the heck happened to Beau?

And why do I feel like Walker taking care of me made me fall for him even more? I can barely even remember what he said or did or what I said or did. I just know he was sweet, and all this sweetness is making it hard to fight the good fight.