Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
DIXIE
I looked around my apartment, trying to reacquaint myself with its tiny, well-worn charm, but it felt impossibly small after a week in the Maldives. The walls seemed to press closer, and no amount of rearranging pillows on the couch could restore the sense of relaxation I’d had lounging on the villa’s plush furniture.
And the smell.
Had it always smelled this weird? A little musty maybe? Like old takeout and forgotten laundry. The Maldives had ruined me with its salt-kissed breezes and the endless aroma of hibiscus and coconut oil.
I was officially ruined. Now that I knew how the other half lived, it was hard to accept my own meager lodgings. It wasn’t just the apartment or its size—it was coming back to it alone. I missed Hayes already.
We had slept side by side for a week. Ate every meal together. It felt like he was my other half. And now he was just gone.
I sighed and sank onto the couch. After hours of post-travel routine—showering off the plane grime, unpacking my suitcase, and starting laundry—I was restless. Hayes had dropped me off earlier, his kiss lingering on my lips long after the door had shut behind him.
The memory of our goodbye made me smile.
We’d shared a steamy make-out session in the hallway, but I’d pulled back and told him I thought it’d be best if we spent the night in our own places. Regroup. Process. Something about the thought of diving back into my real life while still tangled up in him felt overwhelming.
He hadn’t been upset—far from it. “I get it,” he’d said, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
The fact that I could ask for what I needed without guilt, and that he respected it, made me fall for him a little more. I was left feeling confused. We didn’t have the talk about feelings and what this thing we were doing was. I didn’t know how to bring it up. I didn’t know if it was even appropriate to bring it up. A week in the Maldives didn’t exactly mean I should expect a marriage proposal.
But what was he thinking? I felt like I got along great with his family. I absolutely adored Kathy. The wives were all very kind and I thought we got along well. Did that mean there was a future for us?
What would that future look like? Even though we got along great and we had some amazing chemistry, that didn’t exactly spell out a future.
The buzzer rang, jolting me from my spiraling thoughts.
“That’s new,” I said as I got to my feet. The buzzer had not worked right since I moved in.
“Hello?” I asked into the box, hoping I wasn’t talking to a stranger.
“It’s me,” Frankie said. “Is this actually working? I’m not talking to your crazy neighbor?”
“Shh,” I said with a laugh. “Yes. Get your butt in here.”
I buzzed her in and got up to prepare tea, grabbing the kettle and some mismatched mugs. When she knocked, I opened the door to find her standing there with her usual bright smile, her hair pulled into a high bun. Of course, she looked amazing in one of her chic outfits.
“Look at you, Miss World Traveler!” Frankie exclaimed as she pulled me into a hug.
“More like Miss Jet-Lagged,” I said with a laugh, letting her in.
A few minutes later, we were perched on the couch, tea in hand.
“This place smells funny,” I blurted, breaking the comfortable silence.
Frankie wrinkled her nose and took a long, theatrical sniff. “Smells fine to me.”
I groaned, sinking into the cushions. “So, it always smells like this?”
“What do think it smells like?” she asked.
“Like a mix of old books and a little hint of mildew,” I replied, making a face.
Frankie laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, maybe it’s time for a spring clean. Or maybe some new candles? I saw some nice ones at the market the other day. I should have picked them up for you. Soy based.”
“Great. The Maldives ruined me.”
“That’s what happens when you vacation like royalty,” she teased. “Speaking of, spill! How was it? The island, the food, the family… Paul?”
Who the hell is Paul?
And then I remembered I was keeping his true identity a secret. I wasn’t quite ready to tell her who he was and the family I spent time with. I didn’t sign an NDA, but I understood their privacy.
“It was incredible. Everything. The sunshine, the ocean, his family—they’re a little wild, but in a good way. And the food? Oh, my God, Frankie, I could write sonnets about the food. I probably gained ten pounds.”
“And Paul?” she prompted, wiggling her eyebrows.
“He was amazing,” I said, my voice softening. “Thoughtful, sweet, sexy— so sexy. I think he’s the only reason I didn’t gain weight.”
She frowned. “What? How?”
“Sex,” I said. “Lots of cardio.”
She burst into laughter. “Okay, now I need details. What kind of sexy is he? Like Ryan Gosling sexy or Idris Elba sexy?”
“Very sexy,” I said. “I cannot explain how handsome he is. When I say tall, dark, and gorgeous, I’m not lying.”
“You’re going to sit here and tell me all about him and yet you don’t have any pictures?” she asked. “You didn’t take pictures? If there are no pictures, it didn’t happen.”
I giggled, already reaching for my phone. I pulled up my gallery. I started with the pictures of the island I took on our last day. “This was our villa,” I said.
“That is incredible,” she said. “So pretty… but where’s the man? Did you go there alone? Is Paul in the room with us right now?”
“No.” I laughed. “I’ll show you, but you have to promise not to freak out, okay?”
Frankie rolled her eyes. “Calm down. How good-looking can he possibly be?”
“You have no idea,” I said, scrolling through the photos. “But that’s not what I mean.”
“What do you mean?”
I hesitated, feeling the need to preface. “I’ve been keeping a little secret. His name isn’t actually Paul.”
Frankie raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
I took a deep breath. “Everything I told you was true—how we met, how we clicked—but I didn’t use his real name because I didn’t want you or Mom and Dad to, like, get in my head about it before I could figure it out myself.”
“Okay…” Frankie said slowly. “Is this guy a criminal?”
“No.”
“A celebrity?”
“In his own right,” I said. “Not him so much, but his family.”
“So, what is his real name?”
I turned the phone toward her, my excitement bubbling up as I revealed the picture. It was my favorite: Hayes and me on the beach, grinning at the camera. “This is him. Hayes Bancroft.”
The name hung in the air, and for a moment, Frankie didn’t react. Then her jaw dropped, and she snatched the phone from my hand.
“So hot, right?!” I practically shrieked, unable to contain my giddiness. “He’s amazing. Gorgeous but not just a pretty face. He’s kind and generous?—”
But Frankie didn’t share in my enthusiasm. Her face changed, her expression falling as her eyes welled up with tears.
“Frankie?” I asked, my happiness retreating as a wave of unease settled over me. “What’s wrong? Those don’t look like tears of joy.”
She wiped her eyes and pushed the phone back into my hands. “That’s him. That’s the guy I was seeing two years ago. The guy…” She trailed off, her voice trembling.
My heart stopped. “The guy who broke your heart?”
Frankie nodded, her hands trembling as she put her teacup on the coffee table. “Hayes Bancroft broke my heart and now you’re falling madly in love with him?”
A hundred questions raced through my mind. Did Frankie know he was a Bancroft? Did Hayes know she was my sister? Had he known all along and played me for some twisted fantasy?
“Frankie, wait,” I said as she stood, grabbing her bag. “Please don’t leave. Let’s talk about this.”
She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t, Dixie. I need to process this. I need space. You’re my sister. I can’t believe you did this to me.”
“Frankie, I didn’t know,” I said, desperate to make her stay. “I would never?—”
“I know you wouldn’t,” she said, her voice cracking. “But it doesn’t change how this feels. You just went on the vacation I dreamed of with the man I thought I would take it with.”
I followed her to the door. “Tell me what to do. Tell me how to make this right. I don’t want to hurt you. You’re my sister, Frankie. You’ve always been there for me, and I want to be there for you. I had no idea who he was. You never told me his name. What can I do?”
Frankie paused, her shoulders heaving as she tried to steady her breath. She turned to me, her eyes red and glassy.
“Stop seeing him,” she said simply. “He was mine. Hayes was supposed to be my dream guy. I was supposed to be the one he took luxury vacations with. Not you! You can’t be with him, Dixie. He’s a jerk. He’s going to hurt you. I can’t support you seeing this guy. You have to dump his ass.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“I…” My voice faltered.
Frankie didn’t wait for me to respond. She turned and walked down the hallway, leaving me standing there, shell-shocked.
A soft meow broke the silence. I looked down to see Margaret’s cat rubbing against my legs, purring contentedly.
I sighed, my chest tightening with emotion. “Hi, buddy,” I said softly, crouching to scratch behind his ears.
Margaret’s door opened, and she peered out, her silver hair catching the light. “Oh, there you are, Trouble,” she said, smiling as she reached for the cat. “Little escape artist.”
I straightened, managing a small smile. “Sorry, he was keeping me company.”
“He has a knack for that,” Margaret said, cradling the cat in her arms. “You okay, dear?”
I hesitated, the weight of everything pressing down on me. “Just a long day,” I said finally.
She nodded knowingly. “Well, if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks, Margaret.”
She disappeared back into her apartment, and I retreated to mine, closing the door behind me.
The apartment felt suffocating now, the walls closing in as my thoughts spiraled. I sat on the couch, staring at the photo of Hayes on my phone, trying to reconcile the man I’d come to care for with the man who’d broken my sister’s heart.
What was real?
Had Hayes known all along? Had this all been some elaborate game? Or was it a horrible coincidence?
I didn’t know what to believe, but one thing was clear: the paradise I’d just left felt a million miles away. My sister was my best friend. My sister. She was blood. After spending a week with the Bancroft family and seeing how tight their bond was, how could I possibly betray my sister?
But how could I stop seeing Hayes? I had never felt so torn in all my life. My heart wanted Hayes. Logic told me my first responsibility was to protect my little sister. Which one was more important? Was it selfish to even be having this inner turmoil? If I loved my sister, wouldn’t I do exactly what she asked me to do?
I felt horrible because I didn’t want to let him go. It was unfair that I finally found a man I really liked. A man that made me happy.
This was what happened when you let your guard down. And what about Hayes? Was he going to be hurt when I told him I couldn’t see him anymore?
My thoughts quickly shifted to anger and suspicion. Did Hayes not remember my sister? What did that say about him? And honestly, did I want to be involved with a man that could break a woman’s heart without even remembering her?
“Dammit. Why me? Why can’t I just have one good guy and a little slice of happiness?”