Chapter 14
14
OWEN
I’m lying by the pool, enjoying the mid-afternoon sun, mindlessly watching the rays make the water twinkle, and I exhale a contented sigh, finally feeling like myself again.
All around the surrounding trees, Cyprus Warbler birds sing away to themselves, enjoying the afternoon heat.
An entire week has passed since I watched Jade fly for the first time with her team, meaning the deadline to return to Castleview Cove my father set me has long passed.
I ignored it, refusing to bend or stretch to his demands. The night I swam around Aphrodite’s Rock, I made a commitment to myself to not look back, vowing to only move forward. Returning would be like admitting to him he was right all along when that is not the case; forcing his only son into a loveless marriage was wrong, so wrong.
I am here now, standing on my own two feet, and I took the first step toward securing financial stability. I made a call to a realtor friend, Jude, to help me find a house. Part of the plan was to find some property to invest in, not to live in as such. Wanting to be near Jade and Poppy, because that’s where my head and heart want to be, I’m pretty certain I won’t be moving back to Scotland. However, when I return to Castleview Cove, with my father having taken it upon himself to rid me of the place I call my home, I thought it would be a good idea to secure a vacation home near the beach. It will be handy when I visit friends.
I promised to pay Jude a higher commission if he kept quiet about my whereabouts, and within three hours he’d found me a stunning home with four bedrooms and a large family kitchen, with a garden scattered with old trees to make homemade swings in and space to build a Wendy house, as well as a sea view.
Having spent a lot of time around Poppy, perhaps it was a subconscious decision I made as I reeled off my new home requirements, almost imagining the three of us living there together.
Mindlessly, I watch two dragonflies flirt with one another, hovering, twirling; they then skim the pool, lost in their own game of kiss chase.
I shake my head to rouse myself from my daydreaming as my text message alert dings loudly from the table next to me.
Aware that both Poppy and Mari are having an afternoon nap on the outside double daybed, I curse under my breath, praying my deafening notification sound doesn’t wake them up.
They’re cuddled together beneath the cream canopy that’s protecting them from the blistering sun, and I give them a quick glance, relieved to find them still sleeping soundly.
I called Jade earlier to ask if we could get Mari seen by a military doctor as she’s still not feeling well.
While Mari, Poppy, and I have been taking it easy around the villa, Jade is slammed with the team’s schedule. Flying and training aside, it has kept them busy doing press conferences, online interviews for magazines and newspapers, and meeting with different news teams from all over the world. In addition, the press is fascinated by the only female on the team returning to work, a working mom no less, featuring her in parenting and women-specific magazines.
She juggles so many things at once, I can’t keep up with her.
Today, I listened to the team being interviewed on the local radio station on base, too; they sure don’t get much downtime during the day.
I listened intently to my cousin across the airwaves, and he was articulate and professional, and I find him and his elite team fascinating and inspiring, almost jealous that at thirty-one I am still finding my place in the world when they are so confident and solid in theirs.
However, I no longer feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I can’t deny how much I have enjoyed my evenings with Jade and Poppy just relaxing, with Mari sometimes joining us for meals out and walks along the beach, although she likes to disappear to give us space and alone time together.
No matter what we do, Jade and I have laughed until our bellies ache. We have fun and I can’t imagine my life without her in it. I want to be with her everywhere.
Although, sometimes I have to share Jade with her team. They appear to love Jade and treat Poppy and Mari like their own, too.
Except for Cobra. I’ve yet to figure him out. Gregor suspects he has a thing for Jade, but he sure as hell doesn’t act like it.
I don’t like his sleazy nature and snide remarks.
If he’s trying to win Jade over, he’s doing a shitty job of it, and to be honest, he’s already lost her because, in every way, she’s mine now .
And how do I know this? Well, because we talk. We talk about everything together. I laid my heart on the line and told her what I want; I want a chance with her to give this a shot.
She confessed that she wants the same things, making my heart beat in a way I’ve never felt before. Because she wants me as much as I want her and she wants to see what our future together can bring.
I want to take care of them both; although I’m not sure how to do that when I don’t have a roof over my head to even protect myself.
Ding, ding, ding. Another three text messages sound loudly from my phone.
Annoyed, turning it over in my hand, I squint to find Jude’s name displayed across the screen alongside shouty capital letter messages.
Jude
WHERE ARE YOU?
I’VE TRIED CALLING YOU SEVERAL TIMES.
YOUR PAYMENT DIDN’T GO THROUGH FOR THE HOUSE.
My mouth drops open.
How is that possible?
Jude
CALL ME ASAP.
I can almost hear the neurons in my brain misfiring as I try to work out why they would decline my transaction. I gave them the correct details; I know I did because Gregor double-checked the account number with me, twice. Plus, I’m a numbers guy. I check, check, and check again. As boring as it is, it’s in my DNA to be analytical and methodical. There surely must be a clerical error at their end.
Moving inside the house for privacy, I unlock my phone and hit call on Jude’s name.
Sure enough, he picks up on the first ring. “Thank Christ, I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day, Owen.”
“My phone hasn’t rung once, I promise.” I reply.
“Can you call your bank? Because of data protection, they won’t tell me anything. You know what they’re like.” He sounds stressed because he knows he’ll hit the big time off the commission from my sale.
“Yeah, sure.” I nervously run my fingers through my hair. I need to figure out what the issue is. “I’ll call you back as soon as I know.” I check the time. Being two hours ahead of the UK, I ask, “What time do you finish?”
“I’m never off the clock, Owen.”
“Great. Give me half an hour.”
“Speak soon. Hope they sort it for you quickly.”
Ending the call, I open my banking app to locate the online help desk number. As my account details load onto the screen, I lose my breath, unable to comprehend what my eyes are reading. It’s as if someone hit me with a bullet through my chest as I stare down at the zero balance glaring back at me.
Frozen to the spot, I prepare to fight the unknown threat I’m facing or run the other way and take flight.
I blink once, then twice, then rub my eyes.
It’s surely an error.
I close the app, reopen it, and log back in using my security pin number.
Yet again, I’m greeted with a bank balance of zero.
“What the fuck?” I exclaim, confused by what I am seeing or not seeing .
“What’s wrong?”
I didn’t hear Gregor and Jade entering.
“What’s happened?” Gregor’s voice is agitated as he storms in my direction and pulls the phone out of my hand, his eyes immediately seeing what mine do. “He didn’t?” he asks rhetorically, clearly livid.
“He did.”