Chapter 19
Faye
Our last full day of vacation arrived far too quickly, and I hated to think that we’d be boarding separate planes the next day and heading to opposite coasts.
We spent the entire morning swimming and soaking up every last bit of sun we could get while pretending our time on the island wasn’t coming to an end.
After lunch, the guys suggested we head into town to pick up souvenirs, and I jumped at the chance.
I wanted something to remember the trip by other than photos and selfies.
The shops along the main street offered a wide variety of things like handmade jewelry, carved wooden animals, and candles infused with coconut and lime. I must have stopped at every one of them, checking out little trinkets I absolutely didn’t need.
Inside a small jewelry shop, I spotted a display table with bracelets and dozens of tiny charms in the shapes of flowers, shells, and suns.
“Oh,” I breathed. “These are so cute.”
Jase stepped up beside me. “You like that?”
I nodded.
“Well then, we’ll get it for you,” Dylan stated.
I shook my head. “You two don’t have to buy me anything.”
“Shh.” Jase winked. “Let us be romantic, woman.”
Dylan laughed and reached for a gold bracelet chain. “This one matches your necklace.”
My heart did a little flutter as he held it out to me.
“We should each pick a charm,” Jase suggested, and they started shifting through the trays.
Dylan held up a tiny, gold wave curling over on itself. “Anytime we were on the beach, you didn’t stop smiling.”
My throat tightened as I realized just how much they paid attention.
A moment later, Jase showed off a small star charm. “This can remind you of our nights sitting out by the fire with the stars overhead.”
My heart clenched. Their thoughtfulness was making me emotional.
“I think I want to add these,” I said, attaching a J and a D to the bracelet.
Jase nodded. “Looks perfect.”
Dylan handed the bracelet to the saleswoman. “We’ll take it.”
As the woman started boxing it up, Dylan patted his pockets frantically.
“Shit. My wallet. I left it in the shop where I bought that T-shirt for Cammie.”
Jase snorted. “If you wanted me to pay, you could have just said so.”
Dylan shot him a glare. “Fuck off. I’ll be right back.”
He jogged out of the store, and Jase pulled out a card and paid.
We stepped outside and stood next to the railing overlooking the bay.
Jase reached into the bag and pulled out the bracelet. “Let me put this on you.”
I lifted my wrist, and he fastened the clasp, then admired how the charms caught the light.
“It really was sweet of you two to get this for me,” I whispered. “I wanted something to remember this trip.”
“Yeah.” He toyed with one of the charms. “This week went by too fast.”
When we got back to the villa, the guys changed out of their clothes and into swim trunks, planning to squeeze in one last dip before sunset. I wandered into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water.
My phone buzzed on the counter.
Then buzzed again.
And again.
I picked it up and saw two texts from Fallon:
What the hell? You’re on vacation with Jase Matthewson?
Am I really finding out on social media that you two are dating?
My stomach flipped so hard I thought I might be sick as I opened the link he’d sent.
A photo of Jase fastening the charm bracelet around my wrist filled the screen. He was smiling down at me and standing close enough that anyone could jump to whatever conclusion they wanted.
The caption from some gossip account read:
PLAYING FOR THE PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER: FIRST DAUGHTER SPOTTED GETTING COZY WITH RED SOX DRAFTEE JASE MATTHEWSON. IS THIS AMERICA’S NEW IT COUPLE?
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” I groaned.
Before I could respond to my brother, a new text came through:
Mom: Saw something online. Call me when you get a chance
I typed back:
It’s just a misunderstanding. We can chat tomorrow once I’m back home
I didn’t want to lie to my mother, but I wasn’t ready for that conversation.
My hands shook as I switched back to the messages from Fallon.
It’s not what it looks like
It might have been easier just to tell him I was dating Jase, but that felt like a betrayal to Dylan.
I was either going to tell people I was dating both of them or choose to neither confirm nor deny any of the speculation.
Since it wasn’t just me who would be affected by the news of us all being together, I was currently going with the second option.
Fallon: Okay. So then why are you guys on St. John together?
Another text came through, this one from Morgan. I typed a reply to Fallon:
Can we talk about this when I get home? It seems like everyone and their brother wants the details
Very funny. I’ll let you go for now but don’t be avoiding me when you get home
Jase and Dylan walked into the kitchen.
“Um.” I turned my phone toward Jase and showed him the article Fallon had sent.
His eyes widened. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah, and this is just my family reacting.”
Jase started to say something, but then his phone began vibrating on the counter.
He dragged a hand down his face. “This is—wow. Okay. Uh. Not ideal.”
Dylan glanced over at him. “What’s going on?”
“Cammie’s asking me if I’m dating the president’s daughter. If she’s seen it, then it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the family hears about it,” Jase explained.
Dylan dropped onto a barstool. “I don’t know if I should be jealous that people think just the two of you are together, or relieved they don’t have photographic evidence of me in the mix too.”
I shook my head. “I think we’d break the internet.”
My phone buzzed again with another text from Morgan, so I clicked on it to read both of her messages:
Just Jase?
Don’t you dare ignore me
Sorry. Shit’s hitting the fan. It’s still both of them. Pap just caught a rare moment where I was only with one
Well that’s good. I was confused and then I wondered if I needed to kick someone’s ass for fucking things up
The idea of her trying to defend my honor was laughable, but her loyalty was one of the reasons I loved her.
I set my phone down and braced my palms against the counter. “This isn’t that bad. Right? It’s just speculation. And even if they think I’m dating a baseball player, that’s not illegal. Or scandalous.”
“No,” Jase agreed. “This is like a one on the rumor scale.”
Dylan nodded. “It’ll probably blow over by tomorrow.”
“Hope so,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as them.
They walked over to me and wrapped their arms around me, but the pressure in my chest didn’t quite ease.
Because even as I leaned into them, I knew what this meant: The media had gotten a whiff of a story involving me, and it was doubtful they would let it go, at least not for a while.
Tomorrow I’d leave the island and step back into a world where people dissected my outfits, my facial expressions, my appearance.
And now they’d focus on my love life.
The one thing I wanted to protect most.
The one thing I wasn’t ready to share.