Chapter 12
Ciara jerked awakeat the sound of her phone. While the ringer was on low, it was loud enough for her to hear it with the accompanying vibration. It was still dark out, so she was unsure of the time. What she knew was that something was wrong. Only calls from family could come through with the setting she had it on.
Easing away from Maddox, she reached for her purse. She cursed when it fell to the floor spilling the contents. Finally, she grasped her phone and slid her finger across it to answer.
“Hello,” she whispered as she eased out of bed. She froze at the frantic sound of her mother’s voice.
“Slow down, Mom. I can’t understand you.”
Her mother’s next words caused her heart to skip several beats before it started to race.
“Okay, Mom. Don’t worry. I will be there as soon as I can. No. It’s not your fault. I love you, and I’ll see you soon.”
Ciara disconnected the call and pressed the phone to her chest as she bit back an anguished sob. She looked at the bed where Maddox lay resting so peacefully. Her time in paradise had come to an unexpectedly early end.
She gave herself a few more seconds to take in his prone form. As much as she wanted to wake him, this felt like a sign. The real world was intruding in a way she hadn’t imagined it would. After another second, she rushed around to gather her strewn clothes and redressed. Then she went around to the side of the bed and gathered up the things that had fallen out of her purse.
Once she had everything, she made her way out to the living area. She found one of the countless pens and notepads left in every room. The note she scribbled felt so inadequate. This was not how she’d thought the trip would end a few hours ago, but here they were.
After she ended the note, she put it on the table. The one place she knew he would find it. Then with one last glance around the room, she opened the door and stepped back into the real world.
She rushed back to her room and threw her stuff into her suitcase. She could only hope that she’d had everything by the time she was done. She frantically dragged everything she had back to the front desk. Fredo, the bartender, and Joelle looked up in surprise.
Concern flickered across their expressions, telling her that she wasn’t doing a good job of suppressing her panic.
“Is everything okay?” Joelle asked as she pushed to her feet.
Ciara shook her head. “No, I need to check out early. A family emergency has come up, and I need to return home immediately.”
“Oh no,” Joelle murmured as she turned her attention to the computer. “What room are you in again?”
“Eighteen,” Ciara mumbled distractedly while she fumbled through her purse to ensure she had her ID, credit card, and passport.
She couldn’t afford to have any issues when she arrived at the airport. Well, any more than she already would have by trying to get to the airport and find a flight back home when she wasn’t supposed to leave for another forty-eight hours.
“Ah, yes. Here you are, Ms. Hudson,” Joelle stated more to herself than anything. “I will put a note here for Camilla to explain the early checkout. I can’t guarantee a refund, but I will see what I can do.”
Ciara shook her head. “No need. Please charge for me the entire stay. I don’t mind. I swear. Blue Paradise is worth every penny. I plan to be back next year if I can.”
She choked up as she said the words because she immediately wondered if Maddox would be. A part of her wanted to run back to his room and wake him. To explain everything to him and see how he would react. Would he support her, or would it be too much to handle?
Joelle printed out an invoice and slid it across the counter. “Once again, we are so sorry that you have to leave us early under these circumstances. We hope that everything works out for you back home.”
“Thank you. Is it possible to get a taxi to the airport?” Ciara smiled gratefully as she brushed away a few tears that fell before taking the invoice.
“I already paged Henry. He will be around shortly to take you,” Joelle replied.
“Oh no,” Ciara protested. “You didn’t have to wake him.”
“You didn’t wake me. I was already up and getting ready to start my day,” Henry replied as he walked up to them.
Ciara offered a grateful smile, not believing him for one second. But she was going to tip him extra.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as he took her suitcase.
She followed him to the car and climbed in while he situated her suitcase in the truck. So many warring emotions surged through her that she was struggling to keep it together, but she had to. A few more tears fell down her cheeks, but she held in her sob.
To distract herself, she pulled out her cell phone and started trying to search for flights to get back home. It was going to cost her, but this was why she set emergency funds aside as much as possible. This just wasn’t how she’d expected to spend it.
In no time, Henry had her at the airport. She waved aside his refusal of the tip before thanking him again and rushing inside. While it had appeared that luck hadn’t been on her side when her mother called her earlier. It was regarding her ability to get a flight. It came with a little over a one-hour wait, but that afforded her time to grab coffee and food.
Something for which she was grateful because her stomach had come awake. Unfortunately, so had her mind. Her thoughts immediately drifted to Maddox. Was he awake? Had he found her note? What was he thinking? Had she done the right thing?
She fought back a fresh wave of tears because she would have to wait a year to find out. A part of her felt like she was a glutton for punishment. How else could this family emergency be interpreted? There was probably no way Maddox would be back in Nosy Be next year. He’d laid all his cards out. But the stars were not aligned. This was not the right time.
Ciara took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. Right now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She couldn’t let her feelings about Maddox distract her right now. All that would leave her feeling more anxious than she already did for the duration of her flight home.
Instead, she focused on the flight announcement board. When it was time for her to get on the plane, she took in one last Nosy Be sunrise before entering the tunnel. She knew that it would never be the same if she returned to the tropical paradise.
A fresh batch of tears surged forward as they took off, and she let them fall. At that moment, she allowed herself to be sad and angry over everything she’d gained and lost.