Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Owen
I’m exiting the bathroom after dinner when I get a jump scare straight out of a horror movie. Cassandra is in the hallway, waiting for me with her arms crossed.
I drop my head and try to hurry past her, but she grabs my shoulder and yanks me back.
She pins me against the wall and presses her body against mine, dragging the tip of her nose up my neck. I shudder.
Just as she grabs my belt buckle, the waitress walks by and sees me. Her face fills with fury and she scoffs like an angry bull before storming away.
“It’s not what it looks like,” I try to call after her, but she’s already gone.
“This is exactly what it looks like,” Cassandra growls in my ear. “Let’s go into the private bathroom. We’ll do all those naughty things you keep teasing me with.”
This has gone on long enough. I have to put a stop to it.
I grab her biceps and step back, holding her at arm’s length. “No,” I say in as firm and certain a tone as I can. “I’m not interested. I’m in love with Scarlett.”
“Big whoop. I’m in love with my husband. This has nothing to do with love.”
I shake my head and hold her back while she tries to squirm closer. “I only want my wife.”
Cassandra huffs out a breath and yanks her arms out of my grasp. “You’re such a fucking tease.”
She thrusts her chin in the air and struts away without looking back.
My mind starts spinning.
I’m in love with Scarlett. I only want my wife.
Saying it out loud has made everything click. I am falling for Faye. I only want her.
I’m feeling overwhelmed with a tight chest and a fluttering in my stomach as I step out of the hallway.
What possible reason could I want a girlfriend for? It’s what I always asked myself, but now I have the answer. I just want to be around Faye as much as possible. I want to see her smiling at me. I want to hold her hand. I want to take care of her and let her take care of me.
Scientifically, I know what’s happening. Elevated dopamine. Increased norepinephrine. Oxytocin-mediated bonding.
I’ve described this exact neurochemical process countless times. I wrote a paper on it. But I never expected it to feel like this.
It’s unmistakable.
I’m falling in love with Faye.
A pounding fills my ears, causing the sounds of the restaurant to feel like they’re underwater as I walk back to our table.
Faye’s eyes land on me the second I step onto the terrace and my heart starts banging out of control.
This is a… complication I don’t need.
But. I wouldn’t change any of it.
“Are you okay?” she whispers when I sit beside her, feeling all jumbled up.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly.
She moves her chair closer to mine for the rest of the meal. We eat our fish and have some key lime pie and strawberry cheesecake for dessert. It’s all delicious and I love the way Faye makes these cute little moans whenever she takes a bite of her pie.
Edward pays the bill and the waitress gives me one last dirty look as we get up to go. I wrap Newton’s leash around my hand and take him with us. Faye kept sneaking him pieces of fish which he was more than happy to devour.
“Owen Lavoie,” a female calls to me as we’re leaving the restaurant. Blast. I’d like to ignore this inconvenient stranger, get on the boat, and leave this town, but everyone else hears her as well.
“You’re quite popular,” Cassandra says, eying the girl down. “Every beautiful woman in town seems to know you. Scarlett, you better keep him on a short leash.”
Faye shoots her a fake smile.
“What should I do?” I ask Faye when I see the girl in her mid-twenties waving me over from the ice cream shop. She has a half-eaten cone in her hand. “I don’t know her.”
Faye lets out a frustrated breath. “I’ll go with you. Let’s try and make it quick.”
We tell the Baines family that it’s a friend from back home and we’ll meet them on the boat.
“You have to get that Love Bot deleted,” Faye whispers as we hurry over, bringing Newton with us.
The girl smiles as we arrive. “Hey, Owen.” My body stiffens as she hugs me. “I’m so glad you found him.”
“Found who?” Faye asks.
“Newton,” the girl says, dropping to her knees. Newton licks the girl’s lips and mouth which probably taste like ice cream. The girl just lets him do it, licking and licking as Faye and I exchange a look.
“This is your dog?” Faye asks.
The girl looks at us funny as she stands up. “This is Owen’s dog. The rescue he asked for.”
“What rescue?”
“I matched with Owen on FirstSpark,” she explains. “And I knew he loved rescue dogs from the article.”
“They took a lot of creative liberties with that article,” I start to say before Faye puts her hand on my arm, interrupting me.
“Go on,” Faye says.
“Sorry, who are you?” the girl asks, tilting her head.
“I’m his sister. Scarlett.”
Sister? Faye has been my wife and now my sister. Not once has she been my girlfriend. I’d like to change that.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she says, grinning wide. “I’m Lacy. I’m sure Owen has told you all about me.”
“Yup,” Faye says, nodding her head vigorously. “But he left the dog part out. Probably wanted to let you surprise me. That’s so Owen.”
“That’s what I was going for,” I add. “Please, go on.”
“So, we were talking about rescue dogs,” she says, grinning at me. “And I told him I could get an adorable golden retriever from the shelter I volunteer at. He was so into it. It was so cute. I sent him a picture of Newton and he said he had to have him.”
“So, you… tied him to his car?” Faye asks, glancing up at me.
“Yeah,” she says, nodding along. “We were supposed to meet, but he messaged me to just tie him to his car instead. Oh, by the way, you owe me six hundred dollars for the adoption fees.”
“Six hundred dollars?!” I spit out.
“Which is an insignificant amount for this wonderful dog,” Faye quickly adds. She bumps my arm with her elbow. “Pay the nice lady, brother.”
I reluctantly open my wallet, take out six one-hundred-dollar bills and hand them over.
“Thank you,” Lacy says as she tucks the money into her jean shorts.
“So, the dog is his?” Faye asks. “Like, officially his?”
Lacy nods as she licks her ice cream. “Oh yeah. Under his name and everything. I know you want three chihuahuas as well. I’m still looking for them.”
“No!” I nearly shout.
“I think one dog is enough,” Faye says, petting Newton’s head.
“So, no chihuahuas?” Lacy asks, looking disappointed.
“No more dogs,” I say in a firm tone. “In fact, is there a return policy at this adoption agency?”
“You’re so funny,” Lacy says, lightly smacking my shoulder as she laughs.
“He’s very happy with Newton,” Faye adds. “No returns necessary, right Owen?”
I swallow hard as I look at the dog. He is rather cute, although I’m sure the fur buildup in my house will be quite irritating and inconvenient. “Fine.”
“So,” Lacy says, thrusting her chest out in a flirtatious manner as she looks me up and down. “Are you ready for our date?”
“Date?” I ask, feeling sick.
“We just ate,” Faye says sadly. “And we have a bit of a family emergency. Maybe a rain check?”
“Oh no,” she says, looking disappointed. “That’s too bad. I’ll message you and we can set something else up.”
“Great,” I say, walking backward. “Just message me, and no more dogs.”
“Not even one chihuahua?” she asks in a hopeful tone.
“Zero chihuahuas,” I say firmly. “No matter what I say in the message thread, I want no more dogs. Ever.”
“It was nice meeting you,” Faye says, giving her a hug for some reason.
Lacy kneels down to say goodbye to Newton and I turn away as he starts licking her lips again. Gross.
“Bye, Owen,” Lacy says, blowing me a kiss, which is probably full of dog slobber. I dodge out of the way.
Faye laughs as we head back to the boat. “You’re the only person I know who would ninja roll away from a blown kiss.”
“She was making out with the dog.”
Faye laughs and hooks her arm around mine. I like it when she does that. “Were you jealous?”
I give her a look and she bursts out laughing. She tightens her grip on my arm and I tighten mine on hers.
“Oh. Wait!” Faye says, stopping. “I’ll be back in a second!”
“Where are you going?” I call out to her as she runs across the street to the general store.
I’d run after her, but I have the dog. “I guess we’ll just wait—ah!”
I let out a sharp scream when I turn around and see Cassandra in my face, staring me down with a menacing look. Her eyes are narrowed and her jaw is clenched which tells me she is not happy.
“After all that dirty shit you said. You’re really not going to ravage me?”
I swallow hard and then give it to her as bluntly as I can. “Absolutely not.”
Her sharp eyes look me up and down in a threatening manner. “You’re going to regret that decision. Pussy.”
She sucks her teeth at me and then spins around, the tip of her hair smacking my face before she storms back to the boat.
I grin when I see Faye hurrying back a few minutes later while trying to balance a giant bag of dog food in her arms. A gentleman would go help, but she looks so damn cute holding this gargantuan bag that’s almost as big as her and I can’t help but just stand here and admire the show.
“I hope you like free-run poultry with healthy grains,” Faye says to Newton. “You’re gonna be eating it for a while.”
Newton licks his lips, his eyes widening with excitement.
“He ate a used tissue off the pavement so I don’t think his appetite is very refined,” I say.
We get on the boat and my heart nearly bursts out of my chest when Faye puts a life jacket on Newton. He looks so cute with the bright orange life preserver secured snugly around his neck.
Tristan starts the engines and we take off, riding into the spectacular sunset. The vibrant pinks and purples are reflecting off the still water, mirroring all the natural beauty around us.
Cassandra disappears into the bedroom on the lower floor of the boat while Tristan drives. I’m with Faye and Newton in the back, admiring the nice scenery.
Edward is sitting by himself, looking at the birds taking their last flight before they head off to their nests for the night.
“Look,” Faye whispers as Amber walks over and sits beside him. He puts his arm around her and she puts her head on his shoulder.
Faye looks so happy as she watches them. She has this breathtaking smile on her face and I get absolutely lost in it. She’s stunning. I could stare at her for hours. Decades even. I believe I could spend the rest of my life with this woman and never tire of her.
The wind is blowing her hair back from her sun-kissed skin and it’s such a beautiful sight that my chest floods with this unusual warmth that feels so perfect and safe.
It’s the type of feeling I would have as a child when I’d be playing outside in the snow with my brothers and come in freezing.
My mom would wrap me up in a blanket and hand me a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.
That first sip that warms your chest and feels like home…
That’s what it feels like to look at her. Home.
I take her hand and she looks up at me, those angelic lips curling up into a smile as she gazes into my eyes. Newton feels left out and puts his paw on our hands, which makes us both crack up.
A flock of ducks flies over our heads and Faye lifts her chin to watch as they pass over us. My eyes drop to her lips. Her mouth is way more alluring than those ducks could ever hope to be.
She sees me looking, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She gives me a knowing smile and then puts her head on my shoulder.
I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the crisp summer air as the boat cuts through the water and I could swear this is… magic.
Technically, I know it’s just my brain chemistry going into overdrive, filling my head with elevated doses of dopamine and phenylethylamine, but the experience of it… The actual experience is something wholly different.
None of this—the setting sun, the lake, the happy dog, Faye. None of this feels like chemistry.
It’s certainly feeling very magical.
Maybe Faye was right.
She lifts her head, smiles at me, and then rests her head back down onto my shoulder.
If she is right, then I’ve never been so happy to be wrong.