Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Mia
Something hard was pressing against my sternum. The sheets of the bed underneath me were rough, scratching at my skin. What was I wearing? I rolled over, immediately regretting that decision. It was so bright in here. What time was it?
I kept my eyes closed, slapping my hand along the edge of the bed, looking for my phone. I found it halfway down, near my hips, plugged into the charger.
I tapped twice on the screen to see the time. Eight thirty in the morning. Too early. My mouth tasted like sour milk. Water. I needed water.
I threw my legs over the side of the bed. My head pulsed. I breathed in sharply, willing the vomit in my throat to recede, when I felt it again—the hard lump in my chest.
Glancing down, I saw that I was still wearing my clothes from last night and fished out the culprit from my camisole.
An agate, like the one from all those years ago with Bower.
Memories from last night came flooding into my brain.
One after another punching me until I was knocked over on the bed.
I looked up at the ceiling fan, making lazy circles. What was my life?
“Yoo-hoo! How’s the bachelorette feeling this morning?” Laura came into my room with way too much enthusiasm. Had she not been at the same bar I was at last night? “That was a bachelorette party for the ages! Archer is going to be so jelly.”
She sat down on the side of my bed, bouncing the mattress. Whatever was left in my stomach sloshed around as I groaned. “That guy last night—he was something else. He carried you out of the bar like you were light as a feather.”
What?
“And tucked you into bed. It was so sweet.”
I blinked at her. Who?
Ruby rushed into my room, out of breath. “You’re awake. Sorry—I tried to get here…first.” She looked at Laura with a touch of disdain. “It smells horrible in here.” Ruby went over to the window and forced it open.
“What the fuck happened?” I sat up on the bed. Laura was being vague, and I needed facts.
“You got super drunk,” Ruby explained.
Yep. My head confirmed that loud and clear.
“And you passed out on top of the bar, and Bower carried you home.” Ruby talked fast, cringing, waiting for my reaction.
I didn’t give her one. My face froze in horror.
“A hot lumberjack carrying you home?” Laura said. “Ugh. What I wouldn’t give. It’s like a romance novel.” Her comments were unwanted and unnecessary. The guilt and embarrassment ravaged my body all on their own.
“Laura, why don’t you get the bachelorette some water?” Ruby suggested.
Laura skittered out of the room, glad to be of use.
“Bower refused to let anyone else help you,” Ruby said once she had left. I let my head fall into my hands. It was more comfortable there. “He carried you back to the cabin and tucked you into bed.”
No. How was I going to explain this to Archer? How was I going to justify this to myself? What had happened last night with Bower and me, the agate I held in my hand? I was going home with more baggage than I had brought with me.
“You’re going to have to make a decision, Mia.”
Ruby was right. I had to figure out what I wanted.
I’d come on this trip with the mindset of marriage, as Archer’s fiancée.
But that was before Bower had reentered the chat.
Could I get married in good faith knowing what Bower had proposed?
Giving him a chance? That would mean breaking things off with Archer, canceling the wedding and disappointing my parents.
They loved Archer and all the support he offered me. Mostly support of the financial nature.
After last night, watching the fireworks on the beach, seeing the cairns brought back so many happy memories. Memories that had nothing to do with money. Bower had been my safety net all those years. He’d never let me fall. Bower was a landing place, like a hammock I could comfortably rest on.
Right now Archer’s net held me in place, promising safety so long as I pleased him—the way he wanted me to dress, how he wanted my hair to look, covering my freckles.
I had tried to explain, tried to make him understand how it bothered me, but he never did, and I was afraid he never would.
Just like his friends. Ruby was right. They were awful.
Bower had never tried to change me. Even as a little girl who couldn’t walk on the sand. He’d seen through my issues and accepted me for who I was.
I had to decide what I was going to do. And quick. Mom, Dad, Ruby, and I would be back up at Agate Harbors in two weeks for our summer vacation. And there was no way I could bring Archer if Bower was here.