Chapter 21 #2
Reid’s face fell, hurt flashing across his features before he wrangled them back to neutral.
“Is that what you think this is? Just another heartbreak in the making?”
Calista opened her mouth, but no words came out. Truth? She didn’t know what this was.
Part of her wanted to believe in second chances, in healing old wounds, while another part of her screamed, Run!
“I know nothing anymore. My life is messy.”
Reid leaned closer, and it was like being pulled into the orbit of a handsome planet. “Everyone’s life is messy, Cal. That’s what makes it interesting.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Interesting? Is that what we’re calling it now? Because from where I’m standing, it feels more like a tornado hit a train wreck.”
Reid reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. His touch sent shivers down her spine. “Hey, it’s okay, you know, not to have all the answers.”
And the dam just broke.
Just cracked right in two and all the emotions Calista held back—fear, anger, loss—came crashing down at once Jenga-tower style. Tears spurted from her eyes, hot and fast, and a sob tore from her throat.
Reid’s eyes widened. “Cal? Are you okay?”
“I-I can’t keep doing this,” she said, words muffled against her hands as she tried in vain to stem the flow. “I’m drowning.”
Reid tugged her into his arms, and just like that, he was a safe harbor. Calista buried her face against his chest, inhaling his scent as years of pent-up emotions poured out. His hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.
“It’s okay. Let it out. I’m here.”
They sat there for what seemed like hours, Calista’s sobs gradually subsiding into hiccups and sniffles. The sky turned deep purple and navy blue, the first stars twinkling above them, tiny beacons of hope in the vast darkness.
Calista pulled back. She must look a mess—red-eyed, tearstained, probably sporting mascara streaks that could double as a Halloween mask. But Reid peered at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“Thank you.” A whimper escaped her. “For being here.”
“Always.” The single word carried the weight of a thousand promises.
Maybe it was the lingering emotion, or the way starlight glinted off his eyes, or just the fact Calista was tired—so very tired—of fighting her feelings.
She kissed him.
Reid tightened his grip around her, pulling her as close as he could.
The solid wall of his body stirred old memories and hopes for new ones.
His lips moved against hers with a passion that matched her own, as if pouring five years of unspoken words and buried feelings into this one spectacular moment.
Calista tangled her fingers in the soft strands of his hair and deepened their kiss, desperate for more. She tasted the salt on his lips and breathed in the familiar scent of his cologne mixed with something uniquely Reid. Intoxicating and overwhelming in the best possible way.
The world around them faded away—the chapel, the island, the complications waiting outside the chapel doors—until there was nothing but this, the two of them finally, finally, finally giving in to the yearnings pulling them together.
When they broke apart, panting, Calista felt lighter than she had in years. The weight she’d been carrying for so long—the pain of their past, the fear of the future—lifted.
“Wow.” Reid rested his forehead against Calista’s.
“Yeah, I agree.”
They peered into each other’s eyes, the world beyond their cozy bell tower fading into the background, but as the initial rush of their kiss receded, reality crept back in—the doubts, the questions, the complications were all still there waiting.
“Reid,” Calista said. “I’m tired of hurting. I’m tired of being afraid. I just want to feel good. Can you . . . can we . . . go back to your cottage?”
He pulled back, his eyes searching hers. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to regret anything.”
Calista nodded, more confident than she’d been about anything in a long time. “I’m sure. I need this. I need you.”
Hand in hand, they made their way down the winding stone staircase. Each step felt like a countdown, a thrumming anticipation building between them for the night ahead. They pushed open the heavy chapel doors, ready to slip away into the night.
A wall of sound hit them. Music, laughter, and the unmistakable rhythm of a street party pulsed through the air.
“What in the world?” Calista squinted into the exuberant chaos that had overtaken Crafters’ Corner while they got lost in their little world.
In the streets, people played musical instruments and danced, fairy lights strung between buildings like a web of stars brought down to Earth, and there, in the center of it all, leading a conga line that snaked through the village, was Athena.
“Is that your sister?” Reid asked. “I thought she left the island with your father’s chauffeur.”
Indeed.
Calista’s jaw dropped because, yes, there was her sister, hips swaying, arms raised in triumph as she led the conga line, and right behind her, looking simultaneously uncomfortable and oddly pleased with himself, congaed Cantu.
“What is happening right now?” she whispered.
Before she could process the bizarre scene, Athena sighted them, and her face lit up with a grin equal parts mischievousness and glee.
“Lissy! Reid!” she shouted over the music. “Come join us!”
Pulled into the conga line, swept up in the infectious energy of the crowd, Calista found herself sandwiched between Reid and Clare, who’d teased her hair exceptionally high today.
Shimmying their way through Crafters’ Corner, the back of the line met the front, and she passed Athena.
Her sister winked and mouthed, I stayed!
Joy exploded inside Calista like a whacked pinata. Not only had Athena stayed, but somehow, through what Calista assumed was some kind of island magic, she’d gotten Cantu to hang around as well.
The humid night air kissed Calista’s skin as the music thrummed through her veins. Reid’s hands were steady on her hips as they moved together and Calista felt truly, deliriously happy.
Minutes later, the conga line showing no signs of stopping, Calista tilted her head back to look at Reid. He grinned down at her, his eyes crinkled with laughter, his hair mussed from their bell tower rendezvous, and she was struck by how she’d missed him.
“So,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the music, “I guess your place is gonna have to wait?”
“I’m in no rush. Let’s relish our reunion.” He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to her ear and whispered, “We’ve got all the time in the world, Calico.”