Return to Sanibel Island (The Complete Florida Secrets Series)

BOOK 1

Chapter 1

Does anyone truly know the person they married? Well, that was the burning question on Willow Shorts’ mind. It had only been five years since she married her husband, Charlie, but it took all of five years before she found out who he really was.

They met in her hometown of Tallahassee and she fell head over heels for him right away. He was a charming contractor who was very good at what he did. A year into their relationship, he said his business grew into something very marketable, so he started to work a lot, but Willow never saw the fruits of that labor.

In fact, Charlie kept his work life and home life very separate. She’d gone to his office building a couple of times, but she stopped when his hours began to pick up. Not because she wanted to. But because her husband told her he was too busy to entertain her throughout the day and she was a distraction for him at the office. Something about that didn’t sit right. It crossed her mind that he was having an affair, but she never had any proof, and didn’t want to be called crazy incase her gut instinct was wrong.

Priding herself on being unproblematic, Willow never wanted to bring any unnecessary drama into her marriage. She loved Charlie. She loved what they had and the time they spent creating it. But years down the line, things had changed, and she started to feel like there was no more hope for the two of them anymore.

“Hey, honey.”

She greeted him one evening with a plan for a surprise.

“Hey, you,” Charlie kissed her on the forehead before going to the fridge to grab a beer.

“I was thinking we could have dinner tonight,” she said. “It doesn”t have to be anything fancy. We just haven’t spent much time together in months. I think it’ll be good for us to get out for a little while, you know. Just the two of us.”

When she heard him groan, she already knew his reply. He always made an excuse to skip out on her because of work.

She felt a familiar pang of disappointment as she caught a glance of her reflection in the mirror. She had been working out twice as much recently to make sure she was in great shape. She was the strongest she’d ever been in her life… but her face wasn’t as smooth as it used to be, and the fine lines had become more like a permanent part of her. She remembered looking at her mother and grandmother in awe growing up when she saw the years of life etched into their skin. She thought it was so beautiful back then. But now it was on her own face, and all she could think about was how to get rid of them. Was it that Charlie wasn’t attracted to her anymore? Had he fallen out of love with her?

“I can’t tonight, honey,” Charlie said. “I’ve been on my feet all day and all I want to do tonight is sit down and relax. I got a few new clients under my belt this afternoon and we’ve been running back and forth trying to agree on a business plan. Something great, you know.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I appreciate how hard you work, I really do. Can we just go out for an hour? We can even go to the bar up the street and have a few drinks…maybe some wings. I just want to spend time with you, Charlie.”

He groaned again, and she knew he was starting to get irritated with her pleading. Willow was well aware of how things turned out when Charlie got upset with her, so rather than begging, she went upstairs and closed the door behind her.

I can’t keep living like this. She thought to herself. Being married to a man who wants nothing to do with me? Is that really what I want for the rest of my life?

She’d gone back and forth with herself for months about whether she wanted to file or not. Her best friend, Brandi Jacobs, was a great lawyer who was more than willing to help her gain a settlement for all the wasted years. She just didn’t know if a divorce was really what she wanted. She never imagined herself being divorced. It wasn’t supposed to be part of her story. But she no longer felt loved, valued or appreciated.

Instead of arguing with Charlie that night, Willow got herself ready for an excursion of her own. She fixed her hair up and put on a nice dress. She even did her makeup for the evening.

“Where are you going?” Charlie asked.

“I’m taking myself out tonight. I wanted to go with you, but since you’re not in the mood, I’m just going to go by myself.”

Charlie shot up from his recliner and walked over to her. She thought he would change his mind after seeing her all dolled up and tag along. Instead, he tried to talk her out of going.

“Are you doing this to spite me?” he asked. “Because I work all day to pay the bills and make sure we have food in the fridge and a nice car to drive. Do you think that all just magically appears? How do you think it makes me look that my wife is going out by herself looking like that? Are you seeing someone else?”

“Someone else?” she scoffed. “I should be asking you that question. All of a sudden you’re working late every night of the week and never want to be seen with me. This has been going on for months now, Charlie. Is there someone else in your life? Someone you don’t want seeing you with your own wife?”

*

“I’ll take a Cosmo.”

Willow’s heart had finally stopped racing as she found her way to an upscale lounge and grille where they served the best cosmos she’d ever had. Charlie had brought her here once. It was a little after they first wed, and he wanted to show her off every day. But when some random guy saw her and complimented how beautiful she was, he gathered their things and left, and they hadn’t been back since.

“Here you are.”

The bartender smiled at her through wandering eyes.

“Will you be starting a tab? Ordering food?”

“Hmm,” she pondered. “How are the crab cakes here? I want something light and fresh to go with my drink.”

“The crab cakes are my personal favorite,” he said. “I’ll put an order in for you and if you don’t like them, it’s on me.”

She smiled as he walked away. His manners reminded her of the times Charlie was sweet to her. When they first got together, there was nothing he wouldn”t do to put a smile on her face. Five years into their marriage though, and it was like he was a complete stranger. She didn’t even recognize the man who was screaming at her as she gathered her handbag and left anyway. She’d never accused or questioned his intentions before. But since he started it, she was feeling brave, and let it all out before ending up at the bar. Alone.

Once her order was placed and she’d gotten comfortable with her Cosmo, the bartender came back to keep her company. He was harmlessly flirting with her and asking questions about her life. She enjoyed having a conversation with someone who didn’t dismiss her. Even if he was being paid to be nice.

“Crab cakes, dear lady.”

“Thank you, dear sir,” she chuckled.

“You can call me Carlos.”

“Well, thank you Carlos. Is it always this quiet here?”

“Not always. Weekends are our busiest nights and trust me, you don’t wanna come here for a relaxing evening during that time.”

Carlos made her laugh several times over while she enjoyed her crab cakes and Cosmo. She applauded him for being right about the crab cakes too. They were some of the best she’d ever had.

“Are you from here?” she asked.

“I’m from Cuba. I moved here with my mom when I was sixteen and have been here ever since.”

“How old are you now?”

Willow felt like she was being intrusive and quickly apologized, but he was so easy to talk to, and she hadn’t had a real conversation with anyone for a while, so she lost sight of herself.

“It’s okay,” he chuckled. “Not many people care to ask me anything except for a drink. I’m twenty-eight now. But I”ll be twenty-nine soon.”

“Wow!”

Willow was shocked by how young he looked for twenty-eight.

“Are you sure that’s how old you are?”

“Positive,” he laughed. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-five. But I”ll be thirty-six soon.”

Their conversation went on while she continued to enjoy her evening. Before she knew it, they’d talked so long she had lost track of time. Her outing was only supposed to last an hour or so, but Willow had sat at the bar for three hours before she realized how late it had gotten.

“Oh shoot,” she said. “I have to get home. It’s already past midnight? For real?”

“For real,” Carlos said. “It’s almost time for us to close up here.”

He got her check ready and boxed her up a few extra crab cakes before closing out the register. Willow was reluctant to take them for free, but he assured her they would only throw them out at the end of the night so there would be no harm done.

“Thank you,” she said. “For the crab cakes and for keeping me company tonight.”

“I could keep you company more often if you’d like.”

She laughed to herself. All she really wanted was for someone to keep her company and talk to her about her day. That person should have been Charlie.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I’m married.”

She flashed him her ring, but she wasn’t proud of it. It was more of a forced gesture because she was an honest woman and couldn’t handle the guilt of lying. But had she been single and looking, Carlos’ offer wouldn’t have sat on the table for long.

“Ahh,” he slowly nodded. “Not a problem at all. I did enjoy talking to you tonight, though. Your husband is a lucky man.”

If Charlie felt lucky to have her, he didn’t show it well at all.

“Hopefully he’ll wake up one day and feel that way,” she replied. “Thank you again, Carlos. Tonight was a pleasure.”