Chapter 12 Breathy
Breathy
Kate crossed the threshold into her suite, and the familiar buzz of apprehension fluttered in her chest at the sight of her phone flashing with notifications. She scrolled through the missed calls until one name jumped out at her—Callie, best friend and assistant extraordinaire.
She tapped the screen and brought it to her ear as she wandered to the office for her earbuds. Callie’s voice burst forth, like a glimmer of sunlight breaking through the clouds.
“Hello, boss lady! How is sunny Florida?”
Kate grinned at the infectious warmth in Callie’s voice, feeling the tension in her shoulders ease. “It’s sunny and hot. I am loving it.” Her laughter slipped out, melting some of the anxiety that clung to her like humidity.
“By the way,” Kate’s enthusiasm bubbled over, “before you start talking and distract me, let me thank you again for the clothes. You did an amazing job. I think you should be my personal shopper from here on out.”
A giggle rolled from Callie’s lips. “I had a blast. Now, enough about that. I need to know—have you met any cute guys yet? Did you break out one of those bikinis in public? That’ll pull them in!”
Callie’s playful insistence nudged Kate’s mood higher, a flush creeping up her neck.
“Oh, have I got a story to tell you. Hang on a second, and let me put my earbuds in.” She slipped them in, her fingers trembling, before diving into the tale of her arrival—recounting everything from the snafu at check-in to her encounters with the charismatic trio of brothers, glossing over the men’s suspicions of sabotage and their unsettling request that she keep her eyes open.
By the time she finished, silence lingered on the line, thick and weighty.
“Callie? You still with me?”
“OMG. I can’t believe you met three gorgeous gazillionaires. And, are staying in their guest suite. How do you do that? You have got to be the luckiest bitch on this planet,” Callie squealed, half in laughter, half in envy.
“Calm down.” Kate shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself. “It wasn’t exactly a fun time, you know.”
“Oh, whatever. You’re in paradise. So…” Callie’s tone turned sly. “Was there chemistry? Tell me you might be eyeing one of them.”
Heat crawled up Kate’s neck, and she pressed her palm to her burning cheek. “Well… one. Nick. He’s… incredibly charming.” Even saying his name made her chest tighten in a way that was both exhilarating and unsettling, her heartbeat quickening.
“Your voice went all breathy.” Callie teased.
“Oh, stop it,” Kate mumbled, though she was smiling, her reflection in the window glass betraying her flustered expression.
“So Nick caught your interest?”
She stared at the pale green curtains billowing in the salt-tinged breeze, watching the fabric dance. “He’s… different from the guys I’ve met before. He's… anchored. But also… I don’t know. Intimidating.”
“Intimidating how?”
Kate’s mouth went dry, her tongue thick. She tried to pin down the thought. “He’s just… so sure of himself. So… polished. Confident. Like he’s never had to doubt he belonged anywhere. Sometimes, when he looks at me, I feel like he sees more than I’m ready to show.” Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Callie was quiet for a beat. “Maybe that’s not a bad thing.”
“Or it’s a disaster waiting to happen. I mean, he’s the owner and freaking CEO of a multinational corporation! One he built from the ground up.”
Callie sighed, and Kate pictured her pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Listen to me. You have got to stop letting that idiot ex of yours rent space in your head. He didn’t belittle your job because it was silly.
He did it because he couldn’t handle that you had a purpose he couldn’t control.
That you, a mere woman, had a better lifestyle than he did. ”
Kate’s throat tightened, her eyes stinging.
“It … he made me feel like all this—” She gestured helplessly at the laptop, the scattered manuscript notes, as if Callie was there and could see.
“—was a game. Like I was playing at being a writer. Sometimes, I still believe him.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue.
“Of course you do,” Callie murmured, her voice soft with understanding. “Because he said it over and over until you internalized it. But it's not true, Kate. You know how many women would kill to have what you’ve built? Your books matter. Your voice matters. You matter.”
A rush of tears pricked her eyes, hot and insistent, and she pressed her knuckles to her mouth, fighting the tremor in her chin.
“As for Nick,” Callie went on, voice firming, “perhaps he is intimidating, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want something real. That you couldn’t have something special with him. Please… don’t write it off without giving it a chance.”
Kate swallowed hard, her heart hammering against her ribs. “What if I do? What if I let myself want him, and it ends like before?”
“Then it ends. And you’ll still be you—smart, talented, successful. The same woman who wrapped a tour most authors would envy. But maybe it won’t end the same. Maybe it’ll be better.”
Silence stretched between them, filled only by the hum of her whirling thoughts and the distant crash of waves.
“You’re a catch, Kate,” Callie added. “Never forget that.”
BZZZZT.
Her phone vibrated hard in her hand, the buzz sharp against her palm. She glanced down—and froze.
The resort’s app was open, a glaring red emergency alert pulsing at the top:
TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED – EVACUATE BEACH AREA IMMEDIATELY
Kate blinked, her breath catching, and looked out through the terrace doors. The ocean shimmered under a lazy sun, smooth as glass, peaceful and utterly serene. Not a cloud in sight.
“What the—” she exclaimed.
“What is it?” Callie’s voice sharpened with alarm.
Kate snapped a screenshot, her fingers fumbling slightly. “I got an emergency tsunami alert on the resort app.”
“Oh, my God. Are you serious?”
“I’m looking at the ocean right now. It’s flat calm. Trust me, if a tsunami is coming, it’s the slowest sneak attack in history.”
“Could it be a mistake?”
Kate hesitated, her pulse racing, then sent the image to Nick with a short message:
Please tell me this is a joke.
“Possibly,” she said, her voice unsteady. “But if it is, it’s a really bad one. There’ve been a few weird tech glitches around here.”
Her phone buzzed again, the vibration sending a small jolt through her. A reply from Nick:
Looking into it. Stay put. Thank you.
She read it twice, warmth flickering through her like a candle flame. “Nick’s on it.”
“Of course he is,” Callie said, back to playful. “Because you picked the hot, mysterious resort owner who also moonlights as your storm shelter.”
Kate snorted, the tension breaking. “I did not pick anyone.”
“Mmm-hmm. Sure. You just happened to fall into the arms of the only man on the island who can order a full security sweep and make you tea in the same breath.”
“I made the tea,” Kate muttered, but she was smiling now, her cheeks aching from it. “And Zach’s in charge of security.”
Callie laughed, the sound bright and infectious. “So? Progress. You’ve already established a division of labor. This is how relationships work.”
Kate groaned and flopped back on the cushion, sinking into its softness. “We haven’t even had a date!”
“Fine. Let’s talk about when you’re going to see him again. Soon.”
A small, secret smile tugged at her lips, warming her from within. “I was kind of hoping he might drop by tonight… Now, enough about me. How are you doing? How’s the new project going?” She hesitated. “We’ve been so busy with me lately, I haven’t asked.”
“Oh.” Callie let out a laugh. “It’s… good.
Better than I expected. I’m not sure I love being the youngest person in every meeting, but I’m holding my own.
And—” she sighed dramatically, “—I finally figured out how to use their expense report system without wanting to throw my laptop out the window.”
Kate smiled despite herself. “Progress.”
“Exactly. And—” Callie’s voice turned shy, vulnerable in a way Kate rarely heard, “—I might have gone on a date last weekend.”
Kate sat up straighter, her heart lifting. “What? You didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want to jinx it! But… he was nice. Really nice.”
“You deserve nice,” Kate said, genuine happiness for her friend warming her soul like sunshine. “You deserve everything.”
“So do you,” Callie shot back. “Which is why you’re going to stop spiraling and do something bold.”
“Alright,” Kate’s heart skipped a beat, anticipation thrumming through her veins. “What did you have in mind?”
“Good. Here’s what you’re going to do: grab a bottle of water, your sun lotion, and find a lounge chair by the pool where they can see you without it looking intentional. You want them to be curious. If it’s Nick who finds you, great! If not, that means he’ll be on his way before you know it.”
Her pulse quickened at the idea of reaching out, of letting herself be seen—truly seen.
Was Callie right about her ex? About all of it?
“Okay,” she whispered. Determination pulsed through her as she straightened her posture, drafting the scene in her head.
She pulled her sun lotion from the drawer and smoothed it over her skin, the scent of coconut and vanilla calming her racing thoughts, Callie’s eager voice chattering in her ear like a lifeline.
“Don’t forget to keep it subtle with your makeup,” Callie reminded her, a playful edge in her voice. “You want to look effortlessly stunning.”
Kate glanced in the mirror and made quick work of her makeup—a little shine, a touch more color, enough to enhance, not overwhelm. Callie’s encouragement buzzed in her veins like champagne, urging her onward.
“I wish you were here,” Kate said, emotion thick in her throat.
“Me too,” Callie replied, her voice tender. “But I’m only a call away.”
Kate’s throat constricted further, gratitude welling up. “Thank you.”
“Text me with updates.”
“I will,” Kate promised, the words a vow.
She ended the call and sat for a moment, the phone warm in her palm, still holding traces of her friend’s voice. Maybe she wasn’t ready to believe everything Callie said. But she wanted to.
And maybe…that was a start.