When Stars Fall [EBOOK and PAPERBACK PUBLISHED]

14. Wyatt - Present Day

I called Camila an hour ago to check in. Everything is fine at home. Thank God. I don't want to cut my time short with Ellie for anything or anyone.

On my balcony, I wait for Ellie to text me. I can't be in my room. The mini-bar is there, calling to me. The devil in a tiny bottle. I haven't touched a drop of alcohol since I arrived on the island, but it's getting harder and harder to resist. I should gather up all the bottles and take them to the front desk—remove my temptation. Should have asked them to stock the suite without the alcohol in the first place. When will I learn?

I rise and stride into the room, intent on getting rid of the alcohol when there's a knock on my door. I check the peephole just to be safe. I use a pseudonym, so the only people who know I'm here are staff and Ellie's family.

Ellie. A sigh of relief escapes me. I yank open the door, and the suddenness startles her. When the surprise leaves, sadness settles over her features. Not exactly the expression I want to inspire.

"You ready?" she asks.

"For anything." I smile and tip my chin at her. "You okay?"

She shrugs. "Having you here is a lot to process." She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I went to see Matt."

I frown. Was he a dick to her? What'd he say to make her so miserable? "Let me guess. He's not happy."

She gives me a look of disbelief. "You'd be okay with this arrangement? If the situation was reversed?"

My jaw hardens. I'm not answering that. It's not in my interests to side with Matt. "What'd he say to make you so sad?"

She shakes her head. "He gave me some things to think about, that's all," she says. "We don't have to go back to my place, but we shouldn't go anywhere too public either." She sticks her hands into the pockets of her shorts.

There are two places on the island that are special to me. The deserted beach and the hotel ruins. When the two of us were together and insanely famous, those places were a refuge from the craziness of our life. I cock an eyebrow at her. "The hotel?" She didn't take us past that one the other day, so I'm hoping it's still derelict and uninhabited.

She nods and turns on her heel. The defeated slant of her shoulders causes my protectiveness to spike. Whatever she's thinking about, whatever he said, makes her feel like shit. There's a thing or two I'd love to say to Matt right about now.

We pass Calshae in the hotel foyer, and I call out a hello. She grins back and waves at me as Ellie and I exit the building. Ellie calls out a hello laced with a sheepish dip of her head.

"She said you two went to school together?" I ask as we walk to Ellie's bike.

"We did, yeah. We kinda lost touch. But she was a good friend of mine for a while. It's embarrassing to see people who know I'm dating Matt. I'm the world's biggest asshole for even giving you the time of day."

Ellie's honesty is one of my favorite things, but that nugget of truth stings. I'm not giving her a get out clause, though. She might be dating Matt, but there's no way she feels for him what she once felt for me.

We climb onto the bike. This time, she doesn't move away from me when I press myself close, but she doesn't respond in typical Ellie fashion either. Matt's words, whatever they were, must still be buzzing in her ear.

We cruise to the hotel, another out of the way spot on the island. The location thrived once, long before I ever came to visit. I only know it as the Mermaid Mansion, which is what Ellie and I nicknamed it years ago. A cement pool is built right into the ocean with mermaids perched in various positions around the ocean side, guarding the people from going too deep.