“Where are we going?” I asked Seth as he led me by the hand through a trail around the palm trees that lined the undeveloped part of the beach. 

“We’re almost there, just wait and see,” he said as he helped me up a patch of boulders. I was wearing a white, tiered cotton eyelet strap dress and white flip flops—I didn’t realize we doing a bit of trail-hiking otherwise I would’ve put on sneakers at the very least.

“I thought we were going on a boat of some sort for sunset,” I was saying as we went around another rocky curve on the trail. He hoisted me up a big boulder and I looked up to him when he didn’t go anywhere else. “Seth?”

He smiled and tipped his head towards the ocean which was just steps away. I glanced at the horizon and against the glare of the late afternoon sun, a silhouette of a beautiful, big boat was outlined.

“A yacht?” I asked in disbelief. “I thought it was just a tiny boat we were going on.”

Seth took my hand and led down the long dock that extended from the shore to the deeper part of the beach. “It is a small boat. It’s got one tiny cabin but it’s got comfortable seating on the deck. It’s pretty nimble and quite fast.”

As we approached, I looked up at the towering deep red sails that complimented the boat’s dark exterior and deep brown interior panels. “It’s beautiful.”

Seth grinned and helped me up and into the deck where a bottle of champagne chilled in a bucket of ice next to a bowl of fresh strawberries and another bowl of chocolate fondue. 

“You really know how to sweep a woman off her feet, don’t you?” I asked with a teasing smile as I sat down and gazed at the almost endless stretch of ocean around us. 

He sat down next to me and popped the bottle of champagne open. He poured us each a glass and held his in a toast.

“I don’t really care if my talents work with other girls,” he said with a rakish grin. “You’re making me work hard enough to keep me busy.”

I grinned and slapped his leg lightly. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

He laughed huskily and leaned close to kiss me softly on the lips. With our faces still only inches apart, he held up a warm hand to my cheek and looked into my eyes. “Ali…”

I waited with bated breath as he seemed to struggle with words.

I wanted to hear it. I wanted him to say it. I wanted to know this was not some drugged up dream I was going to wake up from with a very bad hangover. I wanted to know I wasn’t feeling all this alone.

He smiled and pressed a quick kiss on my lips. “Hang tight. We’ll get this baby rolling.”

I smiled back and swallowed the lump of disappointment in my throat.

It could wait. Right?

***

“Did you love the boat ride?” Vivi asked as we made our way around the buffet table where we had a lavish seafood dinner prepared by the villa’s occasional cook. It was set up by the shore, right next to the lounge chairs and the bonfire that was burning steadily. “It’s one of my favorite things to do whenever we go here. It’s just so romantic.”

I smiled as I spooned some sautéed shrimp on to my plate. “It was very nice. I still have a hard time imagining Dom being romantic though. He doesn’t look the type.”

“I know,” Vivi answered with a roll of her eyes. “He just looks tough but he absolutely loves and adores me. We met in a wedding for one of our mutual friends, as cliché as that sounds. He really wasn’t my type so I didn’t pay too much attention to me. But he started calling right after that, sending me flowers, writing me poetry. Can you imagine? Don and poetry, together?”

I laughed and shook my head. “No, I can’t.”

“Exactly!” Vivi smiled tremulously, her eyes sparkling. “But I think that’s what made me fall head over heels in love with him. He wasn’t the kind of guy who likes talking about his feelings, and he isn’t even now, except with me. He told me he loved me on our second date out. Second date, I repeat. It was enough to scare a girl away if she herself wasn’t falling as fast.”

I smiled. “Aww, that’s so sweet, Vivi. It’s like he saw you and decided that not having you was not at all going to be an option for him.”

“And I think that’s key when you’re looking for a relationship. Always go for the man who loves you more than you love him. Eventually though, if you’re the right match, you’re going to love him just as much,” Vivi said with a wink before heading over to the seat she shared with Dom. 

I watched them as Vivi gave Dom a quick kiss on the lips before he pulled her close to him, his nose rubbing against her ear. They both had easy, happy smiles and their eyes almost sparkled as they talked.

“Ali, everything okay?” Anna asked, her confused voice snapping me out of my daze. She was behind me in the line going around the table. I didn’t realize I had stopped in my tracks.

I smiled and nodded. “Yes, sorry. I was just taking a second to look around. This place almost looks magical at night.”

Anna shrugged, hardly smiling. “I’m sure it’s very different from Dock Garren. I heard there are no beaches there. Not nice ones like this anyway.”

My smile dissolved. I wanted to demand who told her I was from Dock Garren but I quickly stopped myself. What’s wrong if they know I live there? It didn’t mean that just because I was dating Seth I have to start enhancing my background to seem good enough for him.

I slipped on what I knew was a steely smile. “Yeah, that’s true. No ditzy models there too.”

I saw her eyes grow wide in surprised anger and her cheeks flamed red but I just gracefully excused myself and found my spot next to Seth around the fire. 

An hour later, we were all full and bubbly after a couple of bottles of beer and I excused myself to go to the washroom back in the cottage. 

When I stepped out of the stall and into the general powder room area, I saw Amanda brushing her already perfectly straight hair in front of the vanity. I slowly made my way to the spot next to her to wash my hands.

“Are you having a good time?” she asked out of the blue. 

I smiled. “Yes. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

“How long do you think it’s going to last?”

“Excuse me?” I asked, glancing at her but she barely moved her head. She looked at me through the mirror and her blue eyes were stony.

She finally put her hairbrush down and angled her face to look at me straight on. “I think, despite Vivi’s gushings, that Seth is going to do exactly what he always does—move on.”

I didn’t speak. Amanda didn’t look like she was done saying what she wanted to say. 

“I’ve known Seth for a couple of years now. He hasn’t had a single, long-term relationship simply because he doesn’t like them, despite his insistence that he does. He likes girls in general—many of them. He spends time with one he thinks he likes, gets bored, and moves on to the next one. The point is, he likes the game itself, not the prize.”

“Seth is infatuated with you simply because you’re a challenge and he’s bored with the same old girls he’s dated over and over again. But just like any player, it’s almost impossible to make him give up the game he loves and he’s very good at.”

I raised a brow. “Don’t you think you’re underestimating him too much with all these assumptions about what he can and can’t do?”

Amanda looked at me and just laughed, her tone icy. “Ali, get real. You’re too much work for a guy who’s not used to having to explain and excuse his girlfriend all the time because she’s so unsuitable for him in so many ways. For someone with very little to offer him, you have pretty high expectations of what he’s prepared to give. Here’s a tip: It’s definitely not going to be his heart.”

The blow felt like a fist to my gut but I held my ground. “That’s for Seth to decide.”

Amanda looked undeterred. “Why don’t I help you just figure it out for yourself?”

She fished into her purse and pulled out her Blackberry. She went through it for a minute and handed it to me. “Here. This was taken on one of our dinners a couple about a week ago. You can check the date in properties. You were already dating then, weren’t you?”

I know I shouldn’t have looked but my eyes dragged their way down to the screen where a very clear picture of Katherine sitting next to Seth on a dining table, her hand on his neck, his face angled towards her, his eyes closed, his hand on her shoulder, their lips locked.

Trying to steady my shaking hand, I went through the sub-menu, checked the properties and my heart plummeted when I saw the date. Yes, this was after our Saturday date at his house. Only a couple of days after that. 

Amanda slowly plucked the phone from my frozen hand and dropped it back into her bag. 

“I’m sorry if you had to see it to believe it but it’s hard to face the truth when it’s so easy to ignore it,” she went on. “I’m sure Seth likes you a lot. The only problem is he likes the other girls too. Save yourself the heartbreak, Ali. Walk away before he does and you’re humiliated. I can tell you’re not the type to cry over a guy. Don’t start now.”

I stood there, unable to say anything and Amanda just casually picked up her purse and walked out the door.

I don’t know how long I stood there, immobilized, unable to cry, yell or even feel anything. 

When I stepped out, the other couples were already heading up the stairs to their rooms and Seth was trailing behind them.

When he saw me, he smiled and walked over to where I was, by the door of the washroom, holding on to the doorframe.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, putting an arm around me. “Are you sick? You look pale.”

His touch burned and I inched away. “I’m fine. I want to go back to the room now, please.”

He helped me up the stairs and I endured the physical contact. “Did any of the seafood make your stomach go bad? I think we have some Pepto somewhere in the luggage.”

“I’m not sick,” I muttered, pulling away from him the moment we walked into the room and shut the door behind us.

“Then what’s wrong?” he asked as he tried to follow me into the bathroom.

I turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on my face. He stood next to me by the sink, his expression completely lost. “Why are you acting like this?”

“Acting like what?” I asked, grabbing the toothbrush from the cup on the sink and smearing it with toothpaste. I started brushing my teeth like a maniac.

“Acting like you’re crazy,” he said bluntly. 

I rinsed my mouth and grabbed a face towel. “I’ve always been a little crazy. You knew that. Same way you knew I was gullible enough for your entertainment.”

He looked at me blankly. “What?”

I threw the towel aside, took a deep breath to calm my nerves and quietly said, “It’s over, okay? I’m kicking myself right now for being so stupid believing you when I knew better.”

He grabbed my arm as I turned away but I quickly snatched it back. “Don’t touch me!”

“Ali, stop for a second here,” he said blocking the bathroom door. “Why are you so mad? What did I do?”

Red flashed before my eyes. “I knew you were a player but I didn’t really think you’d be such a stinking liar, Seth. How many more Katherines have you been smooching with behind my back, huh?”

All color drained from his face, confirming the worst of my fears.

“Yes, I know about it,” I seethed. “I even saw it in full color picture. Amazing, isn’t it, that you’re sucking face with her when you so sincerely claimed last time that you didn’t have anything going on with her.”

Seth opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.

“I’m sorry if it cramps your style but I’m not an open-relationship type of girl,” I said in a voice dripping with as much sarcasm and disdain as I could manage. “I don’t even like relationships. I only went this far because…”

My tirade trailed off in a whisper when I realized with startling clarity the reason why I went this far.

“Because what?” Seth finally managed with a hard, expressionless voice.

I looked up to him, the first of my brokenhearted tears spilling down my cheeks against my will. “Because I thought… I thought you loved me.”

I looked away, unable to search for answers I didn’t want to find in his eyes. 

When nothing but silence followed, I dabbed my cheeks dry and laughed without humor. “Look at me, already pretty humiliated and still asking for more. Forget about it. We’ll go home tomorrow and carry on with our separate lives. I don’t want to ever remember that you and I met. Agreed?”

“No,” he answered stoically.

“Then what do you want to do, Seth?!” I finally yelled out loud, unable to suppress my emotions anymore. “Because I’m not—“

“Why don’t we talk about it calmly—“

“And what?” I scoffed. “Find a diplomatic solution? So yeah, Ali, I cheated on you with another girl. You know, the same one I told you was not my girlfriend. I hope you understand—“

Seth’s face darkened a bit. “Ali, why don’t we sit down and talk, okay?”

“No, I’m done talking!” I snapped, angry at his lack of reaction to my total breakdown. “Get out! Sleep somewhere else or I’m going to find another room. Either way, I don’t want to be near you at all. You make me sick.”

With that, he turned his back, grabbed his bag and some of his clothes and strode out, slamming the bedroom door behind him. 

I collapsed on the bed, head under a pillow, letting the tears flow now that no one else can see.