It’d been two weeks since Dakota had returned to the island. Yet despite the fresh air and idyllic setting, she was anxious and restless. Worried about the uncertainty of her future. Unable to shake the pain of her past. Her mother’s death. The breakup with Dexter. Here on the island, all of it felt far too immediate. No longer distant hurts she could easily shake off.
Focus on the endgame.
Dakota repeated her mother’s admonition in her head. The goal was to become a lead evening news anchor in one of the major markets. Preferably one that would put her in a position to get noticed by one of the national news networks.
She’d been ready to take the next step in her career. She’d stumbled and fallen from grace instead. But she hadn’t lost sight of her dream. The one that she and her parents had worked hard and sacrificed for.
When Dakota was ten years old, she’d declared that she wanted to be a “news lady.” Her older sister had scoffed. Her father had smiled, patted her head, and said, “You can do anything you put your mind to, baby girl.” Her mother had made it her life’s mission.
Madeline Jones had died before Dakota could achieve that goal. But the determination to reward her mother’s belief in her had driven Dakota whenever she’d encountered a bumpy road along the way. She’d battled sexism, racism, and nepotism. But the past few months had been the bumpiest yet. And the wound she’d sustained had been completely self-inflicted, leaving her no choice but to return to the island.
There was something surprisingly comforting about being back at home. Still, a twinge of guilt burned in her stomach whenever the topic of her old job came up. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Sin or her dad the truth. But not telling them made her feel like the kind of awful, scheming person the Italian tabloids made her out to be.
Dakota stopped, her chest heaving and her lungs burning. Sweat trickled into her eyes, blurring her vision. She wiped her face with the back of her arm and blinked, her eyes stinging.
“I wondered when you’d start running again.”
She jumped at the voice behind her, but she had no doubt as to whom it belonged.
Dexter seemed to have a knack for catching her at moments when she looked her very worst. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
Slowly, she turned around and raised her gaze to his as she shielded her eyes from the sun. He was running…shirtless. His skin was slick with sweat, yet he still managed to look good enough to adorn the cover of a men’s health magazine. And those biceps and pecs. The boy she’d known and loved hadn’t been packing this muscled bod. One thing was for sure, the man was no stranger to the gym.
“Been stalking the beach looking for me?” she asked.
A wide grin parted his handsome face, his eyes shielded by mirrored sunglasses. “Stalk the daughter of the town’s former police chief? That’d be an ill-advised move.”
Dakota propped her fists on her hips as she stared at her reflection in his lenses. She looked even worse than she’d imagined. She brushed loose strands of hair from her face. “Then what brings you here?”
“A lot of things have changed since you’ve been gone, Dakota, but this is still a public beach.” His smirk made her want to either kiss him or smack him. She wasn’t sure which.
“Still a smart-ass, I see.” She folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at him.
He removed his sunglasses and tucked the arm inside the waistband of his shorts. Good Lord! Was he trying to make her stare at him…there? “Guess there’s something about you that still manages to rile me up.”
Now, there’s something I’d like to rile up.
She raised her eyes to meet his. The flare of his nostrils, his heated gaze, and his lopsided smirk indicated that he’d seen her checking out his…package. A blaze of heat crept up her neck and bloomed across her cheeks. She needed to get away from Dexter before she embarrassed herself any further.
“I should go.”
“Dakota, wait.” Dexter stepped closer, his expression shifting from amusement to deep concern. He glanced around, as if to ensure that no one would overhear him. “How’d everything work out with your father?”
“Oh. Good, thanks.” A tiny part of her was disappointed by the question. The way he’d stepped in closer, she expected his question to be about them. “We had an honest conversation about his health and a few other things. So thank you again for that.”
“I’m glad.” Dexter cleared his throat after an awkward beat of silence between them. “Look, we’re running in the same direction. Why don’t we run together?”
Because I’d rather walk barefoot on hot coals.
Running together was how they’d first gotten to know each other. He was trying to increase his footspeed for football. She’d run track and wanted to shave some time off her mile. Sinclair had suggested they run together. Mostly so Dakota would stop asking Sin to run at what her friend considered an ungodly hour.
Dexter had been quiet and closed off in the beginning. They’d done a lot of running but very little talking. But Dakota had worn him down with her chatter and myriad questions over the weeks they’d run together. Ever curious, she’d considered it her personal challenge to get Dex to share at least one thing with her each time they’d run together.
Little by little, he had. And she’d fallen for Dexter Roberts right here on this beach. She had no intention of doing it again.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve run. I’d only hold you back.” She released her hair from the messy ponytail, shook her head, then secured her hair in a topknot.
Maybe that would stay put.
“I don’t mind the slower pace. In fact, I could use the break. Besides, my mother is making breakfast this morning and my sister is coming over, too. They’d both love to see you.”
Dakota stood there for what felt like an eternity. The little voice in her head and a little voice emanating from…somewhere decidedly lower…debated. Their relationship was ancient history. She should be over him. But the hurt she felt over their breakup still ached deep. And the overwhelming desire she had for him teemed beneath her flesh, making its way down her spine and fluttering low in her belly.
After all this time, there was still something about his deep voice and reassuring smile that drew her in. But the warm, nostalgic feeling was like the lure on the end of a fishing line. It only appeared real. In the end, it was dangerous.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’d better get back. My dad’s expecting me at home for breakfast. Please tell Em and Ms. Marilyn I said hello. I’m sure I’ll catch up with them at some point while I’m here. Enjoy the rest of your run.”
Dakota turned and ran back up the beach toward her father’s house, as fast as her legs could carry her.
* * *
Dex pulled his shades out of his waistband and put them back on as he watched Dakota running up the beach away from him.
Couldn’t resist being a smart-ass, could you?
He sighed and resumed his jog back to his mother’s house. Okay, so maybe he’d lied about not stalking the beach looking for her. The beach near his condo wasn’t as long or as level as the beach here, but he’d always been content to run there. Yet since Dakota had returned to the island, he’d been running on this beach each weekend morning, hoping to run into her.