"Keep going."
Jack scowled. "I left because I thought it was better for everyone. I sold my boat; I'm renting my house to Lyle now, too."
"So you came here to tell me that you're homeless and unemployed?"
"I came here to ask you for a job." Jack felt like his teeth would crumble in his mouth, he was gritting them so hard.
Luke stared at him. Putting his feet down, he peered up at his friend. "You, Jack Benson? Are you asking for my help?"
"If you're going to be a dick about it, I'll go somewhere else. I have my pride too. Asshole."
"Calling me an asshole is giving me less of a reason to help you."
Jack wanted to deck his friend. Did Luke want him to go on his knees and beg? He refused. He'd find work elsewhere. He'd ask Lyle if he needed a hand. Surely there were enough odd jobs on the island he could support himself.
"I don't need this. I came here asking for help, and all you can do is mock me," said Jack.
Luke sighed. "I'm not trying to mock you. I'm just pissed off at you. Pissed that it took you this long to ask. Christ, man, I thought I was your friend."
Jack stared. His anger melted away in a flash, and all he could feel in that moment was confusion.
"You decided to leave the island without talking to anyone, not even me. You sold your boat when I refused to buy it. I kept waiting for you to ask, or to even tell me what was going on.
"But you didn't. Jack Benson is an island, a man unto himself. He doesn't need anyone else in his life," said Luke sadly.
Jack sat down. His knees felt wobbly. He suddenly felt very, very tired. "I didn't realize."
"And worst of all, have you seen Gwen? She's a ghost. She was heartbroken when you left. I thought of anyone in the world, you would've told her. But I guess not."
Jack put his face in his hands. Groaning, he just said, "Fuck me."
"I can give you a job, Jack. Or help you find one. I can even put you up in one of my apartments. That's not a problem."
Luke came around the other side of the desk and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "That's what friends do. I just wish you would've asked me sooner."
Jack hated feeling weak. Vulnerable. Yet at the same time, he felt almost peaceful, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"I need to find Gwen," he said, his voice hoarse. "I can at least apologize to her. Even if she hates me forever."
Luke was smiling sadly. "I doubt she hates you. If she'll trust you again, well, that's another matter."
As Jack thought over Luke's words, one question nagged at him. Since when did Luke Wright know so much about Gwen Parker?
"How do you know about Gwen?" Jack tried to sound casual, but suspicion laced his voice anyway.
Luke just laughed at him. "Jealous? It's a small town. Besides, I've seen her more than once to talk about her restaurant. Which is happening, you know. I'm funding her. Since you gave her the ten grand even though you're jobless, homeless, and honestly, you could use a shower, too."
Jack snorted. "Fuck off." But after he gave himself a whiff, he grimaced. "Can I use your shower?"
"Which one? We have ten to choose from."
Even as Jack muttered, "Eat shit," he still gave his friend a hug.
Gwen was in one of the rooms upstairs, wiping down the bathroom counters. Three of the housekeeping staff had called in sick with the flu. Gwen had been vacuuming rooms and cleaning bathrooms all morning. Even Jocelyn had pitched in, stripping the beds and doing the laundry.
When they'd been cleaning the room that had just been vacated by a newly married couple, Jocelyn had screeched, "Rat! Oh my God, it's a rat!" at the top of her lungs. Gwen had come running, only to discover that the rat was, in fact, a pair of gray boxer briefs. Gwen had laughed so hard that she'd nearly peed her pants. Jocelyn had not found it so amusing.
When Gwen heard footsteps in the room, she assumed it was Jocelyn. "Jocelyn, can you get me more bathroom cleaner?" she called. "I'm almost out."
But a voice that was decidedly not Jocelyn's answered, "Where do you keep it?"
Gwen whirled around. Jack stood there, his hands in his pockets, his expression unsure. His hair had grown out, and he was even sporting a bit of a beard.
"Do you want me to get you another bottle?" he said.
Gwen just shook her head. Her heart was pounding so hard that she felt dizzy. "What are you doing here?"
"I came back. I missed you, Gwen."
Setting down her microfiber cloth and cleaner, Gwen washed her hands, trying to calm her swirling thoughts. Jack had returned. He'd come back and he'd missed her.
Don't get your hopes up. He's probably just saying hello.
"You missed me," she repeated as she dried her hands.
"Yeah."
She gazed at him, standing there, looking so handsome in the morning sunlight that her chest hurt. She wanted to throw her arms around him. But she held back because he'd already told her that they couldn't be anything but friends.
"Gwen."
She looked up, and now he was only a few inches away from her.
"I should never have left like I did. Without telling you." He reached out to touch her, but then his arm fell. "I thought it'd be better for everyone. I was trying to do the right thing."
Her lower lip trembled. "The right thing would've been telling me instead of letting me find out about it."
"I know. Shit, I know. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I thought you'd get over it."
She gaped at him. Now she wanted to wallop him upside his head. "I'd just get over it? Jesus, Jack! I tell you I love you, and you assume it's just some fleeting emotion? That I'll move on with some other guy soon enough? I don't know whether to be insulted that you think so badly of me or sad that you think so badly of yourself."
"I wanted to protect you from me. My family—my mom has been calling me, needing money. She does this periodically. I didn't want to put all of that on you."
"Oh, Jack." Gwen sighed. "Everyone has baggage. You know I have some of my own!"
"I was ashamed." His voice was a whisper. "Or maybe I was afraid I'd turn into her."
Gwen's heart broke. "No matter what your mom did or has done, you are your own person. You make your choices. You aren't your parents. Nobody is."
Jack took her hand, brushing his thumb across her palm. Then he was pulling her into his arms, hugging her so tightly she was breathless. But she didn't care. Burying her face in his shoulder, she inhaled his scent and reveled in his strength and warmth.
"I don't deserve you," he was saying, "but I'll do whatever it takes to earn you."
"Earn me? I'm not a candy bar you save up for."
That made him smile a little. "No, you're better. You showed me that I don't have to be alone for my entire life, that there are people worth loving. You make me want to be a better man."
"Loving? Are you saying you love me?"
He touched her cheek. "Love you? I adore you. You're everything I never knew I needed, Gwen Parker."