Read Online Ex on the Beach by Kim Law - Free Book Online

shoes, and I’ll give you your apology.”
    Her hands came off her waist to pass over the shoes, but then she stopped, her head tilting at an angle to study him. She shot him a look; the same one that had first captured his attention at Harvard. It was half mischievous, and a lot bold. And it made his blood once again begin to heat.
    Before he could figure out what it meant, she’d whirled and sent one of his thousand dollar Italian loafers out into the rolling waves.
    “What are you doing?” he shouted. He took off after the shoe, splashing into the water, but the wave quickly rose to his knees, almost pulling him down in the shifting sand. He turned back to her. The water lapped at her ankles now, but she didn’t move away from it. “What in the world, Andie?”
    She merely shrugged. “Figured it would serve you right for kissing me.”
    “The knee to the groin was punishment for kissing you.” He continued walking through the now receding water, dragging his feet around, hoping to find his shoe.
    “No, the knee to the groin was for embarrassing me in front of both of our families four years ago.”
    He looked back at her, his shoe forgotten, aware of how she’d stated the facts. “Not for hurting you, then? Just for the embarrassment?”
    That thought disturbed him more than it should have after all this time. He’d wanted to believe that she had really loved him, even though evidence had suggested otherwise.
    She nibbled on her lip but didn’t immediately answer, so he headed back in her direction. He wanted to hear it. That yes, embarrassment had been his worst crime that day, not breaking her heart. Not as Ginny had implied. He wanted her to admit it. Then he would quit feeling bad for ending it the way he had. He’d deserved to maintain some amount of integrity, after all. And if the woman hadn’t loved him, he figured she’d deserved to be left at the altar for breaking his heart in two.
    “The knee was for the embarrassment, yes,” she began, meeting his gaze as he stopped near her, the water now tickling their shins. She turned so that her face was once again thrown into shadows, and her voice grew soft. “I haven’t figured out yet what to do for the pain.”
    And just that fast his heart cracked, and he couldn’t have kept his distance if he’d wanted to. And he didn’t want to.
    “Aw, babe.” He reached for her, cupping her lightly by the arms. “I really am sorry. I was the lowest kind of jerk that day.”
    She nodded, suddenly seeming fragile in his hands. “You were. But why? Was I really so bad? Did your mother talk you out of it? Did Rob?”
    “No,” he stated emphatically. “No to all of it. Why would my mother talk me out of it? She loved you.”
    Andie’s shoulders lifted with a shrug. “I overheard her one day saying she didn’t think you should marry me.”
    “What?” Without meaning to, he stepped back in shock. In doing so, his hands slipped from her arms. He immediately reached out to touch her again, but she pulled away. He lowered his hands. “I can’t imagine why she would have said that. She thought you were terrific.”
    “Rob then?”
    He shook his head. Rob had not liked her from the day they’d met, and Andie had returned the sentiment. “Rob was there when I made my decision.” He’d been waiting in the car as Mark had run into the apartment. “But he had nothing to do with it.”
    “Yet he was only too happy to deliver the news.”
    Mark started to protest, but then realized that she was right. Rob had been thrilled to tell her. In fact, he’d been the one to suggest he go to the church instead of Mark.
    Having just overheard Andie on her call, Mark had not wanted to talk to her. He was furious that he’d let himself fall so hard, when she’d clearly been after something else entirely. “I can’t say that Rob was unhappy to deliver the news. He has a sick sense of humor like that.”
    Dark eyes studied him until Mark began to shift from foot