After Abby confessed to feeling self-conscious about walking into the Beachcomber with wet hair and clothes, Adam put his arm around her and kept her engaged in back-and-forth banter about how foolish she’d been to swim alone at night as they cut through the lobby to the stairs. They’d almost made a clean getaway when he heard his name coming from an all-too-familiar voice. His arm immediately dropped from Abby’s shoulders.

He turned and let out a gasp of surprise when he saw his parents, dressed up for a night out. They looked at him and then at Abby, seeming shocked to see them together.

“Abby,” Linda said, kissing Abby’s cheek. “I hadn’t heard you were back on the island.”

Adam couldn’t believe his well-connected mother had missed that tidbit.

“Will Cal be joining you?”

Abby ran a hand over her wet hair. “He… I…”

“Abby and Cal have broken off their engagement,” Adam said, trying not to squirm under the heat of his father’s steely stare.

His parents took a moment to absorb that piece of information. He could almost hear their wheels turning as they wondered what he was doing in a questionable embrace with his brother’s ex-girlfriend.

“How’d you get all wet?” Linda asked.

“We went for a walk on the beach and Abby tripped.”

Linda eyed him shrewdly, no doubt picking over his every word and seeing his story for the lie that it was.

“We were about to have a drink in the bar,” Big Mac said. “Join us.”

When was the last time his father had ordered him to do anything? And when was the last time Adam had refused a direct order from his dad? Um, never?

“I need to grab a quick shower,” Abby said, gesturing to her wet hair.

“We’ll save you a seat,” Big Mac said.

Adam smiled encouragingly at Abby, noting the heated flush of her cheeks. She was clearly mortified and probably dying for a moment alone. “Meet you in the bar?”

“Sure,” she said hesitantly. “I’ll be fast.” She scurried up the stairs and disappeared.

Adam followed his parents into the bar, where they found a table in the back where they were almost certain to be undisturbed. Great…

Chelsea waved to them from the bar. “I’ll be right with you.”

“What in the world are you doing with Abby,” Linda said, cutting right to the chase.

“Hanging out. Having some fun. Nursing our broken hearts.”

“Broken hearts?”

“Her breakup with Cal was messy, and I… I recently ended something that was equally messy. Maybe even more so.”

“Tell her, son,” Big Mac said.

The last thing Adam felt like doing was reliving Sasha’s betrayal again, but he couldn’t exactly refuse to tell his mother what had happened in New York. When he was done, she stared at him agog.