“Sometimes throwing caution to the wind gets you in trouble. People need to think things through.”
Bianca narrowed her eyes playfully. “Agreed. Sometimes they do. But sometimes you need to just go with your gut.”
Remi looked away for a moment, then at Bianca. “And where exactly has throwing caution to the wind gotten you?”
Bianca chuckled. “Somewhere between freedom and heartbreak.”
They both laughed.
Bas peeked through the glass and then tapped on the window. Remi waved him inside. He stepped into the building, his hands locked behind his back like a guilty teenager.
“I’ve been looking for Zoe, trying to see if she wanted to drive down to the beach today.”
“Have you tried calling her?”
“Multiple times, but she won’t answer. She won’t talk to me at all, not since … Sage—”
“Do you blame her?”
“Sage is … I don’t know. Things with her are not really that serious,” he rambled.
Remi breathed heavily and then removed her sunglasses. She spoke in a calm, but heavy voice. “Bas, I know about the baby.”
Bas froze. A flicker of panic crossed his face. He seemed to be caught somewhere between denial and wanting to ask how she knew.
“Oh,” he finally muttered.
“Yes. I had no idea that she was going through something so painful, nor that she was so alone. While Zoe was slowly falling apart, you were in Boston at Harvard, cozying up to your new girlfriend …”
“Sage and I—”
She didn’t give him a chance to finish. “And where is she from anyway?”
“Her family lives in Virginia,” he said.
“Why isn’t she in Virginia for the summer?” Remi asked but didn’t give him an opportunity to respond. She realized she was getting too worked up—too invested. “Never mind.”
He paused, shaking his head. “We’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of months. She’s barely even—”
“Barely even what? Your girlfriend?”
“Barely.”
“But you can understand how hard this is for Zoe, watching you show up here with someone new, while she’s still grieving a baby and now her father.”
“I didn’t realize that Mr. G—”
Remi interrupted. “Seems you didn’t realize a lot of things!”
“I thought she was done with me,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. With pain in his voice, he continued, “I tried calling her over and over again, since Christmas.”
“You haven’t tried hard enough,” Remi snapped. “You know Zoe; she’s guarded.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Does your mother know about this? About the baby?” Remi crossed her arms.
“No,” he said quickly. “And I really don’t …”