Page 29 of Dan.
“But she told me they found drugs in the backroom there. Cocaine!” I whisper, as if the driver is eavesdropping on us. I don’t want to take any chances.
To my surprise, Dan doesn’t seem affected at all by this news. “Okay, and? That’s pretty much normal stuff for the hospitality business anywhere. Not that I’m saying she’s in the right… but it’s just cocaine.”
My mouth gapes open at this. “Are you serious right now?Justcocaine?”
“Yes, my sheltered little ice queen, just cocaine. It’s not the end of the world, but…” he squeezes my hand to let me know we’re still connected, “I can see why what she said to you might actually feel that way. Like the end of the world, I mean.”
I can feel my cheeks getting warm again. Dan is the last person I should be embarrassed in front of, considering our intimate history, but I can’t help it. What Roxanne said… it’s my deepest, darkest secret and insecurity. And she just bared it all to the world like it was nothing. I know I’ve been a bitch to Roxanne in the past, but this is something more entirely.
“Do you think my brother told her that? I don’t know who else could have possibly known.” My voice is small, but Dan doesn’t push me to speak up, which I’m thankful for.
“Who knows?” He shrugs. “She might have just figured it out on her own. I doubt your brother even thinks that way. Andries for all accounts thinks he’s the victim, remember? Which, in reality, you both are.” He pauses for a beat, his expression thoughtful. “I’m sure she’s just reeling from the investigators finding the cocaine and lashed out without thinking.”
“I don’t know if I can forgive her, Dan…” voice shaking, I lean into him.
“You can. You will. I know you, El, and you’ve grown so much in such a short time. But for now, maybe it’s best we leave Roxanne alone and let her deal with all the nonsense occurring at her cabaret, especially if she’s going to let the stress of it all color how she treats everyone. If it shuts down for good… well, it will break her heart, but she’s going to have even more heartbreak I think if she doesn’t tell Andries what’s going on.”
“I agree. He’s going to lose his mind over it, I just know it, and she’s running on stolen seconds right now. Any time he picks up his phone she’s in danger of him seeing that viral video.”
Dan hums in agreement, his thumb stroking over my knuckles in a comforting rhythm. “If Andries doesn’t find out, it’ll be nothing short of a miracle.”
9
Dan
“A lighthouse?I thought you said you were taking me to a beach?”
Elise is indignant, but I don’t give in to her whining. “Will you just calm down and trust me for once in your life? I wouldn’t lead you astray.”
She snorts. “Now that’s a lie. But seriously, what is this place?”
“Let’s just get this out of the way before you freak out anymore; it is a lighthouse, but there is a beach, too. Satisfied?”
She presses her hands to the car window like a little kid and looks outward, examining the location I have brought us to and deciding if it meets her exacting standards. Finally, she nods. “I guess it will work. Let’s get going, then.”
A small peninsula sticks out into the sea. This part of Capri is topped with a century-old lighthouse, known only as the Lighthouse of Punta Carena, built from red brick and white stone. Amazingly, it’s still actively used to warn ships of the stone outcroppings.
Down lower is an extensive beach club, with a full-service bar, dining options, lounge chairs, a freshwater pool, and all the amenities someone could possibly need to make a beach trip into something much more luxurious. It’s only steps from the ocean, which checks off Elise’s demands for a beach trip, but some creature comforts will make the day even more relaxing for us.
She waits for me to help her out of the car, which amuses me. I’m fully aware she doesn’t do this with everyone, but Elise knows at this point that I’ll be there to open her door or help her to her feet. She has me wrapped around her little finger––even when I know that it’s a bad place to be, considering I’m in love and she isn’t.
The path to the lighthouse is long, and when I try to tug her in that direction, Elise isn’t having any of it. “My legs hurt from all the snorkeling I did yesterday,” she protests. “I don’t want to walk all that way to see a damned lighthouse, Dan. Come on!”
Dragging me towards the beach club, Elise does make a good point. I’m still pretty sore, too, but I just want to spend as much time as possible with her before we have to return to the villa. If I can stretch the trip a few hours longer with a lighthouse tour, then I’m all for it. Elise, though, knows what she wants, and it’s the beach. Right now.
Resigned, I follow her down the winding path leading to the main beach. It isn’t too crowded, but there is a bevy of red and white striped umbrellas with families lounging beneath, the laughter of children filling the air. The constant rushing of the sea and the beachgoers splashing in the shallows adds to the atmosphere, instantly putting me more at ease. Elise pauses halfway down the path, looking at all of them, back at me, and then abruptly she changes course.
With her long, limber legs, it’s easy for her to pick a path through the rocky areas to the side of the main beach, but that still doesn’t explain exactly where we are going. I yell for her, but she ignores me, her search single-minded in its intensity.
“El, you’re going to get lost!” I protest as I try to keep track of her. “You said you wanted the beach, so let’s go to the beach!”
“Just give me a second,” she insists. “I think I saw something when we were at the top of the path. I just want to check it out.”
We walk about fifty more feet, Elise picking her way delicately down a curving pseudo-path behind a tall rock ledge, and then, to my shock, we emerge onto a scene I never expected. It’s another beach, but this one is much smaller, tucked into a tiny rocky cove, and almost completely private. Where the water at the main beach of Punta Carena is deep, sapphire blue, it’s different here. The rocks, all shades of brown, dark coppery red, and algae-covered green, lurk under the waves and turn the turquoise water into something that resembles an oil slick. The colors roll and morph as the sea moves, but this cove is so deep into the island’s face that the waves are so minimal that they are almost non-existent. This place feels secret and wild, as if we’re looking back in time to what the island must have been like before it became a tourist destination. I can’t explain it, but I can just tell that the water is going to be blissfully warm.
Elise wastes no time in spreading her beach towel out on the sand. As beautiful and special as this place is, I still have some reservations. “Are you sure this is where you want to stay? Back at the other beach, there is a bar and we can rent a cabana, which is what I had planned. There aren’t even loungers here.”
She waves her hand dismissively, stripping out of her coverup with ease. “We can go over there later. For now, I like it here. I need some privacy to clear my head.”