His hands move up to the small of my back. “Since Rebecca died, there has only been you, Annabelle.” His arms let me go, and he swims toward the beach. I swim after him and meet him on shore as he grabs our stuff and spreads out two towels.
“I’m sorry, Kalin.”
“No. It’s okay to ask. You just want to know. I understand. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Why is it so hard for you to believe that I’m falling in love with you? Don’t you understand, Annabelle? I know what love is. I’ve been in love. I know that what I feel for you is real. And I know that you feel it for me too. But I also know that you’re scared.”
I feel the warmth from my wet body escape, and I cross my arms over my chest. My mouth suddenly feels dry, and I shiver in the breeze. “I guess I am, Kalin. It’s so many things. You’re not a normal guy. Jesus Christ, you’re worth something like two billion dollars. You have some kind of corporate coup going on, and Lia, my best friend who would do anything for me, was threatened by a band of lowlifes. Because of me.” I feel the tears well up in my eyes. “You’re goddamn right I’m scared. It would be so much easier if you were just a normal guy, taking me out on a date. Instead of all this.” I wave my hand in the air at the wealth that surrounds us.
“I can’t change that, Annabelle. This is who I am. But more importantly, you know who I really am. You can’t tell me that you don’t feel the same for me.”
I stare at the beach and shiver. Kalin steps toward me and wraps a towel around me. “I know you’re scared, Annabelle. I get scared too. But we cannot give up on each other because of that. Somewhere, deep inside, I know you love me. You just see all these changes, and it’s terrifying. It’s overwhelming. But sometimes that’s what love requires.”
“Does love require that others get hurt?” I move the towel around my body.
Kalin presses his front teeth to his bottom lip, and brings his eyes to mine. “When you know you’re doing what’s right, yes, you have to accept that others may get hurt.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
“Annabelle, do you really think Lia would want you to break it off because of what they did?”
“No, I know she wouldn’t. She would want me to do what’s best for me.”
Kalin takes my hand and walks me down the beach.
“The only thing that kept my head on straight when I was a kid was family. Not wealth, or fame, or all the glitz and glamor we saw in the city. Just family. My dad made enough to always keep food on the table, and my mom only worked when she wanted to, not because she had to. She worked only after I made it safely to high school,” he smirks. “Call me old fashioned, but I think raising a family is one of the greatest accomplishments in life. I want our employees to be able to spend time with their kids, and to make enough to buy a house, and actually spend time in it.
“When Rebecca died, I just figured I would give the company up. It didn’t matter to me.” He shrugs. “I wouldn’t have a family to pass the company to, who would honor the concept of taking care of the employees like that.”
“What changed?”
“The very reason I never wanted this company to leave the family. It became something different. Employees became expendable. Management gained control to enrich themselves. It’s the same story that plays over and over again in the corporate world. I’ve been on enough board meetings to know how they think.” Kalin squeezes my hand and points to a seashell. “Try that one.”
I hold it to my ear and listen. “The ocean.” I place it up to his ear, and he smiles at me.
“That’s nice, but not quite what I’m looking for. Try that one,” he says, pointing to a larger one.
I hold it up to my ear. “It sounds the same.”
“Does it look the same?”
“I guess. I mean, it’s a little bigger.”
“Check inside. Maybe there’s a pearl.”
“Those are oyster shells, silly.” I chuckle.
“Oh, okay. Try that one.” Kalin places his chin on the top of my head, and traces his hand over my wrist, pointing my finger to the exact shell.
“Geesh, Kalin. Could you be more specific?” I grab the shell and hold it to my ear. “The ocean.” I smile.
“Check inside.” His eyes glitter with anticipation.
I reach inside and feel the hard angles of a circular stone. I empty the shell in my hand, and the most brilliant diamond solitaire ring that I have ever seen falls into my hand.
Chapter Thirteen