Chapter 31 : A Step Toward Peace

**Cat POV Jason and I drove up and down the coast, seeing the ocean from multiple views, including clifftops. It was absolutely gorgeous. Then he took me to where the locals currently lived. They'd put together a small city for themselves, but many of the buildings were poorly constructed and not adequate shelter against the elements. I could see why they needed an upgrade. "The architecture here is pretty unique," I said, pointing it out to Jason. "Yeah, the locals have a very distinct style. If you want to take notes, you can use these styles for the new development," he suggested. "That's a great idea," I said. I spent so much time looking at the buildings, I hardly noticed the people or the little shops they had set up. "Cat, come on. There is a seafood restaurant right over here. It is the best kept secret on the island and probably the best seafood in all the Caribbean," Jason said, grabbing my arm and tugging me along. "I thought you said you packed lunch," I reminded him. "Sure did. But now that we are in this part of town, we can't pass up a chance to eat here," he insisted. I groaned, but I followed along. I really was enjoying my casual afternoon out with Jason. It was nice to step away from the drama that was going on with Luke and his family. We sat down at the seafood place. It was a little run-down shack right on the water. We got a table overlooking the ocean. Waves crashed so close that some sea spray reached us. "You can see the fisherman right down on the beach. It doesn't get more authentic than that," Jason said, pointing to the beach where there were men knee deep in the water with nets. "How did you hear about this place if you've never been to the island before?" I asked while we waited for our food to arrive. I didn't recognize anything on the menu, so I just picked the first thing I could pronounce. "I asked around. Got a few good local tips. They are very happy about this project and eager to please," he explained. As we were eating lunch, Jason had no problems getting me to laugh and feel light. The seafood was absolutely delicious. I wasn't even sure what I was eating, but it was amazing. Even though I was having a good time, I almost wished that I was there with Luke. We hadn't really had a lot of chances to be casual and have fun together. I wondered if he'd be a different person in a casual setting. The sun was setting by the time we got back to the villa. Jason left the Jeep on the road, and he walked me to my cabin. "I hope you had a nice day today," he said. I nodded. "I did. Thank you. I really needed to get out, see the island, and have a good time. Plus, I got some good ideas for our project." Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You never really stop working, do you?" I shrugged. "I suppose it is an occupational hazard. Everywhere I go, there's architecture to check out." Jason took both my hands in his. I looked at my feet, my cheeks warming slightly. He was a really good guy, but I still couldn't shake the thought of wishing it had been Luke I'd spent the afternoon with. "I'm going to call it a night. I've been staying up too late," Jason said. "Yeah, I should probably rest too. The past few days have been pretty rough," I admitted with a nod. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow," Jason said. He squeezed my hands and leaned in, kissing my cheek. My jaw dropped open, and I was about to ask him what that was for, but Jason was already walking away down the boardwalk. I touched my cheek and shook my head. That was a friendly kiss, right? Or was it more? It couldn't be more. Jason was just a friend! I wondered if he knew that.... I went into my villa cabin and froze. Barbs was sitting on the couch, hands folded in her lap. I crossed my arms and arched an eyebrow. "I guess no one really cares about locks around here." "The door was open," she said. "Because the villa is supposed to be reserved for just a few of us," I pointed out. I kept my distance across the room. "Can we talk, please?" Barbs asked, her face softening. She patted the couch beside her, inviting me to sit. "I'm not really in the mood," I muttered. I headed into the kitchen, looking for something to do. There wasn't anything obvious to clean, nothing that needed putting away. I heard Barbs walk across the room. When I turned around, she was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Come on, Cat. We're friends. The least you can do is hear me out," she said. "Why? You've already betrayed me twice. You told Aaron where I was staying and now…" I trailed off, throwing one of my arms out to the side. Shaking my head, I looked away from her. "I'm sorry. The thing with Aaron… honestly, I thought I was doing you a favor. If there was any chance that you two could fix things, I knew it had to be then, and you weren't going to call him. I didn't want you to regret losing him," she said, defending her actions. "Well, that worked out great! He promised he'd never hurt me again, then turned around and proposed to the woman he cheated on me with. So, thank you for that favor," I snarled. "Do you think you're overreacting a little?" Barbs asked, crossing her arms. "No!" I snapped. I took a deep breath and tilted my head back, closing my eyes. "I know I messed up on the Aaron thing. I really thought I was helping," she said, bowing her head. "Yeah, that's part of the problem," I admitted. As good as her intentions were, if Aaron hadn't found me, things would have gone a lot differently. I probably would have learned about Fiona being pregnant before he came begging for my forgiveness, so I never would have even entertained it. On top of that, Aaron wouldn't have been at the house when Fiona showed up, so I wouldn't have had to be humiliated by the proposal. There was no way that Barbs could have known any of that would happen. Still, I wasn't sure I could forgive her for betraying my trust. I hadn't even started to forgive her, and then she'd betrayed me again. "You might not have known that would all blow up, but you could have respected my wishes. I did ask you not to tell him where I was," I reminded her. "You're right. I messed up and I suck as a friend. But I'm not here because I'm friends with Fiona or because I want to be at Aaron's wedding," she blurted out. "You're not?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Barbs shook her head and let out a sharp breath. She headed back into the living room, and I followed her. She plopped down heavily on the couch. "Of course not! Fiona is an annoying little twit. And even though you're mad at me, you're my best friend, and Aaron hurt you. I'm not here for him," she explained. "Then what are you here for?" I asked. Slowly, I sat on the couch beside her. It was satisfying to hear Barbs call Fiona annoying. "Simon is in business with Victoria and Luke. That means he has to be cordial when the family extends an invitation. I guess between the family connections and knowing us, Aaron thought it would be a good way to mess with you," she said, shrugging. "And you came, which just played into his hands," I said. Barbs puffed up her cheeks and let out a long, low whistle of annoyance. "Well, that's the issue. Simon has to be cordial with people that can interfere with his business plans." She rolled her eyes and then smiled at me. "I'm sorry, Cat. I didn't want to hurt you. I know my being here does, but it is just business," she assured me. "Right, just business," I muttered. I was a little tired of hearing that. Everything was "just business." Why should I settle for "just business" when I was the one always getting hurt? Everyone I loved had betrayed me, and for some reason, the justification was "just business." That annoyed the crap out of me. "Believe it or not, I do understand about the business side of things. But you haven't been treating me like a friend by any means," I said. "I don't want business to interfere with our friendship." "Yeah, I'll try to do better. Maybe Luke could give Simon a pass for dealing with his family?" she teased. "Hmph." I shook my head. "Unlikely. He's got his own sh*t to deal with." "Oh really? It sounds like you are getting pretty close to Luke," she teased. I looked at my lap, twisting my hands together. Barbs was trying to be friendly, and she had apologized. But I wasn't ready to do the "girl bonding" thing yet. "We are working together on an international property development project. We do have to get a little personal," I said curtly. "I don't know. I think there is more there," she pressed. "There isn't," I assured her. "I was out all afternoon with Jason, the head structural engineer for the firm." "Oh, that sounds juicy," Barbs said. I cracked a smile, finally. She did know how to get to me. I didn't think I was ready to fully forgive her yet, but I could accept that some of this was beyond her control. At least, the part that related to business. There was a knock on my cabin door, and Luke walked in before I could respond. "Cat, are you here?" he called. When he saw Barbs and me sitting on the couch together, his eyebrows shot into his hairline. Again, I thought about locks down here. Maybe they didn't even have locks on the cabin doors. I hadn't really looked. "Luke, what are you doing here?" I asked, standing up. He looked between Barbs and me and grinned. "I just came by to see if you were ready." "Ready?" I asked. What was he talking about? Luke and I hadn't made plans for that night. "You know," he said, winking at me. "N-no, I don't," I said helplessly. I couldn't tell if Luke was screwing with me or if we had really made plans and I had forgotten after everything. I looked at Barbs, and she raised an eyebrow. She grinned, giving me that "girl, what have you gotten yourself into," look. I had no idea!