Everyone thought her outbursts and the way she lashed out at Natalie Gates were all Ethan’s fault. He was the one who used her, broke her heart, and pushed her to that edge.
“Not at all,” Harold said, chuckling. “Are you here by yourself? Ethan didn’t come? Or did he run off to find Natalie Gates?”
He kept going, teasing, “We got here last night. This morning we bumped into Jordan and Natalie. I even made a bet with Jesse that Ethan would show up sometime this afternoon or evening.” Harold’s tone was full of thinly veiled sarcasm. He’d always been the most outspoken critic of what Ethan had done to Isabella. It wasn’t just using her, in his eyes. It was playing with her feelings for fun.
Jesse nudged Harold, trying to warn him. The guy was just too blunt, always saying exactly what he thought, never bothering to sugarcoat it.
Harold clammed up quickly. But when he saw Isabella looking calm and unbothered, as if none of this fazed her, he relaxed a little.
“Ethan took me home this afternoon, and that’s when we found out Jordan and Natalie were vacationing here,” Isabella explained. “We were kind of bored, so we decided to come to the beach too. Plus, I can’t say no to fresh seafood.”
Isabella loved seafood.
“Ethan drove for two hours and got tired, so he’s resting back at the house. I just wanted to take a walk, maybe get some sea air.”
Harold matched her pace, walking by her side. “The beach is packed right now. The wind’s strong, and there are a ton of people flying kites.”
“Harold,” Jesse called.
Harold glanced back at him. “Isabella doesn’t really know her way around. It’s not safe for her to go to the beach alone. If we hadn’t run into her, fine, but since we have, there’s no way I’m letting her wander off by herself.” He shrugged. “I’ve got nothing else to do. I’ll go with her.”
Jesse could only stare. He thought to himself, “Harold, do you even remember who she’s married to? Ethan might not get jealous, but this is still not a great look for Isabella.”

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