lissa exhaled sharply, her expression torn between exasperation and frustration.
She motioned vaguely toward the beach, toward the people scattered around, enjoying their day under the sun.
"I've been trying to get in touch with you for two days," she said, crossing her arms again. "But, oh, Ethan's too busy. Ethan's out dealing with business. Ethan's ignoring his texts."
Ethan frowned slightly. "I'm not ignoring — "
lissa held up her phone and tapped the screen a few tis before turning it toward him.
Ethan stared.
It was a long string of ssages.
So from yesterday. So from earlier today.
All from lissa. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire
And he hadn't responded to a single one.
"Ah."
That explained the attitude.
Ethan cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like an idiot.
He didn't even have an excuse.
"…Okay, yeah," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "That's on ."
lissa narrowed her eyes. "Damn right, it is."
Ethan sighed. "Look, I've been handling a lot. It wasn't personal — I wasn't intentionally ignoring you."
lissa studied him for a mont, then rolled her eyes. "Fine. You get a pass. This ti."
"Appreciate it," Ethan said dryly.
lissa pocketed her phone with a small sigh, but this ti, her irritation seed to ease just a little.
She hesitated, glancing at him, then looked away quickly — her posture stiff, her fingers fidgeting slightly.
"I was… worried, you know," she muttered, barely audible over the sound of the waves.
A faint blush dusted her cheeks as she crossed her arms. "You were gone all day yesterday, and then this morning too. I just… thought sothing might've happened."
Ethan blinked, caught a little off guard by the shift in tone.
He had been expecting more scolding, not… this.
For a second, he didn't know what to say.
lissa wasn't exactly the type to admit things like that easily.
Feeling a bit guilty now, he let out a slow breath and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry about that," he said, his voice softer this ti. "Didn't an to make you worry."
lissa scoffed lightly, though her blush deepened. "Well, you did," she huffed, then quickly motioned toward the lounge chair he'd been sitting on earlier. "Co on, sit down."
Ethan raised an eyebrow but complied, sinking back into his previous spot.
To his mild surprise, lissa sat down beside him — not on the other chair, but right next to him, close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
She pulled her knees up slightly, wrapping her arms around them as she gazed out at the ocean.
"The resort was busier than usual yesterday," she started, her tone more casual now. "Not crazy busy, but still enough to keep everyone on their toes. The spa had a long waiting list by noon, the restaurant was packed, and the beach area was full of guests by the afternoon."
Ethan humd, tilting his head slightly. "That's a good sign, isn't it?"
"Oh, definitely," lissa said with a nod. "Just ans people are really enjoying what we offer. But it also ans we might need to consider more hands on deck. I overheard so of the staff saying they were struggling to keep up with demand."
Ethan exhaled, leaning back against the chair. "Yeah… that's sothing I'll have to look into. Maybe hiring more seasonal workers to help out?"
"Could work," lissa agreed. "But you'll have to act fast before things get overwhelming."
Ethan nodded, Zack had already said this, it just ant it was a good sign to get to it imdiately.
lissa continued, "This morning was a little less hectic, but still busy. Claire and your mom were at the café for breakfast, and Julia was running around like usual." She smiled slightly at that, shaking her head. "That kid has so much energy, I swear."
Ethan chuckled. "Yeah, tell about it."
lissa turned to look at him now, her expression softening a little. "You know… for soone who's got so much going on, you do a good job keeping things together."
Ethan smirked. "Was that a complint?"
lissa rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it."
Ethan laughed, shaking his head. "Noted."
They sat in comfortable silence for a mont, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore filling the space between them.
The girls were still busy rebuilding the sandcastle, laughing as they worked, completely lost in their little world.
Ethan glanced at lissa from the corner of his eye, noticing how relaxed she looked now compared to earlier.
"Hey," he said suddenly.
lissa turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
"Thanks."
She blinked. "For what?"
"For checking in," he said simply. "For looking out for the resort while I was gone." He offered a small grin. "And for, you know… worrying about ."
lissa quickly looked away, but he caught the way her blush returned. "Yeah, well," she muttered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Soone has to."
lissa opened her mouth, ready to say sothing — maybe a joke, maybe sothing sarcastic, or even sothing that would make Ethan crack a smile.
But before the words could leave her lips, her gaze flickered past him toward the shoreline, where the girls were giggling and playing.
Her amusent faded instantly.
A massive wave was building in the distance, rolling toward the shore with an intensity that had disaster written all over it.
lissa wasn't the only one who noticed.
Ethan, who had been stretching his arms after their conversation, froze for half a second before turning his head.
The mont his eyes landed on the incoming wall of water — and then on Julia and gan, who were completely oblivious — he moved.
"Jules! gan!" His voice cut through the chatter on the beach as he broke into a sprint, sand kicking up behind him. "Get back, now!"
The girls turned at the sound of his voice, but they were a little too late to process the urgency.
Ethan could see it — the realization dawning on their faces, the way their tiny bodies tensed up as the shadow of the wave lood over them.
The problem was, they were too close to the water and still tangled up in their excitent.
They weren't moving fast enough.
Ethan didn't think. He just acted.
With quick strides, he reached them just as the wave ca crashing forward, scooping Julia up in one arm and scooping gan up with the other.
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