Page 78 of Pleasure Island
27
Liam
I was still a little surprised at how quickly things were coming together for Jake and Michelle’s wedding.
I’d been able to get a hold of Millie that night before I left their place, and the older woman had still been talking to Michelle when Jake walked me to the door more than an hour after I first made the phone call.
Now, less than two weeks after finding out they wanted to get married, I was on the island where they’d have their wedding.
The island where Mila and I had first been together.
The island where I pulled her out of the water.
Made love to her.
Everywhere I looked, I saw her, and it was so much worse than when I’d been in New York City. Sure, every sexy brunette with the right kind of hair had made me pause and look and wonder.
But now I didn’t need to see a woman who reminded me of Mila.
Everythingherereminded me of Mila, and it was enough to drive me crazy.
Part of me wished I’d elected to come in on the day of the wedding, the way some of the guests were doing, but when Millie had extended the offer to come in a little earlier, I hadn’t been able to tell her no.
It seemed she had something in common with her granddaughter.
Mila…
I cut off thoughts of her and reminded myself I was here to help Jake and Michelle however I could.
Once the wedding was over, I’d leave Pleasure Island and never come back.
Millie had greeted me with enthusiasm when she met me and Jake and Michelle earlier, acting like we were long lost friends rather than two people who’d only met briefly a few weeks before.
She’d bustled away, promising to meet up with Jake and Michelle once they got settled in their rooms, then she’d patted me on the cheek.
I’d checked into my room just a little while earlier, thinking maybe I’d nap. My body was still protesting the night shift thing, and I was dragging. But laying on the bed, all I could think about was the time I’d been here with Mila.
So, I’d left the bungalow, thinking I’d take a walk.
At first, I took the pathway down to the beach, but one look at the water made me think about how I’d pulled Mila from the ocean, scared I hadn’t been fast enough.
And thoughts about that led to everything else that had happened between Mila and me since then.
Including the last day – when I’d been a rude son of a bitch and sent her away.
I still thought about calling her.
I still thought about going to her place and trying to apologize.
“And you’re still brooding over it instead of doing anything,” I told myself as I headed away from the beach, back up to the main part of the resort.
I saw Millie duck into a bungalow ahead of me, and I lingered outside, thinking to tell her thanks. What she was doing meant the world to Michelle and Jake, so it mattered to me too.
When she didn’t come out after a couple of minutes, I turned to go.
But just as I did, I heard her voice – and another one that was achingly familiar.
Spinning around, I saw Mila and Millie walking out of the bungalow together, their heads close as they spoke.
