Page 37 of His to Seduce
I turned and hustled into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. My expression in the mirror’s reflection was one of pure happiness, and it took me by surprise. Through the closed door, I still heard David laughing.
—
With our tanned skin and wide smiles, the eight of us looked like we could be on a poster for the perfect Caribbean vacation. We once again raised glasses of champagne to toast Tyson and Blue, and the clinking sound and laughter filtered into the air on the gentle night’s breeze.
The day had been another incredible one for the books. So far, this vacation was turning out to be the best I’d ever had and while I was hesitant to put a lot of that on David’s shoulders, I also knew it was true. After he’d dragged me out of the bungalow this morning, we’d taken a taxi, some junky teal-colored car barely large enough for him to fold himself into the backseat, into the small town to explore.
Hand-in-hand we walked along sandy streets, wild chickens and goats meandering along with us. David haggled with vendors, their local dialect sounding like music. I watched from the sidelines while he bartered, then walked up to me with a bracelet. Without asking, he took my hand in his and slid the bracelet on my wrist, clasping it, before he guided me to where a small crowd was watching and dancing to a live reggae band.
I fingered the bracelet now, while we were at the table with our friends. It was made of bands of small shells in a rainbow of colors, and though I hadn’t asked him why he thought to buy it for me, I couldn’t stop smiling each time I looked at it.
His hand dropped to my thigh and he squeezed, as if he knew how much I liked the small gift.
Three hair ties on his wrist grabbed my attention and I grinned. I fingered my hair bands and looked up at him. “Are you ever going to take these off?” I whispered.
“No. I plan on adding more to them, too, once we get home.”
Home.The thought brought to mind returning to normal, returning to bills and stress and my silly, spacey mom. It made me picture seeing him at Fireside and reality…
“I wish we could stay here,” I murmured, dropping his wrist where it fell back to my thigh and reaching for a glass of champagne.
He nudged me with his shoulder. “Personally, I can’t wait to get you home.”
Hopefulness sang in his quiet, whispered voice.
My throat clogged, unable to respond, and I looked away.
Across the table, Chelsea’s and Trina’s smiles were kind and their eyes soft when I met their gazes. Both looked a mixture of pensive and hopeful as they watched me with David. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at them.
I knew what they wanted. At least, I knew what Chelsea wanted. She wanted me happy and with David.
I wished Suzanne were around to speak sense to me. Not Paige; she’d be championing the idea of everyone getting married before we left the island. A quadruple marriage ceremony would be the icing on her fairy-tale dreams.
Suzanne, though…she knew me. She knew me more than anyone, and when it came to me and my stubbornness and my fears, she knew how to talk to me.
I was wondering what she would say, imagining my kind and happily married and hugely pregnant friend sitting at her kitchen table, glass of sparkling water in hand, smiling at me, holding my hand in hers and encouraging me to do whatever made me happiest, when a loud cry rang in the distance.
“What the hell?” David jumped, pushing his chair back. He scanned the outdoor seating area.
“Help!” A woman shouted. “My husband! Harold!”
My head whipped around toward the voice and I was jolted forward when David rushed past my chair, bumping into it on his way to an elderly woman. All I saw was a mop of graying hair, crouching over a man violently trembling on the wood-planked pier.
“Someone!” she shouted. “Help him!”
Without thinking, I shoved out of my chair and rushed to David’s side, reaching him as he squatted down and rolled the man to his side.
“Hold him steady,” he said to the woman, as he grasped onto the man’s shoulder. He didn’t restrain him, but it looked like he was propping him on his side.
Footsteps pounded behind us and David snapped his head up. His eyes met mine and a vacant expression filled them before he looked over my shoulder. “Declan, help move the furniture out of the way, the chair and the table. Everyone step back!”
His voice was commanding, calm and controlled.
My heart pounded ferociously against my chest as I watched. Stunned. He knew exactly what was going on. Knew exactly how to handle it. How?
I turned to see tables and chairs pushed out of the way. Tyson and Declan formed a barrier between us and the quickly growing crowd.
My gaze caught on Trina, her eyes glued to David, who I knew was behind me, speaking to the woman.
