Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77551 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Brett raises his eyebrows.
And I raise mine.
Nothing usually fazes Brett, but at the mention of Jake, he looks...concerned.
Worried, even.
And Brett doesn’t get worried.
But River is Brett’s best friend, and Brett has always been protective of Jake.
Why wouldn’t Brett be worried?
Except, again, he doesn’t get worried.
“What’s going on?” he asks. I can tell he’s trying to stay calm, but his voice trembles a bit.
Again, so unlike Brett.
“Marnie’s missing,” I say, “and Jake thinks she must have followed him to the Larson place.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Brett says, lowering his voice as if someone might overhear us. “We would have seen her.”
“Exactly,” I say. “But Jake is convinced. And River is with him, at least as far as I know. They were at my place this morning.”
“For fuck’s sake. How long have they been gone?”
“A couple hours.”
“Jesus!” Brett rakes his fingers through his blond hair. “Jake is so fucking pussy-whipped, and he’s going to do something reckless.”
“River’s with him,” I say. “He will keep him in line.”
“Can he, though?” Brett rubs his temples. “If anything happens to either of them...”
I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans. Brett is almost emotional. Odd. So odd. He loves us all, for sure, but I’ve never seen him like this.
“What do you want to do?”
“Did you count the money?” he asks.
Weird subject change, but I nod. “Four hundred and seventy K.”
“I’ve got four ninety,” Brett says. “If Jake and Alex have the same...”
“I know. Almost a cool two mill to divide among five of us.”
“So we can’t fuck this up, Seb. We can’t fuck this up.”
“Don’t you think I know that? Why the hell do you think I’m here? I figured they’d be back by now.”
“We need to stay put.”
“Are you serious?”
He nods, swallowing. “We stick to the plan, Seb. Our best bet is to stick to the plan.”
Present Day...
Stick to the plan.
I’ve taken those words to heart over the years. Even now, I want to stick to this plan. When River threatened to leave the island after his date with Misty, I was the one who told him we needed to see this through.
I open the door to my suite and jerk backward in surprise when Evangeline is standing there, ready to knock.
“Oh!” she says. “Sebastian, good. Turns out you have a date with Emily this evening.”
“I do?”
“Well...yes. She chose Alex after she and Misty won the cook-off, but Alex, as you know, has found his match with Ariel, so I can’t expect him to date another woman. River is gone for the evening, and Brett has a date with Misty, so that leaves you.”
I nod. “Great. It’s always a pleasure to be last choice.”
“You’re not the last choice. You’re simply the only choice. I told her it was your idea.”
“My idea?”
“Yes. She needs to feel wanted. Desired. And her date fell for someone else.”
I sigh.
“Now don’t you worry about a thing,” Evie continues. “I’ve got it all planned. An early dinner on the beach. Local tropical favorites. Five o’clock. All right?”
“Sure,” I reply. “Why not?”
Emily Kensington. Gorgeous, intelligent, British...
I was ready to fuck her against the wall that first night.
Maybe I’ll get that pleasure this evening.
Except...when I imagine fucking a woman against a wall...
It’s not Emily’s face I see.
EPISODE 167
THE SONG IS A LIE
Emily
I stand in front of the mirror as I try to figure out what to wear for the dinner date on the beach with Sebastian. I finally grab a white sundress from the closet. It’s simple, but it drapes perfectly, just brushing my knees. It feels effortless, which is exactly what I need tonight—nothing too fancy.
After all, I’m in love with someone else.
Not that River said the words back, though, so I’ll put some effort into this date.
My light-blond hair falls in loose waves down my back. I think about pulling it up, but no... Most men prefer it down. Hell, Sebastian’s hair is nearly as long as mine.
For shoes, I pick my strappy sandals—nothing too much, but enough to keep me from sinking into the sand until I’m ready to kick them off. Barefoot on the beach feels more like me anyway.
I keep the jewelry light—just a thin gold chain around my neck, nothing flashy. I don’t want to overdo it. After all, it’s not the necklace he’ll be looking at.
Perhaps we can rekindle the blazing chemistry we had the first night. It was a veritable snog-fest, after which he nearly fucked me against the wall in his suite.
So much has happened since then, the biggest of which is that I’ve fallen head over heels for River. But I had my fun as well—with Sebastian and with Zion.
I realize as I get ready for a night with Seb that part of me was looking forward to having a date with Alex. I chose him, after all. But only because River was acting like a petulant child. Alex is in love with Ariel, though, and I’m truly happy for both of them.