CHAPTER 77

We're all scheduled to meet at the beach at noon, but I'm the first one there except for an attendant who appears to be working on setting up the wooden altar we'll use for our rehearsal tomorrow and the wedding the following day.

I'm distracted by a cage with a bright-orange bird sitting in the sand. The same kind of bird I saw last night from our villa.

"Well, hello," I say, bending to my knees as I come up next to the birdcage. The white sand is smooth against my skin as my jean shorts ride up.

The bird peers back at me, its green head jerking back and forth.

"She's beautiful," I say softly. "What's her name?"

"Hugo," the attendant informs me. "It's a male. The female fruit doves aren't as brightly colored."

"And he's here to get a tan?" I ask with a smile.

"He gets bored up by the buildings. Figured I'd bring him with me for an outing."

"They live around here? I saw one behind my villa."

"All over the island," the man confirms. "This one hurt his wing recently, and we've been keeping him grounded until he heals."

I search his bright feathers for an indication of a disability.

"He's almost right. Another couple of weeks, should be," the attendant says as if reading my mind. "Then he'll go back to his mate. She'll wait for him."

"Of course she will," I say dryly, scanning the length of the beach.

I rise from the sand as Andie, Jacob, and Rica arrive. "You guys ready for our adventure? We're going to this secluded cove."

"Hell yes. I'm going to show it to my entire audience," Jacob promises.

"No, you're not," Andie retorts.

"Where's our boat?" Rica asks, scanning the horizon.

"Dad and Haley and the kids are taking a boat. Timothy too. We're taking better transportation."

Timothy texted to say they were nearly done and would meet us there. I shelve my feelings about that and look past my friends. I see a string of horses heading up the beach, a rider on the first one only.

"Wild West!" Jacob hollers. "I'm so ready for this."

When I arranged this with the wedding planner and the resort, I'd imagined Timothy and me riding off into the sunset. He'd told me he'd never been on a horse before-something about a fear of horses that he promised, after I teased him about it, wasn't really that bad-and I figured it was about time.

It was going to be romantic and cheesy and perfect.

But he's not here. I shove the thought away and resolve to enjoy it until he is.

The trail leader, a woman of middle age with a warm smile and a fastidious eye for her horses and how we engage with them, introduces us to our mounts and tells us the basics. Most of us haven't ridden before, and when I get on, I'm grateful for the saddle to help me keep my balance.

Once we're all on horses-mine is a beautiful black mare named Ilsa-we head in a row...

Out toward the sea.

"Excuse me. Pretty sure these are land animals," Andie calls.

The guide turns in her saddle. "The cove we're going to requires a bit of off-roading."

She leads us into the shallow water, the horses seemingly content to plod through the water that brushes the bottom of my stirrups. The rhythmic sloshing of the sea against Ilsa's body is strangely comforting.

I sigh in the sunshine, loving the feel of it on my skin, the steady creature beneath me. They carry us around the beach and beyond some rocks.

My mind goes blissfully blank as we round the last shelf of rocks, revealing a new beach. There are stunningly green trees, white sand the length of a football field, birds circling, and craggy rocks at either end.

"It's very challenging to get here except via the water," the guide informs us as our horses plod up onto the beach, stopping next to one another as all of us look around our new surroundings. "The forests are protected, so there's no access by land vehicle from the main resort."

"It's incredible," Andie admits.

My phone rings, and I grab for where it's wedged in my pocket, hoping it's Timothy.

It's not.

"Miss Carlton," the hotel coordinator chirps over the phone, "Mr. King has arrived. Shall I have him meet you?"

I've been working on this for months, but hearing it's happened just as Rica's horse stops next to mine, the knot in my gut twists tighter. "Yes. Thank you."

Since Rica mentioned the name Echo Entertainment, I've been thinking about it. But she's determined to have it out with the company, and who better than him?

Except this is our wedding weekend. We only have a couple dozen guests, and it took everything I had to get him here in the first place. If Rica confronts him...

Ugh. Each possible outcome is worse than the last. From having two wedding guests at each other's throats to him actually leaving.

We dismount, and the guide sets the horses to graze at the foot of the trees, where little sprouts of grass or other plants are growing. She tells us about the plants and animals here as she unpacks the saddlebags.

"Wait a second-isn't there supposed to be lunch?" Jacob asks.

"That will be here with the boat," she tells him.

I look up into the trees, hearing the same birds I heard at our villa.

"Fruit doves?" I ask the guide.

"Very good. His mate could be around here somewhere. Most doves mate for life. They'll always return to one another, year after year."

"That's ineffective. They should have a dove crew," Jacob tosses as he heads out toward the water, stripping down to his shorts. "Like a harem."

He wades into the water, digging in the pocket of his shorts.

"What are you doing?" I call after him.

"Filming for my audience." Before he can hold up his phone, he screeches, bending at the waist as if he's been struck. "Something just brushed my leg."

"Sea monster," Rica deadpans. "I read about them in the literature in my room."

Jacob narrows his gaze. "Not funny!" But it touches him again, apparently, and he drops his phone. "Fucking hell..."

He drops to his knees, searching in the shallow water until he produces the device. Hitting the power button again and again only makes him bellow in frustration.

The next moment, a sound in the distance has us looking toward a boat coming around the edge of the rocks. The catamaran is sleek, cruising toward shore. On it, I can make out Haley and my dad, plus Sophia's hands waving in the breeze.

And on the back...

The knot in my chest releases.

I get what the birds feel, waiting for their mates. Knowing instinctively it's better to go through hell for the one than try to find another.

My family steps off the boat, wading through the few feet of water to get to shore. Timothy's last, and I take a moment to drink him in.

He's wearing a black T-shirt, exposing the ink that curls down his strong arms and one of his hands. Board shorts cling to his lean hips. His dark hair falls across his face, his eyes squinting in the sun.

He's fucking beautiful.

Especially when his gaze locks on me as he makes it to shore.

"I'm late," he says, stopping in front of me.

"You're here."

Timothy does the same inspection of me, working up my legs under the shorts, my tank top, ending on my face. I reach for the hem of my tank top and strip it over my head to reveal the bathing suit underneath.

My fiancé glances past me at our friends and family greeting and chatting and remarking on the beauty of where we are.

"This my punishment?" Timothy says for my ears only.

"What?"

"You. Looking like this. Especially after spending my morning with a bunch of dudes. Mostly dudes," he amends, reaching for his own shirt.

"How did it go?"

"I think we might have them."

My attention drifts when Timothy tugs his shirt over his head, revealing his gorgeous body. The cut lines of his abs and pecs, his strong shoulders and biceps and forearms.

Groan indeed.

I take Timothy's hand and wink. "I have a good feeling."

He grins, pulling me against him for a hard kiss that has my whole body heated with desire. "So do I, and it has nothing to do with them. I spotted this secluded little cave over there"-he points toward an opening in the rocks near the forest's edge-"that you and I might need to check out." His arms band around my waist. "Clothing optional."

Yes, please.

Over the next couple of hours, we play games, including Sophia's impromptu "What superpower would you pick?"

Jacob chooses flying.

Rica chooses invisibility.

Andie chooses seeing everyone naked.

My dad decides on chainsaw arms-so he can next-level the DIY projects around his house in Dallas. Haley quickly says the ability to heal anyone, shooting Dad a look that has him grinning.

"The ability to be two places at once," Timothy says.

The answer comes so easily I can tell this week is weighing on him no less than it's weighing on me.

After we finish lunch, Timothy and I wander down the beach to inspect seashells washed up on the sand.

"I have something for you." He reaches into his pocket and produces a pink-striped murex, its spines perfectly intact.

I take the tiny masterpiece. "It's beautiful. You found it here?"

He shakes his head. "Earlier this morning on my way to the meeting. I've been carrying it around all day."

My lips curve. "Thanks. I have something for you too."

I nod behind him, and Timothy turns, squinting into the sun as he spots the jet ski roaring toward the shore. "What the hell...?"

Then his jaw goes slack as recognition sets in. "Did you do this?"

I play innocent as I set the shell back on the sand. "It's an early wedding gift. And you better like it because it's too late to send it back."