Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Even with the extra layers, we only stay out for an hour to enjoy the light display before we get back into the cabin and jump into bed in a spooning position to warm up.
“That was a nice day,” I muse. “Considering.”
“I enjoyed it too,” he murmurs into the crook of my neck. “Considering.”
Feeling obscenely cozy in his arms, I close my eyes and immediately pass out.
* * *
I wake with a start.
Someone is banging on the door.
“Stay back,” Ashton tells me, then goes over to open it.
It’s Bubba, looking disheveled, and Dottie, looking frightened by the expression she must see on Ashton’s face.
“You,” Ashton growls.
With the lethal speed of a predator, he pounces—and has Bubba dangling in the air in a millisecond.
“Where the fuck were you?” The question is accompanied by a rough shake.
“Oi, don’t hurt Bubbala!” Dottie shouts. “Our boat broke. We forked out extra to get it sorted ASAP.”
Ashton drops the tour guide. “Why didn’t you leave us the keys to the other boat?”
“Oh,” Dottie says. “We didn’t reckon you’d be needing it, mate.”
“Take us back, now,” Ashton orders through gritted teeth.
“And pray I don’t feel litigious when I get home,” I add, matching his tone.
Looking sullen, the tour guides help us get into their boats. After a short argument, it’s decided that I will go with Bubba and Ashton with Dottie—because no one is sure if Bubba would survive the trip otherwise.
Possibly murderous inclinations aside, I must admit that I find pissed-off Ashton very hot. He is magnificent in his fury—a fury he hid pretty well until the last second, by the way.
“Now, listen to me carefully,” Ashton says to Bubba, enunciating each word with cool precision. “You can ride with Kendall, but if she arrives at the shore with so much as a hair out of place, I will make you very sorry, and no excuses will save you.”
Looking like he’s on the verge of peeing his pants, Bubba nods profusely and mutters, “Yes, sir. Of course, sir.”
“Ashton had better get to our destination in one piece also,” I say to Dottie. “Or else.”
I have no idea what “or else” implies in my case, but my ride with Bubba happens in a sullen silence—at least until we get close enough to civilization for my cell service to show up again. As soon I get a couple of bars, a million messages flood my phone, the majority from my mom, Emma, and Mr. Boss, along with a few from my brother.
I call Mom first, and explaining takes a while, especially when she hears there was a guy involved. The only reason I mention Ashton is because I know that it will make her retroactively feel better about the whole situation. For whatever reason, Mom doesn’t think a woman can survive without a man, especially in the wilderness.
“What’s his name?” Mom asks when I’m done.
Leave it to Mom to zero in on the trickiest part of the tale.
“Ashton,” I say. “He was a groomsman at the wedding.”
“Oh,” she says, imbuing the word with all sorts of meaning that one doesn’t want to discuss with a parent. “Is he cute?”
“I have to call more people now.”
“Please thank Ashton for me,” Mom says. “And tell him your father and I want to buy him dinner.”
Yeah. No. “Gotta go.”
I hang up and call Emma to get her up to speed. With her, I skip the part about Ashton’s involvement. If she were to tell me that Marcus is searching for Ashton, I’d fess up, but men being men, Marcus probably hasn’t noticed his friend has been radio silent for the past two days.
“What about your flight?” she asks.
I sigh. “Missed it. Will have to figure something out.”
“That sucks. And I don’t think Marcus’s plane is—”
“Don’t even,” I say. “You’re on your honeymoon. Just relax.”
“Okay…”
“How is that going?” I ask, smiling into the phone.
“Amazing. Fiji has the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen, and the resort is out of this world.”
I grin mischievously. “Shouldn’t you be singing praises to Marcus’s cock?”
Bubba darts me a glance but says nothing—clearly still impressed by his “conversation” with Ashton.
“I was trying to keep my reply appropriate for the spa, which is where I am,” Emma says, and I can almost see her pale face turning pink.
“Say no more. I’ve got to go anyway. You’ll tell me all the juicy deets some other time.”
Before she can protest, I hang up and call Cameron.
“Hey, sis,” he says. “Mom told me you’ve been located. What happened?”
I give him a brief version of the story without mentioning Ashton.
“Very interesting,” Cameron says when I finish. “Anything else you want to share?”
Crap. “Such as?”
He chuckles. “All Mom talked about was your new boyfriend.”
“Is that right?” I squeeze the phone tighter.
“Oh, yeah,” Cameron says, and I can just see him smirking in that infuriating way of his. “About how he saved you and all that. Odd that you didn’t mention him at all.”