Chapter 23
It’s the last night on the island. Our time here has been incredible. Our concert was the best one of the tour. I’ve spent three mornings surfing and just as many nights making love to Katrina. I don’t know what will happen when we go home tomorrow but I’d like to kidnap her and take her home with me. I’ve fallen hard for her. It happened so fast but I didn’t even try to fight it. It has been everything the guys said it would be. It’s hard to remember what life was like before her. I’m not even sure I had one.
The breeze picks up and I pull my hood over my head. I love the nights here. The sky is loaded with stars, each one shining brighter than the next. I never see this many at home. The coqui frogs sing their evening song and the waves echo in the background. The breeze is magical despite being cool as the sun dips below the horizon.
I stretch out on the hammock. It was just a few nights ago that I made love to Katrina for the first time in this very spot. It was physically challenging but worth every second. Her body is incredible and I could get lost in it forever.
“Chance?” Her voice is like music to my ears.
“Hey, beautiful.” I open my arms for her to climb in with me.
“I’ve been looking for you.” She snuggles into my side after almost tipping me out of the hammock.
“Missed me bad, huh?” I laugh as she thumps me on the chest.
“I actually did. Is that ok?” She’s quiet as she waits for my answer. Knowing she missed me means everything. It’s only been a couple of hours since I left a pebble on her pillow and snuck out to meet the guys for dinner.
“Kat, that’s more than ok. I miss you when I’m not with you.” I sigh. This woman has changed everything. I don’t know what to do next.
I roll onto my side and she does the same. Her brown eyes are wide and happy. I tuck her hair behind her ear and she leans into my hand. She smiles at me and I’m a goner.
“I’m falling in love with you.” The words are out of my mouth before I realize it. Panic takes my stomach hostage. My palms begin to sweat.
“I’ve already fallen,” she kisses my neck, my jaw and then my mouth.
I will never forget this moment. Lying in our hammock in our little private corner of the beach, the woman I would take a bullet for has confirmed everything I’m feeling. The hammock has brought us luck.
“I need a machete.”
“What?” Her laugh makes me smile. “Why?”
“I need to cut this hammock off these trees. It needs to come home with us. We’ve had some pretty important moments lying in this thing.”
“Or attempting not to fall out of it.”
We both laugh. She’s my world. I’ll spend forever proving it.
“It’s about damn time,” Max yells from the back of the plane as I step aboard. “I tried to get Seymour to leave without you.”
“Sorry,” I throw my bag under the seat. “It’s been a rough morning.”
I chuckle to myself. The alarm didn’t go off and when we saw what time it was, Katrina was out of bed like a bomb had gone off. She yelled at me to get moving and ran around the room shoving everything back into her suitcase. I couldn’t stop watching her. Her hair was a mess and her face was completely makeup free and I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my entire life. When she saw I was still lying in bed, she got so frustrated. She threatened to leave without me and that’s exactly what she did.
“Jesus, woman. What do you have in here? Rocks?” Harley hands Katrina’s suitcase to the baggage handler.
Her face reddens and I belly laugh. “As a matter of fact, yes.” I can’t help myself. I have to answer.
Her eyes widen and she glares at me. She’s perfect. “When we get off this plane, I’m kicking your ass. For that and for this morning.”
“Don’t hurt him.” Harley smiles as he takes the seat next to her and looks at me. “I need him to be my best man next weekend.”
The plane gets quiet and everyone looks at Harley. He shrugs his shoulders as if he hasn’t said anything and opens a book.
“You want to repeat that, brother?” I know I heard him, I just want to hear it again.
He doesn’t even look up from what he’s reading. “No big deal. Lane and I are just getting married next Saturday and I thought you might want to be my best man.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he looks up at me. “You saved my life that day in the cemetery. I wouldn’t have this day if it weren’t for you. I can’t think of a better person to stand up there with me. What do you say?”
“Fuck, yes.” I fist bump him since our seatbelts are preventing us from getting up and moving around.
“No bachelor party. Our life is a bachelor party.” Harley laughs but his eyes give me a warning. “We want something small, on the beach at Max’s house, just you guys and a couple other friends. No press, unless you want another exclusive, Katrina.”
Her jaw drops. “Hell yes I want the exclusive. More than that, though, I’d like to be there as your friend. I don’t need to take pictures or write anything. This is your day.”
“Don’t go soft on us now,” Harley laughs. “The pictures are going to show up in the tabloids. We’d rather have them come from someone who cares for us.”
Congratulations and cheering ring out around us. Harley deserves this so much more than anyone I know. His wedding to Laney will be a media circus if this gets out. After all the heartbreak of Della’s death, the press would sell their soul to get a glimpse of this wedding. I’m proud of Kat for wanting to be there as a friend instead. Harley’s right, though, this will get into the press. It would be nice to control how that happens.
“Congratulations,” Joshua shakes his hand. “You’re a lucky man. She’s incredible.”
“You sweet on my woman, Seymour?”
“No,” Joshua replies. “She just reminds me of someone I used to know.”