Day Six

“What the hell?” I shout in a panic. I spring up in bed, looking around in confusion as someone runs across the room.

The curtains are ripped apart, and the bright Caribbean sun shines into the room as Cynthia throws her head back. “Thank God!” she shouts, taking a breath of relief. “Not a cloud in the sky.”

“Great,” I say, dropping my head back onto the pillow. “Can you close the curtains now before I go blind?”

She just ignores me and runs over, squealing as she jumps onto my bed. “I’m getting married today!” she says, bouncing up and down.

“You can’t get married if you’re dead,” I warn her.

“Looks like my maid of honor needs some coffee in her system,” she says as she climbs off the bed and heads for the tiny coffee machine on the dresser.

“You just saved your own life,” I mutter, rubbing my eyes.

“I was so worried it would be raining,” Cynthia says as she pours a bottle of water into the machine.

“It still would have been perfect if it was raining,” I say, running my hand through my hair as I sit up.

“Sure, sure, but the sun is much better,” she says, smiling as she looks out the patio doors.

I glance behind me at the wall that separates my room from Tucker’s. I’d much rather wake up with his naked muscular body beside me, but keeping the bride away from the groom on her wedding day is one of the maid of honor’s duties, and I wasn’t about to let my girl down.

Besides, the way things are going, I’ll have the next few weeks, months, or maybe even years to wake up beside him.

Cynthia starts the coffee and then checks on her dress that’s hanging in the closet.

“I can’t wait to see you in that,” I say, smiling as I watch her. She’s got an excited nervousness radiating off her. She’s so cute.

“I can’t wait to see Chase’s face when he sees it,” she says, taking a deep breath. “I hope he likes it.”

“He’ll like it.”

“All right,” she says, checking herself in the mirror. “No zits, check. No rain, check. No stolen dress, check.”

“Coffee, check,” I say, getting out of bed when the coffee is finished.

“Everything is going to go smoothly,” she says, telling me or the reflection in the mirror, I’m not sure. “I guess Stephanie won’t try anything. She’s been strangely quiet all week, so maybe that means she’s changed her mind.”

“For sure,” I say, not believing that for a second. That bitch is definitely going to try something.

“Everything is going to go off without a hitch,” she says, smiling nervously.

I glance back at the wall, wondering what Tucker is doing behind there as Cynthia shows me how she’s going to wear her hair. She tries to hold all of the wild curls over her head, but they keep falling. Nothing a few bottles of hair spray and an army of clips can’t handle.

My mind is on Tucker as she rambles on about all of the decorations and flower arrangements. I can’t help wondering if he meant what he said last night. Is he really going to come and visit me in Buffalo, or will I be long forgotten once we get home and fall back into our usual routines?

I can go and visit him now that my debt is repaid. I can save up for a plane or bus ticket and go see him if he wants me to. I definitely won’t be shopping like I used to anymore. I finally realized that all the shopping was just me trying to fill a hole in my heart—a hole that Tucker fills perfectly. I was always in love with him, but I just didn’t want to admit it.

“Want a coffee?” I ask the bride while she poses to the reflection in the mirror while holding her hair up.

“Nah,” she says before puckering her lips. “I don’t want my teeth to be yellow for the pictures.”

I sigh and then head into the bathroom.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

“To dump my coffee,” I say with a sigh. “And to brush my teeth.”

There’s a knock on the door just as I’m about to pour my coffee into the sink and watch the delicious black liquid swirl down the drain.

“Is that going to be my brother?” Cynthia asks.

“I hope so,” I say, skipping as I hurry to the door.

“Make sure he’s dressed if you let him in here.”

I grin at her over my shoulder as I grab the door handle. “I’m not making any promises.”

I make a sexy pose as I open the door and then quickly straighten up when I see two security guards standing in the hall. I recognize one of them. He was the one watching Home Improvement when I arrived. I narrow my eyes on him. “Yes?”

“Good morning,” the other one says. He’s rubbing his palms nervously. “There have been some complaints directed toward your group.”

My heart starts hammering in my chest. Is this about the late-night skinny dipping?

“Unfortunately, you and your group will no longer be staying at the Alanda resort,” he says.

My jaw drops.

Cynthia jumps up and rushes over, looking as white as her wedding dress. “Is this some kind of cruel joke? I’m getting married today.”

He frowns. “Not on the Alanda resort, you’re not. You and your entire wedding party have been banned from the premises. You have thirty minutes to collect your things and bring them to the lobby or the police will be called to escort you out.”

I open my mouth to retort, but only a defeated breath comes out. It feels like I got punched in the stomach.

“I don’t understand,” Cynthia says, holding her temples like this is a bad dream. This is worse than a bad dream. It’s a real-life nightmare. “Why are you doing this to us?”

We know why.

“We’ve been great guests,” she says. Her voice is racing. Her hands are shaking. “Who the hell complained?”

Stephanie walks into view with a huge grin on her face.

I lunge at her, trying to rip her face off, but the two security guards catch me and throw me back.

“I told you dirty cunts that I would win,” she says, staring at us with her chin thrust in the air. She has a big triumphant smirk on her face. “No wedding beach for you, Sinthia. You can get married in the parking lot of the airport where you belong.”

“You can’t do this,” Cynthia says, fighting back tears. She’s shaking her head, probably trying to wake up from this nightmare.

Stephanie’s grin turns into a wide smile. Her evil eyes are sparkling. “Oh, yes, I can do this. I am doing this. You ruined my wedding, and now I’m going to ruin yours.”

“I wasn’t even at your wedding, you psychotic bitch!” Cynthia screams. Her hands are squeezed so hard into fists that her knuckles are white. So are mine.

Stephanie crosses her arms over her chest and grins. “I saw you and Chase standing on your balcony, laughing at me as I walked out of my wedding.”

“Escorted out,” I correct. “In handcuffs. After your groom ran away.”

Her heated eyes dart onto me, and a cold shiver snakes through my body. “I’m going to be Mrs. Lars in a few weeks. This is my resort now.”

“Mrs. Lars?” I ask. “Do you even know his last name?”

“It’s Dutch or something,” she says with a shrug. “Nobody can remember those stupid last names. They’re just a string of vowels with a bunch of K’s and J’s thrown in.”

“Wow,” I say, rolling my eyes at her. “It sounds like you’re really in love.”

“He’s really in love,” she says, glaring at me. “And that’s all that matters.”

“Does he know that you’re only marrying him so you can sabotage my wedding?” Cynthia asks, sounding a little panicked.

“He’ll find out soon enough,” she says with a shrug. “When you are back in Buffalo, New York, placing your wedding photo on your fireplace mantel. The photo where you’re standing beside a dumpster in the Aruba airport, crying over your destroyed wedding.”

I lunge at her again, but strong hands catch me and push me back.

She just laughs as I nearly fall to the floor.

“You have thirty minutes to vacate,” the security guard says.

Stephanie’s lips curl up into an evil smile. “Give them fifteen minutes. Their smelly cunts are stinking up the room.”

She’s about to walk away when she turns and sees the wedding dress hanging on the wall. “A hideous dress for a hideous bride.”

This time the guards are too slow, and I manage to punch her in the tit before they grab me and throw me back into the room.

“Fifteen minutes,” the security guard says before slamming the door in my face. “Or we’re calling the police.”