“You fucking dipshits. What the hell were you thinking?” I narrowed my eyes and glared down the table at my brother and his dumbass friends.

Toby held his hands up. “I didn’t mean for her to eat them, okay?”

All I could manage in response was a derisive grunt. I turned back to Georgie and put a hand on her back. “How are you doing? Should we go back to the hotel and see if you can sleep this off?”

She looked up at my face, but I had a feeling she barely noticed it was me. “I’m fine,” she murmured. “I don’t want to miss the party.”

“She won’t be able to sleep for a while anyway,” Toby piped up.

I shot another glance at him. “Oh? Why’s that?”

“They aren’t the mellow kind of edibles.”

“Meaning?”

“The particular strain used to make those cookies is… uh… well, let’s just say it’s for parties. It’s designed to get you all wild and fucked up. I took one myself, if I’m being honest.”

“Yeah, man, me too!” chimed in Sully, one of my brother’s other idiotic friends from college.

Oh, for the love of Christ.

“Fantastic.” I rolled my eyes and rubbed my hand in a slow circle on Georgie’s back. “What if I take her to a hospital?”

“Naw, man. Nothing they can really do once it’s kicked in. You can’t really overdose on the things anyway. You just act goofy as fuck, then eventually fall asleep,” Toby said.

Libby looked over at me, her forehead knitted with concern. “What should we do?”

“We’ll have to keep an eye on her. Don’t worry, I’ll do most of the heavy lifting,” I said. “You enjoy your night.”

Her face fell with relief. Georgie coughed. “I’m fine, guys,” she said. “Seriously, I only feel a little bit weird. I can handle it.”

“Watch her try and say that again in two hours,” someone snickered from down the table. I glared in their direction. It was Libby’s maid of honor, that bitchy little harpy. She’d been making eyes at me all night, even though she knew I was taken.

To Georgie’s credit, she managed to hold it together decently for the next forty-five minutes. Upon her mother’s return from the bathroom, she didn’t even notice anything was up, and we tried our best to keep it that way throughout the three course meal.

Everything seemed to be going quite well until a waiter leaned down to collect Georgie’s plate to make room for dessert. Georgie went in for a hug, and the poor confused waiter jumped back, his eyes wide. “Ma’am…”

“Sorry. You leaned down, so I thought that’s what we were doing,” Georgie mumbled, her cheeks flushing pink.

The waiter shuffled off like a startled penguin, and peals of laughter echoed from down the table. I picked up Georgie’s water glass and held it out to her. “Keep drinking, doll.”

“I will. Thank god Mom is in the bathroom, or she would’ve seen that and realized how freaking stoned I am,” she replied. “God, it’s hitting me like a freight train.”

I groaned. “Your mother is two feet away from you on the other side of the table. She got back from the bathroom almost an hour ago.”

Georgie squinted across the table with bleary eyes. “Oh…. Hi, Mom!”

Margaret looked horrified. The jig was up. I quickly filled her in on the cookie incident. She pursed her lips as I spoke, then folded her arms. “I understand people getting drunk at these bachelorette parties. I planned on getting a bit merry myself. But drugs, darling? Really?”

Georgie held her hands up. “It was an accident, I swear. How did no one else see the cookies?”

“I saw them, but some of us have a little something called restraint,” Margaret said sharply. “You really couldn’t wait for dinner?”

Georgie leaned forward, balancing unsteadily on one elbow. The look in her eyes was demonic. “Oh, Mommy dearest. You have no idea how much restraint I have.”

Things were going downhill fast.

“Georgie,” I said loudly, trying to distract her. “What was that joke you said you were going to tell me earlier?”

She stared at me blankly. At no point this evening had she mentioned anything about a joke, but I figured my bluff could work. The edibles had kicked in so hard that she might just believe me.

I was right.

“Oh, yeah,” she finally said. “Here it is. Knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“A croissant.”

“A croissant who?”

She didn’t respond. She simply stared at me, then burst into hoots and cackles of laughter before burying her head in her arms on the table, body shaking with now-silent giggles.

Margaret groaned. “Are you sure she’s going to be okay?” she asked, peering at me.

I nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m on babysitting duty while she’s in this stage of the high. As soon as she starts to fade, I’ll get her on a ferry back to Saint Clare.”

She gave me a half smile. “I’m glad you’re here to care for her.” She briskly stood up, smoothing down her blouse. “I’m going to give that nasty little Toberman a piece of my mind while Bobby settles up the bill. How dare he drug my daughter?”

I chuckled. Now that this was happening, I could see that the older woman wasn’t all that bad. Clearly, as much as she liked to give Georgie shit for nearly everything, she also cared for her deeply. “Good for you, Margaret. You tell him.”

Georgie made it through the hysterical laughing stage of her non-mellow high, and an hour later, she arrived at a new singing and dancing stage. Luckily that coincided with the arrival of a hired party boat which the happy couple had procured to carry us across to the next island for the casino visit. The ferry was lit with colorful lights and music blasted from one end of the main deck, providing Georgie with a perfect dance floor.

“I think she’s enjoying the party more than I am,” Libby said with a giggle as we stood near the railing. Georgie was currently copying Toby’s earlier fist-pumping actions as she danced with Sully, a bridesmaid, and one of her cousins.

“She sure is,” I replied, watching with fascination as she belted out ‘Come On Eileen’ while she danced. Her singing voice wasn’t the greatest, but her enthusiasm made up for it. No inhibitions whatsoever.

I was glad to watch her let her hair down and have this much fun, even if it was the result of an overabundance of edibles. She seemed so happy. Free. So different to her usual buttoned-up persona. But I liked her like that, too. Both personas were simply different sides of the same fascinating woman.

No matter how she acted, I liked every goddamned inch of her.

Libby’s gaggle of friends called her over to them, and I was left alone, watching Georgie sing and dance. She spotted me and waved, attempting an awkward moonwalk over to me which resulted in her nearly slipping off the boat entirely. I caught her before she could go over the railing.

“This is the second time you’ve caught me,” she slurred, looking up at me with a hazy gaze.

I winked. “I’ll always catch you. I told you—I’ve got your back.”

A burst of energy seemed to jolt through her as an Elton John song came on, and she waved her hands and started to sing again. “Hold me close, young Tony Danza!”

“Those aren’t the right words, and the song isn’t even at that part yet,” I said with a chuckle, wrapping my arms around her from behind to keep her from flailing right over the edge. She was perilously close again.

“You just don’t understand the genius of Elvis John,” she said, looking over her shoulder at me. Her eyes were narrowed with concentration, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Elvis John, huh? Sounds accurate.”

She lost track of the subject as Saint Australind came into view. “Look! There’s the casino!” she screeched. If I wasn’t holding onto her, she would’ve likely leapt right into the ocean and swam the rest of the way. “We should pretend to be James Bond. He always hangs around casinos in all those movies, right?”

“Er…I think so? But he also spies and kills people for a living.”

She shrugged and licked her lips. “I bet I could be more dangerous than him.”

I smiled. She wasn’t wrong. Women like Georgie were the most dangerous creatures in the animal kingdom. They ensnared you and took your heart and soul forever, with zero awareness of what they were doing. Especially when they wore slinky red dresses that skimmed every curve to perfection.

The party boat docked a moment later, and we all filed onto the jetty and headed toward the casino, which was a short three minute walk from the marina. Like so many other places on the Bunbury Islands, it was a luxurious Italianate building with extravagant sculptures outside and a lavishly-decorated interior. The carpet on the main gambling floor was garnet-red with gold patterns threaded through it. Georgie was immediately fascinated by the design.

“Look,” she mumbled. “I can see a whale in the carpet.”

“Where?”

“There. It’s beautiful.” She waved a finger in the air, tracing a pattern only she could see. “I guess you could say this carpet was… money whale spent?”

I groaned at the terrible pun. “At least that was better than your croissant joke,” I said, patting her on the back.

I watched as most of our party picked up casino chips and headed off to various tables and slot machines, giddy with excitement. Libby was hanging back with a couple of her bridesmaids, and I flagged her down. “Could you keep an eye on Georgie for five minutes? I need to use the bathroom, and something tells me they won’t let me take her in there with me.”

Libby nodded and linked her left arm with Georgie’s right. “Of course! Come on, Georgie, let’s go check out the Blackjack table.”

I’d never located a bathroom and taken a piss so fast in my entire life. The whole time I was gone, I worried about Georgie, wondering if she was okay without me. The edibles might’ve made her cheery earlier, but from what I’d heard, a paranoid stage could kick in eventually, and I didn’t want her to be alone and frightened anywhere. Libby had promised to watch her, but now that I thought about it, she might not be the best guardian. She’d probably had at least five glasses of champagne tonight. It was her party, after all.

Shit.

I washed my hands and dashed back out to the main floor, hoping nothing had happened. No such luck. Libby was standing near a cards table, wringing her hands and frantically looking around. “Nate!” she called out as I approached. “I’m so sorry. I lost her!”

“How?”

“I turned around for literally one second to ask the dealer something. When I turned back around, Georgie was gone. I don’t know how she did it!”

I sighed and patted Libby’s shoulder. “I’ll find her. She can’t have gone too far,” I said. Then I forced a smile, pretending I was far less worried than I was. “Stop stressing. This is your night of fun, okay?”

Libby didn’t buy my act. “We should probably find her,” she said, eyes flickering with determination. “I’ll help you look.”

We wandered around the expansive gambling floor for the next fifteen minutes, searching for Georgie everywhere. She was nowhere to be seen. We even checked inside a giant terracotta plant pot in a last-ditch effort to find her, but she wasn’t there either.

Finally, I spotted two security guards running across the room. They were obviously chasing someone or something. I glanced at Libby. “Should we follow them?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah,” she said with a sigh.

We headed across the room, and I heard a familiar whisper a moment later. “Psst. Nate. Libby.”

I turned to my left, and a groan immediately escaped my mouth. On this side of the room, there was a tropical display of fake palm trees surrounding a small bubbling pool, complete with a fake waterfall descending from the wall. Georgie was hiding behind one of the trees. She was slightly wet, and there was a dark green leaf stuck haphazardly in her hair.

“What are you doing in there?” I asked. I tried to keep my eyes on her face, but it was damn hard. Her red dress was damp in all the right places, clinging to her chest, and both nipples were rock hard and visible. Jesus. This woman.

She put a finger to her lips. “Quiet. I’m trying to camouflage myself.”

Libby put her hands on her hips. “Why?”

“Because the Secret Service are after me. They betrayed me and their country.”

I shook my head. Holy fuck, she was so high. “What?”

The two security guards that Libby and I spotted a moment ago arrived before Georgie could answer me.

“Are you with her?” one of them demanded in a thick accent, his bushy brows drawn into a frown as he motioned to Georgie.

“Yes. What did she do?”

“She was sneaking around one of the poker tables, telling players what other people’s cards were. When we tried to stop her, she claimed to be the President of the United States and commanded us to protect her instead. Then she called us traitors and ran.”

“They are traitors,” Georgie hissed from behind the tree. “They’re working for the Russians. Ask James Bond!”

I tried my best to keep a straight face. Libby didn’t seem to be capable of that, and she immediately burst into a fit of giggles.

“I’m very sorry, sir. That’s my girlfriend, and she’s had a bit too much to drink,” I said. “I’ll keep an eye on her from now on.”

The other guard glared at Libby, who was trying and failing to stifle her laughter with one hand. Then he looked back at me. “Just get her out of here, all right?”

I held up my palms. The last thing we needed to do was antagonize the security workers and get Georgie thrown in some sort of island jail, especially when her system was riddled with THC. “I’ll do that.”

They sauntered away, throwing glares over their shoulders as Libby and I pulled Georgie out from behind the tree. “It’s time for us to go, doll,” I said softly. “I know you were looking forward to the nightclubs later, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“He’s right,” Libby said with a nod. “Those cookies are really messing you up.”

Georgie’s face fell. “But I feel fine! Don’t make me leave!”

“You aren’t fine. You tried to impersonate the President,” I said, rubbing my jawline. Libby snickered, but quickly covered it with a faux cough.

“Okay,” Georgie grumbled. “I’ll go. Sorry, Lib. I really didn’t want to miss your party.”

“You didn’t miss it! You came to the pre-drinks, the dinner, and here,” Libby said, waving her hand around us. “It’s just one little thing you’ll be missing, and you already danced and sang on the ferry anyway. So who needs a nightclub? You’ve already done it all.”

Georgie perked up and flashed her a smile. “You’re right,” she said. “I’ve done it all.”

Libby patted her arm. “We’ll have lunch tomorrow when you’ve slept this off, okay?”

Georgie nodded. “Sure. Okay, boyfriend, let’s go.” She grabbed my arm, and I grinned. Cheerful Georgie was back.

Libby mouthed a ‘thank you’ toward me, then rejoined her friends on the gambling floor.

“All right, you little stoner, let’s go and wait for the next ferry,” I said, jostling Georgie as we headed to an exit.

She giggled. “Don’t ever tell anyone back home about this, okay? They would die.”

I tilted my head. “So does that mean we’ll be seeing each other once we get back to the city?”

She didn’t answer that and dashed ahead instead. “There’s the ferry! Perfect timing.”

The ride back to Saint Clare was gorgeous. It was after ten, but the stars and brilliant island lights lit up the inky waters surrounding us, making them shimmer and glow as if they were filled with a million flashing jewels. Georgie marveled at the stunning view, then bit her lower lip and turned to face me.

“I have something to do tonight,” she said. Her words sounded determined, but her voice was becoming increasingly dazed by the second. “Will you help me?”

Smiling, I nodded. “Sure. What is it?”

She was silent for a long time. For a minute, I thought she might’ve fallen asleep standing up, but then she spoke up again. “I thought of something a few weeks ago. When you’ve reached the bottom, the only way to rise up again is to release the weight of whatever you’re carrying. Then you’re free to float again.” She raised her hands as she spoke.

I raised my brows. “Wow. You’re very profound when you’re wasted.”

“Thank you.” She went quiet again. Her eyes were beginning to look glassy. I waved a hand in her face to rouse her, and she perked up. “I have some things in my suitcase back at the resort. We need to get them. You said you’d help me, right?”

“I did.”

She nodded with satisfaction. “Good.” She stared out across the sparkling sea again. “It looks like someone filled the ocean with diamonds,” she murmured.

“That’s exactly what I thought.”

She sighed. “I had a diamond once. That was nice. But then it wasn’t.”

I took a step closer. A hint of a smile played on my lips. After all this time, it seemed Georgie was finally opening up to me. “Wanna talk about it?”

She jerked away. “Not now.”

Okay, I was wrong. She didn’t want to talk. I backed off. “That’s fine. Maybe another time.”

Georgie suddenly perked up again, as if she were getting a second wind. “Maybe it could be nice again!” she said. “Maybe I don’t need to burn it all!”

“What could be nice again?” I shook my head in confusion. “Burn what?”

“We can do it. Me. You. All these pretty diamonds. Maybe there’s a reason we’re here right now. We can change it all and make it good again!”

“Okay….” I had no idea what she was going on about. Her stare was even glassier now, and half her words were garbled. She was obviously completely out of it, trapped in some drug-fueled fever dream. Damn those fucking cookies.

Georgie cocked her head to the side. “Look,” she said, gesturing behind me. “I have the best idea! It’s perfect. The Russians won’t see it coming at all!”

I turned to look at whatever she was staring at. We were coming up to Saint Clare now. On the shoreline closest to us were the glowing pink and yellow lights adorning Clare Chapel, one of the most infamous insta-wedding venues on the islands. It was open twenty-four hours a day, and more than a few people had wound up in regretful drunken weddings at the place while on vacation here. Next to it stood several late-night tiki bars, serving elaborate overpriced drinks which probably led to at least half the impromptu weddings at the chapel.

“What’s your idea?” I turned back to Georgie. “You want to get a cocktail?”

I hoped not. It was a terrible idea for her to be drinking right now.

Georgie shook her head. Then her mouth dropped open in another dazzling smile, and she stepped closer to me, arching one eyebrow. Her eyes were almost black from her dilated pupils.

“Nate,” she said, slowly drawing out the syllable. “Let’s get married.”