“I’ve talked to the captain,” Allyson said, eyes glittering with excitement.

“About?” I asked, lifting my sunglasses as I looked over to where Allyson was stretched out. Her sun-kissed skin was coated with a thin layer of oil.

I looked down at the expanse of my own paleness and wondered if the SPF 70 I’d slathered on less than an hour ago would keep me from becoming a very painful shade of red.

Allyson pushed up to her elbows, exposing more skin than I was comfortable seeing. Nudity didn’t bother me, but I wasn’t really all that interested in seeing my best friend’s boobs.

I lowered my sunglasses and lifted my face up to feel the heat of the sun when a cloud moved past as Allyson said, “About officiating the ceremony. He said he’d be honored, so that’s one thing taken care of.”

There was a rustle of movement and, before I knew it, Allyson had plopped down beside me, scooped my hands up in hers, and then emitted what could only be called a squeak of happiness as she said, “I’m so excited that you asked me and Summer to help you plan the wedding. It’s going to be perfect. I’ve even asked Daddy about Parrot Cay.”

I sat up as a wave of panic washed over me. “You did?”

She nodded enthusiastically, “Don’t tell Josh. I want it to be a surprise.”

I nodded along, eyes so wide they could almost fall out of my head. She sounded as if she had it in the bag. That was fast work, even for Allyson. “He’ll be…”

“I know! Izzy, this is going to be the best damn pirate wedding in the history of pirate weddings.” She let go of my hands and was on her feet in one fluid motion, strolling across the deck and pulling a bottle of champagne from the sweating bucket of ice. The cork popped, jolting me like a warning as if to say, “This is your reality, Ella. You’re actually going to marry Josh.”

“Here you go,” Allyson said, placing a tall bubble-filled glass in my hands. “Oh, good, Summer’s here.”

“Partying without me? Jesus, Ally, put your damn top on. Nobody wants to see the twins.”

I’d just taken a sip, well, more like a gulp, when she said that. Champagne burned like the fires of hell when it tried to come out of the nose.

I gasped, eyes watering, and grabbed the closest thing to me, which was my shirt, and blew my nose as Summer pounded on my back while Allyson put her bathing suit top on.

Once I caught my breath, they both pounced on me with a string of questions produced from a list noted on a pad of paper that rested on Summer’s knee.

With her pen poised, Summer ticked off ideas, noted answers and, in between, tapped the pen against her lips.

I’d answered the easiest of questions without any thinking, but those were few and far between. But what hit me hardest was when Allyson said, “You don’t want to invite anyone? We could have them here in no time on Daddy’s jet.”

I shook my head as she gave me a sympathetic look, probably wondering why I wouldn’t want anyone there for what should be one of the best days of my life.

“Not even a close friend or two?” Summer prodded.

I’d given up on friends when I’d signed on with Cole Enterprise. The closest I’d been to friendship had happened only recently when Cole Enterprise was invaded by Nadia and Grant’s son, and all his friends. Josh’s friends.

It hit me hard then. He would be married without the people he held dearest beside him.

It was as if I’d called him to me. Because when I looked up from my lap, he came out the sliding door of Alex and Allyson’s room. His face was lit up with a smile as he said something to Alex. He looked, for the most part, happy.

“Ah, the groom,” Allyson said, waving Alex and Josh over. “We were just discussing guests.”

Josh sat beside me, giving me a look that asked if I was all right. I answered with a weak smile.

“What about you, Josh? Is there anyone you’d like to invite? I’ve told Izzy that Daddy’s jet could have them here for the wedding,” Allyson asked, taking a sip of champagne, waiting for his reply.

He took my hand in his, stiffened briefly and then answered, “No, it’s a nice gesture, but most of my friends can’t leave their jobs at a moment’s notice. Even for a wedding.”

“What about your parents?” Summer asked.

His hand squeezed mine. “I’m sure they’ll be disappointed when they hear they missed the wedding, but I know they won’t come. My father is deathly afraid of flying, and gets seasick just thinking about boats, so…”

“We’ll take lots of pictures,” Summer said, reaching out to pat Josh’s hand.

“No, we’ll hire a photographer and a videographer to record the whole event,” Allyson said, nudging Summer, “Write that down.”

Summer’s pen slid along the paper. The moment over, she moved on to her next questions. “Okay, so we have a few things settled, but there’s so much more to decide.”

Alex chuckled, “I suppose that’s our cue, Josh. Maybe we’d do better at the bar.”

Josh went to stand, but I clutched his fingers tight enough I could feel the bones rubbing together. If I had to go along with wedding plans, so did he.

“I don’t know, Alex. If I leave the planning of a pirate wedding to three women, we’ll probably end up with lace shirts and gold pants,” Josh said, wiggling his fingers, silently asking me to release my grip.

I loosened my hold, and then let go of his hand. “Good idea, but it wouldn’t have been gold pants. It would have been turquoise.”

Josh shuddered beside me. “See? Can’t leave them alone to make all the decisions. Turquoise pants, can you imagine?”

Alex laughed, dropping into an open seat with a shake of his head. “You’re a brave man, Josh.”

“Speaking of colors,” Summer added. “You should pick those so we can get your dress started. What about attendants?”

“Attendants?” Josh asked, looking between us.

“She means, who do you want to stand up with you as witnesses?” Allyson clarified.

“Alex can stand up with you since he’s the only one you know here,” Summer said, pen scribbling across the paper.

“I’d be honored, but the choice should be his. It might be that they only want witnesses,” Alex said.

“True,” Allyson replied. “Izzy?”

I could see the pleading in her eyes. She wanted to be a part of the wedding… my wedding, badly. But if I chose her to stand up with me, Josh would be obligated to have someone stand up with him as well.

“I don’t mind if Alex stands up with me,” Josh said, looking to me. “What’s a wedding without a best man and a maid of honor?”

“Matron,” I corrected. “Allyson is married so she can’t be a maid.” 

“I thought she was going to strangle me,” I said, rubbing my neck.

Allyson had yanked me up from the chaise lounge and grabbed me around the neck as she bounced us in circles.

“You made her day, I think,” Josh replied as we leisurely strolled to the front of the boat, stopping once we were far enough away from the others mingling on deck.

He sighed deeply as he leaned his elbows on the railing and clasped his hands in front of him.

“You okay?” I asked, moving in beside him.

He gave me a slight smile, no more than a twist of his lips. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Everything,” he answered, eyes squinting against the bright sunlight.

I’d pulled my hair back into a bun to keep the wind from whipping it into my face, but it didn’t stop the air from tugging pieces of it free. Like everything else in life, it could be planned, but it didn’t mean the plans would stay put. Everything changed no matter what. Time and everything else surrounding it would pull pieces free, leaving it to be fought or accepted. Josh looked as if he were torn over what should have been and what would be, and I found myself asking, “Does it bother you?”

His eyes found mine. “Which part?”

I let it go. There was no point asking him anything else.

Every mission was different. Every situation revolving around survival and not blowing the cover. Every decision made, if not made correctly, could end up being the last. But standing on the deck of the ship, watching the sun sink lower in the sky, it was hard to maintain that way of thinking. Nothing could have prepared either of us for what came next. No amount of evasion, or backpedaling would change what was to come.

For better or worse, Josh and I would get married by the ship’s captain, who I was sure Allyson bribed to ensure the marriage license was legal. As legal as if we’d stood before a priest in the company of our family and friends to say the words that bound us together as husband and wife.

Would he resent me a year from now when the mission was over and the divorce paperwork was filed? Should I even care? It was just a mission. He knew that as well as I did. We hadn’t gone into it completely blind. And yet…

“It’ll be okay, Ella. I’ll be okay, and so will you,” he said, pulling me against his side, chin resting on top of my head.

I let him hold me and in turn put my arms around him, settling closer.

“Could be worse, I suppose,” he said.

I snorted.

He pulled back and looked down at me. “Well, it could be. I mean, I could’ve ended up marrying Oliver or something.”

A smile wobbled at the corner of my mouth and then spread. “Yeah, but then who would have been the pirate?”

“Me. I’m always the pirate,” he said, hoisting me over his shoulder as I pounded on his back.

“Put me down!” I screeched, laughing when he swatted me on the backside.

“Never,” he answered, carrying me past groups of people with heads turned, watching us. Some laughed, some shook their heads. I waved my fingers at them, making sure they knew I didn’t care if they approved of our little display.