Chapter 35
“ Y ou still haven’t found anything?” Briggs asked the next night.
Gray lifted his hands before folding his arms across his chest. “To be honest, I didn’t spend that much time on it,” he admitted. “But everything I looked into showed these are our rooms—that they’ve been our rooms.”
“They weren’t,” Briggs maintained, a sliver of worry slipping into his aggravated tone.
I knew his worry was for the girls hidden away in the suite we were standing in, just as I knew if he’d been that worried, he would’ve demanded we be moved to different rooms when we’d arrived this afternoon.
But he hadn’t, and we were still here—the six of us gathered close in the suite’s entryway and having the same discussion we’d had this afternoon. How’d we get these rooms?
I wasn’t worried so much about the how as I was about the sleeping arrangements.
Glancing over my shoulder, I felt my chest tighten uncomfortably as I looked in the direction of the living room, even though it couldn’t be seen from where we stood. Didn’t change the fact that I knew it was there, along with the couch that had already been converted into a fold-out bed for me.
Which meant I was expected to sleep in a suite with other people.
I forced myself to release a strained breath and focused on my team again, but my thoughts weren’t on their back-and-forth theories.
I hadn’t once considered how much of a nightmare this trip would be until we arrived.
Not that Aruba was a nightmare—far from it. And not that being on another trip with Chloe was anything close to one. Honestly, watching her light up as she took in new sights and made every single person fall for the girl who rivaled the sun was quickly becoming one of my favorite things. Then again, her hourglass figure in a bikini might be the thing to finally kill me—not that she’d had any idea what she was doing to me or every other man around her as she’d lounged on a poolside chair, lost in one of her books. But this ...
There were nine of us sharing two rooms. Granted, they were both two-bedroom, presidential suites that Briggs swore he hadn’t booked. Yet, that’s where the lady at the front desk had directed us to go when we’d arrived hours ago, and according to her computer and Briggs’ memory, I would’ve been in an enclosed space with people either way.
I’d thought about asking for a different room, far from people. But as if sensing my worries, Rush had slipped up beside me and said, “It’ll probably be best if you’re near us. You know...in case anything happens.”
Right, like me kicking another locked door off its hinges, damaging the frame in the process. Only this time, it wouldn’t be at Briggs’ house, where I could easily apologize and pay for the repairs. It would be at a resort.
A really nice resort, where I’d be trapped in a suite with Chloe, Lainey, Briggs, and Kaia.
“Everyone just keep their guard up,” Briggs said on a sigh, drawing my attention back to him, the words a clear dismissal.
“I’ll see what I can find when I get back to the other suite,” Gray assured him, only for caution to creep into his words when he continued. “Should I be looking for Wrecker involvement on this?”
I glanced at Evans, noting the way his entire body seemed to lock up at the question. Eyes dark with anger and pain, mouth set in a grim line. But he didn’t say anything. He hadn’t said anything all day.
“Are you saying our ‘friends’ didn’t scare the Wreckers away?” Monroe shot back.
Gray just unfolded an arm, lifting a hand as if to say he’d only been asking a question.
“I dunno anymore,” Briggs finally responded. “I just don’t like that I can’t figure this out.”
“Then demand new rooms,” Rush said, falling back to his argument from this afternoon. “You’re gonna be too on edge to relax.”
Briggs contemplated for a second longer than he had the first time Rush mentioned it, but still said, “Let’s just get through tonight. If it still feels wrong tomorrow, or if Gray finds something, we’ll decide then.” He jerked his head toward the suite’s door. “I need to get Kaia to sleep.”
Evans was the first one to move, agitation rolling from him in waves as he stalked silently from the suite.
We all watched him go before Gray cleared his throat and repeated, “I’ll see what I can find,” as he followed with Monroe on his heels.
Rush wavered a second longer before releasing a sigh. “I’ll watch him,” he muttered to Briggs, indicating Evans, before turning to leave as well.
Once the door shut behind Rush, Briggs shifted my way. “Is he gonna be okay?”
“Evans?” I asked, even though there was really no question about who he was talking about.
At Briggs’ confirming grunt, I gave myself a moment to figure out how best to respond. Not that I didn’t already know the answer, it was just getting Briggs to understand.
I knew next to nothing of Briggs’ life growing up, but it was easy enough to assume he wasn’t close with his parents—if they were even still alive. In the dozen or so years I’d known him, he’d never once mentioned them, and had always seemed annoyed whenever any of us had mentioned ours . So, I wasn’t sure he could empathize with what Evans was going through.
Then again, none of us could.
“He’s angry and hurting,” I finally said. “Probably won’t ever be the excited kid you first hired again, but he’ll be fine.”
Briggs nodded after a moment, then turned for the bedroom the girls were staying in. “Gonna get Kaia ready for bed.”
I didn’t bother responding, just headed for the suite’s living room.
My steps slowed and fingers gripped at the back of my neck as I neared the fold-out couch, my heart racing as fear threatened to choke me.
“It’s gonna be okay,” a soft voice assured me as a hand slipped into mine nearly a minute later.
The feel of her hand in mine shouldn’t have felt as familiar as it did, but I swore I would’ve known the slight weight of her hand against mine anywhere after these last days.
“You don’t know that,” I whispered, never once taking my stare off the unoffending bed.
“I do because I’ve already experienced it,” Chloe countered as she shifted, pressing herself against my side and drawing my attention to her.
Red hair piled into a messy knot. Hazel eyes bright and the dusting of freckles on her cheeks slightly darker after being out in the sun all day. Oversized shirt boasting her love of Narnia and covering what I hoped were shorts because there was only so much control I had after our day. Feet bare and making the corner of my mouth twitch with amusement because there was just something about this girl when she slipped her heels off—other than how incredibly short she was.
Releasing the grip on my neck, I twisted toward her, reaching out and brushing my fingers across her sun-kissed cheeks. “There are a lot of people in here,” I said, confessing the thoughts that had been plaguing me throughout the day. “There’s a baby in here.”
A hum of understanding left her as she leaned into my touch. “And I still think you’ll be okay.” When I started arguing, she asked, “Would it help if I slept out here with you?”
A worried sound burst from me. “No.”
Instead of looking hurt by my reaction, understanding flared in her eyes. “ Just sleep. Not...not that ,” she murmured, her cheeks reddening even more.
“No,” I maintained. “It’s too dangerous.”
She lifted an eyebrow and reminded me, “I’ve stopped you once.”
“Don’t get confident in that,” I softly begged.
She made a face as if to say she’d known I was going to say something like that. “You said it doesn’t happen every night. Right?”
Right.
But other than when I’d taken trips to see my family, I hadn’t put myself in a position to be near anyone when I slept since this all began. And more than that, sleeping near Chloe—near a baby—scared me more than sleeping in the same house as my family ever had.
Maybe it was the familiarity of it. Maybe it said something about me as a person. I wasn’t sure.
Regardless, I was terrified of what I might do. And as much as I hated admitting it, I knew the fear that had been festering in me all day was only going to increase the possibility of an episode happening.
Still, I found myself saying, “Right.”
“Then maybe nothing will happen,” she said hopefully, her fingers squeezing mine reassuringly.
Once again, she had so much more confidence in me than she had in herself or us. And even though I’d known her doubts would be a slow battle that I’d sworn I wouldn’t push her on, I found myself edging right back into the fight.
“I knew as soon as you started telling me about your sister that you were sharing something not many other people got to know,” I began, voice soft. “I knew it meant something that you chose to tell me, even more because it was in the middle of you trying to figure out if you could trust me.”
Chloe’s eyebrows drew close as a look passed across her face. Something hovering on the edge of understanding and encouragement, and filled with an adoration I felt in my soul.
“And how many people, other than Lainey and me, know about your parents?” I asked gently, seeming to shock her, given her stunned response.
“What? No.” Her delicate throat shifted as she glanced around us, eyeing the empty living area. When she continued, her voice dropped to a whisper as her fingers curled tighter around mine, as if trying to convey the meaning of her words by touch alone. “No one knows about my parents. I’ve only ever told you.”
I wanted to tell her she was proving everything I’d been saying, but I was stuck on her revelation.
My head slanted as I thought back through our conversations. “You said Lainey understood,” I began uncertainly. “Before you told me, you said you’d always liked her because you felt like she understood.”
“Oh...no. That was...I meant it differently,” Chloe said slowly, her gaze shifting to the side like she was trying to figure out how to explain. “People in Huntley know about my sister, but when she was sick, it felt like that’s all anyone talked to us about. And then when she died, it was like everyone forgot about her.”
Her head slowly bobbed as her stare met mine again. “I don’t know why I remember this, but during the years when my sister was sick, Lainey’s family would bring us blueberries and pumpkins from their farm so we wouldn’t have to go out and pick them. And maybe it was because Lainey was young too—my sister’s age, actually—but she was the only one who didn’t ask a million questions about her Leukemia. She didn’t ask any at all. She just played with us. Then after my sister died, Lainey was the only one to ask throughout the years how I was really doing and if I missed her.”
A sound of acknowledgement built in my chest. “Do you?”
One of Chloe’s shoulders lifted, but only slightly. “Would you think I was a terrible person if I said no ?”
“I’d think you were being real,” I said, then drew her in closer when I added, “And I don’t think you’re a terrible person for it.”
“I was young, and it’s been almost twenty years,” she said as if she still felt the need to explain. “To be completely honest, it’s like there’s such a fog over those years, that I remember the feeling of needing to make everyone smile more than I remember her. I don’t even remember her laugh.”
“I get it,” I assured her, then tilted her head back farther to pass my mouth across hers. “But understand what you’re telling me: This is something you haven’t shared with anyone. And my stuff? Chloe, you knew it meant something that I told you, and it does. Other than my team, only my parents know.”
Emotion stole across her face, but she just gave a brief nod as she tried forcing back everything she was feeling. That longing and genuine joy quickly followed by what-ifs .
Searching the conflict warring in her eyes, I whispered, “You don’t know what it does to me, knowing you have this unwavering, unfounded confidence in something that seems so dark and out of my control. And even though I know your confidence in yourself and in me is gonna be a hard-won battle, I want you to understand why you don’t need to doubt this .”
I lifted my other hand so I was cradling her face and relished in the soft sound of contentment that left her in response. “The next time you start doubting what you mean to me, remember that I fell despite wanting to hate you and every one of my suspicions. Remember that I tried getting you away from me and broke instead, telling you about my demons so I could keep you close.”
Dipping my head, I lowered my voice. “I was never in danger of falling for anyone until you came into my life with your bubbly mask and bright smile and brought me to my knees.” I scrunched up one side of my face. “Literally.”
A hushed laugh tumbled from her lips as she dropped her forehead to my chest.
When she looked up at me with those dancing eyes again, I said, “I wanna argue with you because I know it’s honest. I wanna feel that indescribable rush when you can’t help but smile at me because I know it isn’t something you’re forcing. When you’re captivating everyone just by being near them, I wanna know that I’m the only one who gets the real you. And I have every intention of taking you back to Colorado as soon as you’ll let me—this time abiding by my parents’ rules. Do you understand now?” I asked softly but no less firmly. “There’s nothing to doubt.”
Chloe pressed up on her toes, crushing her mouth to mine in response.
Lifting her into my arms, I deepened the kiss. Letting myself get wrapped up in her and this foreign feeling like I’d found everything I hadn’t been looking for and everything coconut and vanilla.
“About that . . .”
Chloe jolted in my arms at the sound of Briggs’ irritated voice, but didn’t turn to look at him. From the way her face scrunched up in worry as she seemed to wait for him to continue, I was sure she was too afraid to.
With a sigh that said everything for me, I set Chloe’s feet on the floor and sent an annoyed look Briggs’ way.
He just ticked up a brow as Kaia burrowed deeper against his chest, and Lainey failed at fighting a smile. “If I’m not sleeping with my fiancée, you’re not sleeping with your girlfriend.”
My gaze darted to Chloe at the title, but she was staring at my chest, wide-eyed and red-cheeked.
“Just kissing her,” I said, making Chloe’s blush deepen.
A disbelieving sound left him, but Lainey nudged his arm with her shoulder, her head shaking as her smile widened. “They’re fine,” she told him, then to us, she added, “You’re fine.”
Just as Briggs started arguing, mechanical beeps sounded from the exterior door, just off the living room we were all standing in.
In seconds, Briggs had passed Kaia into Lainey’s arms and pushed them in the same direction I’d already sent Chloe—the second bedroom. But before they made it there, the door opened to the last person I expected to see in Aruba.
“What—”
“What are you doing here?” Briggs demanded, cutting me off.
“Ah,” Ada said as she came ambling into the room, a rolling suitcase trailing behind her. “Glad to see y’all finally made it.”
“Aunt Ada?” Lainey asked as she hurried back into the room with Chloe at her side. A stunned sound burst from her. “What are you doing?”
She waved a hand at us, her jewelry clanging together at the movement. “What a way to greet an old woman—asking her what she’s doing instead of helping her with her things.”
Briggs stepped forward to take the bag from her, giving the woman a glare I was sure she only allowed because he adored her. “Now, tell me what you’re doing here.”
Lifting her hands, she said, “Someone said Aruba , so I came running.” As if that was that. “Wasn’t all too sure what kept y’all, but don’t you worry, I found things to occupy my time.” She pointed over her shoulder and gave a dramatic eye roll. “One of the staff woke me from my afternoon nap, handed me this”—she held a handwritten note on thick paper out to Briggs—“and told me I’d be moving here for the rest of the stay. But I took a detour to the bar for a few hours first.”
“Aunt Ada,” Lainey said on a choked and slightly scandalized laugh as Briggs gave me a meaningful look while passing off the note.
Consider the upgrades an apology from your new friends.
From, your old friends at ARCK
At least we knew how we’d ended up in the suites.
“I’ll tell the others,” I muttered as I handed the note back to Briggs, already slipping my phone out of my pocket.
“Oh, hush,” Ada was saying to Lainey. “I didn’t even finish one drink. I just got caught up chatting with everyone there. Next thing I knew, I was having dinner with some nice people.”
“You what ?” Briggs whispered in exasperation, his head snapping in her direction.
Speaking of”—she pointed at Chloe and me—“we seem to be missing quite a few of us.”
“They’re in another suite,” Briggs said offhandedly as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand before telling her, “You can’t just have dinner in another country with people you don’t know.”
Ada lifted a brow, daring him to continue disciplining her.
I swallowed a huff and finished sending the text to the rest of our team before pocketing my phone again.
After a silent standoff between the two, Briggs relented and asked Ada, “Who told you about the trip?”
“Well, I see vacations don’t stop you from being a grump.” Ada patted his shoulder as she passed him, then reached out her hands for Kaia. “Told you I’d be around. Besides, someone has to watch this sweet girl so the two of you can have some fun.” After a meaningful look at Lainey and Briggs, she added, “Good, clean fun and none of that funny business until both of y’all have rings on y’alls fingers.”
“Oh my gosh,” Lainey whispered, sounding at once wholly amused and completely horrified.
“From what a couple was saying down at the bar, Aruba is a wonderful place to elope.”
“ Aunt Ada ,” Lainey chastised, dropping her head into her hands, but Briggs wasn’t the only silent, contemplative one.
As if sensing I was studying her, Chloe glanced at me, her chest pitching with a hushed laugh when she realized I was actually considering Ada’s words. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned as her smile grew.
“Not the craziest idea,” I whispered, the words bordering on a tease as I grabbed her waist, pulling her closer.
She halfheartedly pushed against my chest as she willingly fell into my arms. “Yes, it is.”
“But it’d be a great story to tell our kids one day.”
At that, her head tipped back as a stunning, genuine laugh poured free. “You’re ridiculous,” she breathed.
I let myself take in the sound of that laugh and this moment before playfully whispering, “This the real you, Bubbles?” since her mask was clearly nowhere to be seen.
Her smile shifted into something softer, more intimate. “What do you think?” she asked just as quietly, her voice a gentle tease.
“I know I still like the real you.” Dropping my head closer, I said, “Now about marrying me...”
Another laugh eased from her lungs as she weakly pushed me away. “Let me fall in love with you first.”
The way my soul reacted to her saying that—to the hope that one day this woman would . My grip on her tightened as my pulse raced this relentless beat in my veins. “Deal.”
“Unexpected,” Ada muttered in surprise, drawing my focus back to her in time to see her look away from Chloe and me. “Now, where am I sleeping?” she asked as if she hadn’t just dropped into our suite in Aruba like she’d been invited all along and put insane thoughts in our heads.
An edgy sound left Briggs as he gestured toward the girls’ room. “The girls are sleeping in there. You can take the king.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the other room. “I need to get mine and Kaia’s stuff out of there.”
“Just yours,” Ada said offhandedly as she started that way with Kaia in her arms. “I’ve got Little Miss.”
“On that note,” Chloe began when Briggs and Lainey followed them, drawing out the words, “I should go to sleep before you get any more wild ideas.”
“Told you,” I muttered as I stole a quick kiss, “it isn’t the craziest idea.”
Her shoulders shook as she placed her hands on my chest, gripping my shirt and coming back for another kiss that was longer. Slower. One that had me rethinking our sleeping arrangements before she was practically dancing away and sending me a mischievous look.
“Private jets, suites in foreign countries, and you trying to get me to elope...” She scrunched up her face adorably as she backed away toward the room she was sharing with Lainey. “How will I ever go back to reality after this?”
I didn’t bother telling her I’d never been on a private jet in my life before last weekend, or that Briggs had never once taken a vacation before all this. Because when these trips were over, and we went back to our normal lives, I’d still have her.