Chapter 15
fifteen
WEST
We stride up the steps and the conversation around the fire sparks up again, thank god. I keep my body casual, my expression easy, because I don’t want anybody to know I’m panicking inside.
Luckily the kid walks fast – must be those gangly legs – and he keeps up an inane stream of chatter as we head to the top of the cliff.
“This place is insane. I’ve never been anywhere like this. Did you know they don’t have Uber here? Just some guy who takes about two hours to pick you up, and only if he feels like it or hasn’t been drinking.”
That’ll be Simon.
“Uhuh.” I interject occasionally, happy for him to entertain himself with his own voice. His accent is hard to place. Like he grew up half the time in Brooklyn and the other half in L.A. and nowhere in between.
By the time we reach the Captain’s House, I’ve figured two things out. Firstly, this kid talks like his brain is permanently buffering. And secondly, if I don’t take control of this situation and persuade him to keep his mouth shut, everything around me is going to implode.
I push the back door open, ushering him into the kitchen.
“WOW! Is this house real? Or is it a replica?” he asks, looking around the room with wide eyes. “Like the ones at Disney? It’s so old fashioned.”
“It’s real.” I close the door behind him, and look up at the camera system I know Asher installed.
No blinking red light, which means it isn’t on, thank god.
I gesture at the table, and he sits down on a kitchen chair, his long legs folding awkwardly beneath it, like he has no idea where to put them.
“Hey is this…”
I lift a finger up. “Please just be quiet for a minute.” I need to think without him asking me any more damn questions.
He blinks, startled into silence, still clutching his messenger bag like it’s a childhood teddy bear.
Time to take control of the situation, Abbott.
“What’s your name?” I ask, realizing he never told me.
His face lights up like I offered him a million bucks.
“Bennett Avery,” he says, a little breathless.
“Well, actually, it’s Bennett Vincent Avery.
My mom wanted a family name in there, even though she married my dad.
Well, not exactly married, it was more of a six-month mistake.
At least that’s what she calls it. She hated him until the day he died. ”
This is never going to work. The kid spills secrets like a well gushes oil. “Well, Bennett, it’s great to meet you, but things are a little… busy around here right now. How about we get you back to the mainland, I call your uncle, and we clear this all up?”
He shakes his head. “Oh no, I have to stay here.”
I blink. “You have to?”
“Yeah. Uncle Vin said you were a close friend. That you’d look after me for the summer.
He said this place was quiet and safe and ideal for professional development.
” Bennett glances around like the ghost of Steve Jobs might be hiding in the pantry.
“And it is. Like, I can already tell I’m gonna grow here, you know? ”
My jaw tightens. The kid can’t be more than twenty years old, and he’s already the bane of my existence.
“And it’s better if I’m here while Uncle Vin sorts out the whole misunderstanding with the law,” he adds.
“What misunderstanding?” I ask.
He scratches the back of his neck, like he’s remembering something mildly worrisome.
“Well, I kind of borrowed a car. Without getting express permission. And the guy wasn’t happy about it.
Especially not when it ended up in the East River.
My uncle’s trying to calm things down, but he thinks I should lie low for a while.
Stay out of trouble. Said it would be good for me to come here and learn some business skills.
Especially since he has money invested.”
My jaw tightens. For fuck’s sake, Vin. I’m coming to the conclusion the guy really hates me.
“The thing is,” I say. “We’re really busy here right now. I’m working my ass off, all while being a newlywed. My wife… she’s kind of intense.”
“I thought you said you weren’t married.”
I exhale through my nose. “I said there’s no missus in the way you meant it. It’s very… complicated.”
He blinks. “Wait… so you are married?”
I rake a hand through my hair, then lean forward, elbows on the table, giving him my best this-stays-between-us look. “Look. Yes, we’re married. But this isn’t public knowledge. You’re not supposed to know. No one is. Not my friends. Not my business partners. And definitely not her brothers.”
“Her brothers?” He lifts a brow.
“Yeah.” I let out a dry laugh. “Those big, overprotective guys sitting around the camp fire. If they found out, let’s say more than two teeth would be lost by the end of the night.”
Bennett’s eyes go wide. He’s practically salivating. “So it’s a secret marriage?” he asks. “Like Romeo and Juliet?”
The kid knows his Shakespeare? Okay, I’ll go with it.
“Exactly like that,” I say, lowering my voice, letting a note of awe creep in. “Only without the dying. Hopefully.”
Bennett leans forward, completely enthralled. “You married in secret because… you’re not supposed to be together?”
I nod, slow and deliberate. “I’m so in love with her.
My heart aches when we’re not together. It kills me, seriously.
She’s beautiful, she’s funny, she makes the best damn coffee you’ll ever drink.
And if they pull us apart… I don’t know what I’ll do.
” I let my voice break a little. “I can’t live without her, man. ”
Bennett makes a soft noise, like I punched him in the heart with a bouquet of roses.
I lean in closer. “Our marriage is supposed to be a secret. Nobody on this island knows about it. And we have to keep it that way. At least until I prove myself to her family.” Screw it, I’m going all in. “Or until she gets pregnant.”
His mouth falls open. “That’s… that’s unbelievable.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Is it?” Damn.
“Oh no.” He shakes his head. “I don’t mean I don’t believe you, I just mean… you know, the last woman I met on Tinder turned out to be a guy from Wisconsin named Graham.” He shakes his head. “I thought romance was dead, but maybe it isn’t.” He actually looks happy for me.
I try not to wince.
“Here’s the thing, Bennett,” I say, serious again. “You weren’t supposed to know. But now that you do…” I glance toward the window like someone might be listening. “We could really use someone on our side. Someone smart. Loyal. Quiet. To be our Friar Laurence.”
“Friar Laurence?” he frowns. “Who plays him in the movie?”
“The old guy. Big nose, looks like a priest.”
“Ah yeah. The one who helps them hide it.”
I catch his eye. “Exactly.”
“And you want me to be your Friar Laurence?” His voice lifts with excitement.
“Yes.” I nod solemnly. “Only with no poisons.”
He beams like he can’t believe his luck. “I’m your guy.” He punches his hand against his chest.
I don’t move my gaze from his. “But you have to make a blood oath,” I tell him. “That nobody on the island finds out. If they do, it’d be pretty easy to know it was you who told. And I’d hate to call your uncle and tell him you’ve messed up here, too.”
Bennett grabs my hand and shakes it rapidly. “I swear, I’ll keep your secret.”
I pat his shoulder. “I knew I could count on you.”
Before I can say anything else, the back door opens. And Eden walks in.
Fire-flushed cheeks. Bare feet. Her tank top hanging off one shoulder revealing she forgot – or didn’t care – to wear a bra. Her hair’s twisted into a messy bun, and she smells like lemons and soap and whatever shampoo she keeps using in my guest bathroom.
My entire body reacts before my brain can catch up.
Bennett turns, his eyes lighting up. “Is that—?”
“Eden.” Her name leaves my mouth like a warning. She freezes, eyes catching mine, widening slightly when she sees Bennett sitting at the table. “My wife.”
There’s a beat. Her gaze bounces from him to me, and back again.
Think fast.
“Darling,” I say, injecting warmth and love into my voice. “This is Bennett. He’s going to be staying with us for a little while. And…” I pause, letting the silence hang before stepping closer and sliding my arm around her waist. “Babe, he knows.”
Her brows scrunch at the softness of my voice. “Knows… what?”
I lean in, mouth close to her ear, and murmur just loud enough for Bennett to hear:
“Everything.”
Then I kiss her.
A soft, slow brush of our lips that I promise myself is all for show. I pull her close, until her body is molded against mine, her breasts soft against my chest, her mouth warm as I deepen our embrace.
Her breath catches – sharp and warm against my mouth. Just enough for me to feel it. For my body to react in a way I’m not exactly delighted about.
When I pull back, her wide, startled eyes tell me she feels it.
“Bennett, meet Mrs. Abbott,” I say, my voice low and thick, my eyes not leaving hers. “Sweetheart, don’t worry about a thing. Bennett’s promised to keep our secret from everybody.”
EDEN
My mouth is on fire from his lips being against mine.
God, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to his kisses.
I run my tongue along my bottom lip, trying to get my mind straight.
But all I can feel is the incessant pulse between my thighs and West’s arm around my waist, like he can’t bear to let me go.
Somewhere behind the thudding in my ears, I hear him say my name. Introducing me as Mrs. Abbott.
The words slide off his tongue like they’ve always belonged there. Like this is normal. Like I didn’t almost trip over my own feet running up here five minutes ago.
After West escorted Bennett up to the house, all I could think about was my brothers finding out the truth. Being disappointed in me. Again. It was like waiting for my execution without being able to lay out a defense.
So I decided to come to the house and find out what was going on.
West squeezes my waist, like he’s reminding me of something.