47. Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Six
Trick
My cheeks and arms are prickly and itchy, and even sitting in the shade of the trees, it feels like my skin is on fire. Riley’s shirt is cooler than mine was, but I’m still hotter than I’d prefer to be.
I wouldn’t say I’m used to these exact sensations combined, but the constant irritation I’m working to ignore isn’t entirely different from how warm it can get under the stage lights, night after night, playing an instrument while I sweat up a storm.
I can deal with almost any kind of physical discomfort.
That doesn’t bother me, really.
It’s not knowing what’s going on with Sapphire that’s becoming unbearable.
Sitting around waiting isn’t usually a problem for me.
But this feels like it’s driving me slowly insane.
“Maybe I should go make sure they’re not fending off a bear attack, or something.”
I get to my feet for the tenth time in the last hour, and Kian shakes his head slowly.
“You really think we wouldn’t hear something if that kind of shit was happening? They’re not that far away. If Sapphire needs to sleep, we should let her sleep.”
I pace around a little bit before I sit back down.
After Riley fucked off down the beach, Kian admitted that Sapphire got upset when they were alone together, but he swore he didn’t do anything other than flirt with her, and he doesn’t know what caused it.
I believe him.
That’s not always the smart move with Kian. Sometimes caution is warranted.
Not that he’s an outrageous liar, but he can be a little bit of a schemer, at times.
This doesn’t feel like one of those times.
He’s too cut up about it.
Riley likes to joke that he’s practically an Omega.
He feels things more deeply, which is apparently an Omega trait.
I think it’s a human trait. There’s nothing Omega about it.
Riley’s too used to bottling his emotions up so he wouldn’t know that.
I trust that Kian didn’t upset Sapphire on purpose, but a part of me wonders if there’s something he might have missed out when he told me about it. Not maliciously, but because he might think it doesn’t matter.
Of course, Sapphire could just be upset because we crash-landed out here.
That’s not nothing, and people can have delayed reactions to traumatic events.
I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could stop wondering and worrying.
“We could be stuck on this island for a while.”
Kian shrugs. He’s sitting cross-legged, that first beer he took out of the cooler still in one hand, bottom balanced on his knee. It’s barely got a finger of that pink beer left inside. His cream-colored pants are wet around the bottle.
“If we are, we have provisions. We’ll be fine.”
That seems a bit nonchalant, but given his current mood, I’m not that surprised.
“Those sandwiches are not gonna last forever.”
“They’ll be fine for a few days.”
“A few days?” I ask, wondering again why he would bring a cooler full of sandwiches on vacation.
He’s always been extra, but this is a first, and it’s kind of weird when I think back to how much he talked about looking forward to all the barbeque food at Golden Sands.
“Why did you bring those coolers, anyway? Riley never would have drank that beer when he could have one of those bikini-hostess women bring him cocktails from the bar.”
The more I think about it, the more confusing it is.
Until something just clicks.
I stare back at Kian and catch him biting his lip. There’s a flash of guilt in his bright eyes, and I know, I just fucking know, that somehow, someway, he planned this.
“No fucking way,” I mutter, frowning at him.
It shouldn’t make sense, and honestly, it doesn’t.
I’m missing pieces, clearly.
But I know.
And now he knows I know.
He glances back to where Riley is sitting.
Then he turns back to me and sighs. “You can’t tell Riley.”
“I can’t tell Riley what, exactly?” I ask, needing to hear him say it.
He gets up and moves closer, making me roll my eyes.
Riley’s far enough away that he’s not going to hear us.
Coming in close enough to smell my sweat seems unnecessary.
“You felt something when you met Sapphire, right?” he asks, catching me off guard.
“Uh … what?” I ask, while I try to compose myself.
He noticed? I didn’t think I was being obvious, but I guess he knows me better than anyone.
It anyone would notice, he would.
Riley’s been saying stuff because we’re talking about a woman, and neither of us usually do that. I doubt he actually thinks we like her. He’s just being a dick.
But I know Kian’s interested, and he knows I am, apparently.
Maybe this is where he tells me to back off.
I sit up straighter.
I don’t know what I would do if he actually did that, but I guess I’m about to find out.
“I organized this whole thing,” he murmurs, just loudly enough for me to hear. “The interview, the “crash-landing”, all of it, so we could spend time with Sapphire.”
It’s not what I’m expecting to hear, and it takes a second to sink in.
Once it does, I’m even more confused than I already was.
“What are you saying? You knew her before this?”
He shakes his head, and I watch as he puts his hand in his pocket and brings out his phone.
“I’ll start from the start. I found her online. She used to write a blog about music.”
He passes me the phone, and I look down as I take it from him.
There’s an article on the screen, with a picture that steals my breath.
She’s holding a candy apple red Fender Strat, and it looks like she knows how to use it, too.
Short nails, perfect finger placement on the strings.
There’s something more about her in this image, and it takes me a second to realize what it is.
It’s not that she’s clearly into music, though that definitely doesn’t hurt.
She looks so confident and so happy.
Her lips are painted red, and her hair is free and loose, and she’s smiling so brightly.
It’s not so different from the woman who’s here with us, but this feels like the real version.
Something about who she is out here with us is manufactured.
Like she’s dressed up as a magazine writer, when, really, she’s a musician.
“Oh my God,” I murmur, not able to take my eyes off the image.
Yeah. This is definitely where her heart is.
It’s so vibrant, so full of energy.
“I knew it!” Kian exclaims, making me jump slightly at the intrusion.
“I thought you didn’t want Riley to hear?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.
He sighs softly and lowers his voice. “You feel it, too. I can tell.”
I frown at him and he snatches the phone back.
“Hey …” I start to complain.
“I’ll send you the link,” he promises.
I watch as he plays around with the screen and then puts the phone back into his pocket.
“You might not get it while we’re stuck here, but you’ll get it once we’re back to civilisation.”
I want to ask for his phone back, but I know he’s not gonna give me it.
So, I sigh out my frustration and think back to what he was saying. “What is this about, Ki?”
He grins at me. “She’s our fated mate. I knew it the second I saw that picture.”
“Our fated mate? As in the one person in the whole world who’s destined to be with us?”
He nods, holding my gaze as he does.
His eyes are so bright, and he’s smiling like a lunatic.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him sound so sure or seem so excited.
I can only sit there, stunned into a silent stupor.
Our one true mate.
It’s not a new concept, but I don’t think it’s one I ever took seriously.
Most of our songs are calling out for our soulmate to come find us.
The yearning and emotion behind those songs earned us a rabid fanbase in the US, but I never once stopped to think about what it might be like if soulmates were real.
Sure, I’ve known people who called their partner their fated mate.
I always assumed that was because they intended to marry them.
It never occurred to me that they might have been brought together by fate.
I didn’t think that was anything more than a sugar-coated turn of phrase.
“You feel it, right?” Kian asks.
“I feel it.”
Saying those words out loud only cement the way she’s been making me feel.
It’s not a crush. Of course it’s not. I’ve never had a crush.
This is something much bigger than that.
I didn’t have these feelings until now because I was waiting for someone who would mean everything to me.
It was the same with music. I didn’t care much about anything until I found it.
I didn’t have friends until I met Xane and the guys, and they’re my pack now.
I can’t do casual. I’ve never done casual.
“Holy fuck,” I murmur, eyes wide as I look back at Kian. “But wait. You said you did this. How?”
He smiles. “I did a little research and found out she works for the magazine our sponsor took over, and I came up with the plan to offer an exclusive interview, but with the stipulation that she be the one to do it. I told them it would need to be at Golden Sands. Once they agreed, I cancelled the other promo stuff Xane had set up and I changed our reservation to a four week stay, with an extra room. I knew we needed to meet her, and I thought it was the perfect set up.”
I think about what he’s telling me, and I can’t help but feel a little hurt that he didn’t tell me any of this until now. We don’t usually keep each other in the dark about anything.
That’s more Xane and Riley’s style.
“You did all that, without telling anyone. Why?”
He looks away and takes another sip of his beer before he answers me.
He winces for a second before he speaks.
“I had to tell Xane. I wanted to tell you, believe me.”
“You told Xane, and he let this happen?”
He’s lost me. There’s just no way Xane went along with this.
It would be easier to believe if he told me Xane said no, but he did it anyway.
“I know. It’s crazy. When does Xane ever let me get away with this stuff?
That’s how I know for sure she’s the real thing.
He said yes. I showed him that picture, and he said yes.
I know he felt it when he met her in person, too.
That’s the only reason he let me talk him into bringing us out here instead of to the resort. ”
I stare at him. “You’re telling me Xane agreed to fake a crash landing.”