Chapter 15
Back on the wooden deck, sunblock on my face and underwear on my butt, I sip lemongrass tea and assess my options.
I could call for a taxi to pick me up and drive me back to the resort. Having a free villa at the Cocoa Reef Resort for six weeks (to make up for them leaving me on No Man’s Land) is a blessing. I love having my own space.
But this is my first time alone at Keston’s home. I should try to see how it feels to live here full-time. And not have a gorgeous, fully carpeted, luxury villa to run back to.
If this were my home for real, the first thing I’d do is call my friends and discuss what I learned about Keston last night. His ex may still be in love with him. And I’m dating a possible descendant of double royalty.
That second one sounds unreal. However, given the Caribbean islands’ history during the last four hundred years, it is possible.
Giselle answers immediately.
“Feeling a bit lonely in paradise?” she jokes.
“No. That’s why I have you. But I did learn some interesting information about Keston.”
“Oh, do tell,” says Giselle. “But let me get the rest of the gang on the call first.”
Katana appears looking crazy-eyed. “What’s going on?” she asks, scrubbing her face with her fists.
“You look wonderful,” I say warmly. “Is the baby sleeping through the night yet?”
She snorts. “I thought you were calling to invite me on a vacay in the Caribbean with you.”
I perk up. “You can come anytime. All of you.”
Lisa, the astrophysicist who just got married, smiles into the video call. “Wow, CJ, you look so robust.”
“Robust?” I squeak. “Do you mean I gained weight? Or as they say down here, ‘put on size?’”
Lisa laughs. “No. I mean, you look fresh and healthy.”
“Oh. Thank you. I feel great.”
I remember Tabitha. “Except I think Keston’s ex-girlfriend wants him back and wants me off this island. Not necessarily in that order.”
“This better be good. It’s not even noon,” Mikah joins the call, yawning her pretty face off. She’s a freelance model who travels the world.
“It is,” says Giselle. “CJ is dealing with ex-girlfriend issues.”
‘Well, it’s not an issue yet.” I fill them in on the bathroom scene where Tabitha told me I’d go running back home to shop.
“Harsh,” Mikah mutters. “You need backup, CJ? Just let me know.”
“I miss you guys. When are you all coming to visit me?”
“When we’re invited to the wedding,” Lisa says blandly.
“You have weddings on the brain, Mrs. Newlywed.” I tease.
“It’s one thing for her to be interested in him. Is Keston interested in her? That’s the only thing that matters,” Lisa says.
“It’s a small island. They’re friendly.”
All my friends seem to mull over that.
“What does your gut say?” asks Katana.
I close my eyes and breathe deeply. “It says I’m out of my element. She’s drop-dead gorgeous.”
“You’re no slouch,” Mikah chirps, “and I should know.”
“Thanks?”
“Let’s get to more important topics,” Mikah says. “Have you met my Mr. Right yet?”
Everyone laughs. Katana rolls her eyes.
“Maybe. There are some hunks down here. All taller than you.”
“Oh yeah?” she says. “What about nice and kind and able to satisfy me in ways I’ve never known before?”
“That too,” I say slyly. “If my man is anything to go by.”
“Not like you need help meeting anyone,” Katana adds snidely. “With all dem sugar daddies you’re collecting.”
Mikah snorts, “Don’t hate. When I find the perfect man like you have, I’ll settle down.”
“Speaking of perfect men, is Keston still fine as sugar and hot like pepper?” Katana asks.
Memories of last night on the beach make me turn red. “Kind of.”
They hoot and holler. I can’t stop grinning.
“Then you have nothing to worry about from his ex-girlfriend,” says Lisa. “It’s like when Giselle was dating the football star in college. He had a ton of exes.”
Giselle snaps her fingers. “This is not about me! For the record, he couldn’t be trusted. But Keston can be, right?”
“Yes,” I say with conviction in my heart.
“Remember, you can’t control anyone’s actions, like his exes; you can only control yours. So, don’t react to her shenanigans.” Lisa points out a strategy that has served us all well.
I sit back on the porch swing, legs stretched out, feet resting on the railing. The sun plays tic-tac-toe across my legs.
“Thanks for the reminder. Now, wait until you hear this.”
My best friends give me their full attention. Even Katana and she has two babies.
I relay the story Alex told me in the car.
Dead silence.
“You guys still there?” I wave my hand in front of the phone screen. WiFi is spotty out by Keston’s.
Giselle, a middle school principal, is the first to speak. “Is there any documentary proof of any of this?”
“Forget proof. I believe it,” shouts Mikah. “This is the kind of history that’s been buried for generations.”
Katana nods in agreement, which almost never happens between her and Mikah. “But how unfair is it that first you’re dating a hot billionaire, and now, you’re getting your groove on with a prince?”
Lisa hoots. “CJ is a special woman.”
“I am?”
“Yes, look at what you did on No Man’s Land. Your feats went viral.”
I frown. “That was life and death. But seriously, do you guys think it could be true?”
They’re all nodding.
“Absolutely,” says Katana. “You saw Bridgerton? This has got Shonda Rhimes all over it. She’d turn Keston’s story into a Netflix drama everyone would watch.”
We groan. She’s been rewatching all the episodes and talking about them as if we didn’t watch them together.
“At least it makes sense why he owns all that beachfront property,” Lisa says. “He inherited it from a pirate.”
“Or a princess,” says Mikah.
“Women didn’t own property back then, so probably the pirate,” Giselle cuts in. “Can you give us the panoramic tour again, please? We must live through you.”
I screw up my eyes. “You guys are kidding, right? You’ve seen his place a dozen times.”
I turn the phone and make a sweep of the beach and rainforest.
“If this land once belonged to a pirate king and/or his British/Scottish princess, it must be worth . . . who knows!”
“Millions is my guess,” says Mikah. “People would pay for the story alone.”
“But Keston has no interest in selling any of it. So, its worth is in historical significance only.”
I lapse into silence, recalling a conversation with Keston on my first day or two here. I’d asked him if all this land was his.
“For over two hundred years, this land has been Kipson land,” he said.
“Kipson?”
“That was our name. One of my ancestors shortened it to Kips.”
I didn’t think any more about it.
“My goodness, CJ, it’s gorgeous. And you get to live there.” Katana sighs.
“I bet the view of the night sky is stunning.” Lisa leans close to the phone. “It is, isn’t it?”
“It is,” I assure her. “We have an old telescope and watch the constellations at night. One of his many hobbies.”
“Giving you crazy orgasms better be another,” says Katana.
“No wonder you get pregnant so often,” Mikah says sternly. “You can’t keep it in your pants.”
Katana sucks her teeth.
“We’re getting off-topic ladies,” says Giselle. “What’s the name of the beach? Maybe I can look it up and see if it was connected to any pirate history. Check on Mr. Kips’ heritage.”
“Arawak Bay. Named after the first people who lived on the island. But I’m not investigating him.”
“Well, you should.” Giselle sounds exasperated. “Isn’t that why you’re there? To find out everything and decide whether to uproot your entire life?”
“Not everything. Besides, he’s well-loved here. There’s nothing to investigate.”
“Let us decide that for you. Now, what do you know?” Mikah asks.
“I didn’t mean to turn this into a probe. I was sharing the tale of him possibly being a descendant of an African prince slash pirate king for fun.”
“So, you don’t want to know about the ancestors of your future children? Whether they have pirate genes or royal blood, or both?”
I perk up. “I never thought of . . . children. Isn’t that jumping ahead?”
Giselle clears her throat. “When you left on this six-week journey back to St. Nicholas to see if you and Keston Kips were meant to be, you promised to learn as much as you could to make a good decision.”
“I know!” I cry. “It sounded so romantic when I was in New York. But now . . . .” I turn the camera around to show them the cottage.
“I’ll be living in a tiny house with a man I met six months ago. I knew him for one week under stressful circumstances and didn’t see him again until two weeks ago. It’s scary.”
“But you lurve each other,” Lisa stresses. “True love triumphs.”
“We do love each other,” I agree.
“Why bother moving to St. Nicholas if you aren’t considering marrying him?” Giselle asks. “And having the babies you long for?”
Giselle has a point.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Katana says darkly. “That cute Barbie doll figure you have, CJ? Poof!” she snaps her fingers loudly.
“Don’t listen to Katana,” Lisa says. “Sometimes you must take a leap of faith. Forget about his past. Pirate or prince, doesn’t matter.”
“You sound like Keston. He says the past is the past. The future will take care of itself. And now is what we have.”
“Wise man. We’re specks in the cosmos. Enjoy your life now.”
“Yes, Mrs. Astrophysicist,” I laugh. “I’ll try to do that.”
“Anyway,” Katana interjects. “If it’s true, you could build a castle on the beach. To acknowledge his roots.”
“No, Katana, I’m not building a castle on the beach.”
Although. It’s not the worst idea.