Epilogue Winona
Late March, almost three months later
There’s nothing more beautiful than the way
the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline,
no matter how many times it’s sent away.
~ Sarah Kay
“This airplane!” Cass says for about the twentieth time since we boarded this morning for our four-hour flight to St. Thomas. “I can’t believe the hot little hand towels. They even smelled like lemons. They thought of everything.”
“They sure did,” I agree.
“Gotta love the Gulfstream G Four Fifty,” Treyvon says.
“Declan’s the man,” Jaxon says.
Marcus smiles over at Declan, but doesn’t say anything.
Our stewardess, Tamara, comes into the lounge and says, “Alright everyone, vacation is officially about to begin. We'll be landing in St. Thomas in about fifteen minutes. If you could make your way back to your seats and buckle up, I’d appreciate it.”
Declan stands, bending slightly so he doesn’t hit his head on the ceiling. He waits for me to stand and walk in front of him. We take our seats in the club chairs facing one another. Cass takes the one next to me. Marcus is across from her.
It seemed like a good idea at the time—seating them in a spot where they had to talk. I’m still a firm believer that they got off on the wrong foot at Thanksgiving. If they could start with a clean slate and try to get to know one another, they’d see the good we all see in each of them.
Declan says I’m being an optimist.
“Buckle up!” Marcus says, looking around at all of us.
Cass looks over at me with an expression that says, Told ya so.
Before we left, she said,“I find everything about Marcus Delaney surprisingly annoying. Who knew? I always thought I’d be a fan of him in person.”
I begged her to give him a chance. She promised she would for my sake. Now she looks like that chance has run its course—and we haven’t even landed yet.
Tamara glances around to make sure everyone’s buckled and then she says, “It's a sunny eighty-four degrees in St. Thomas today. Perfect pool or beach weather."
Cass leans forward and tugs off her cardigan, folding it in her lap. Marcus watches with an inscrutable look on his face.
Inside the airport, we gather around one of the three small conveyor belts to retrieve our luggage. The guys all step forward to grab our bags.
Marcus makes the grave mistake of holding his hand up toward Cass and saying, “I’ve got this.”
I’ll admit, the gesture had the feel of a man stopping traffic. His heart’s in the right place, though.
Cass crosses her arms. Her lips thin. She takes a deep breath and glances over at me. I step up beside her.
“I know. I know,” she says. “Give him a chance. But the hand up? Seriously? It’s so demeaning.”
“He means well. He’s used to leading a team of men.”
“And they put up with that?”
I shrug. They do. But they give him plenty of heat too. The team banters more than two main characters in an enemies-to-lovers romcom.
Cass wraps her arm around me. “Don’t fret. We’re going to be grown-ups. Or … I will be. I have no intention of ruining this amazing trip.”
She looks over at Declan who has pulled his suitcase and mine off the carousel and is smiling over at me.
“You won the boyfriend lottery,” Cass says. “Hosting you and me … and Daisy and Patrick and his friends on this trip? Who does that?”
“Declan,” I say, trying to keep my voice from sounding too airy.
“Exactly,” Cass says. “Boyfriend lottery.” She gives me a squeeze.
Daisy and Patrick walk over to us, pulling their suitcases behind them.
“This is amazing!” Patrick says. “Did you see the color of the water when we were landing?”
“You’ve never been here?” I ask.
“Never,” he says. “Getting time away from the station is hard enough. Lining my breaks up with Declan’s schedule is nearly impossible.”
“I’m so glad it worked out this time,” I say.
Declan walks over. “Are you all ready? The cars are here to drive us to the villa.”
“The villa,” I say, putting on a fake wealthy accent. “How posh.”
He shakes his head. “It’s really not that posh. Just a basic four-bedroom house with a pool.”
Cass leans over and whispers into my ear. “Somehow I get the feeling there’s nothing basic about this place.”
“Well,” I whisper back, still in my fake-rich accent. “We’ll make do. After all, it does only have four bedrooms.”
Cass giggles.
Declan glances between us. “Are you two making fun of me?”
“Definitely,” I say, smiling over at him.
His eyes twinkle and his dimple pops with his smile. I want to kiss him, but I don’t—obviously. We’re standing around an airport with our family and friends.
Marcus drags Cass’s bag over to where we’re standing. “Here you go,” he says.
“Thank you,” she says with a cordial smile that looks like she’s half constipated.
“Cass,” I whisper.
“I thanked him,” she says. “And yes. Fine. It was thoughtful of him to grab my bag.”
I smile prematurely.
And then she adds, “I mean, it’s not like I was given a choice.”
“Is Marcus misbehaving?” Declan asks me.
Cass overhears. “He’s behaving perfectly.”
Declan nods his head. “Good.”
Cass adds, “Perfectly bossy.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Declan says.
“Don’t,” Cass and I both say at the same time.
“It’s fine,” I tell Declan. “They’ll work it out.”
“I just promised Winona I won’t mess up the trip,” Cass says. “And thank you, again.”
“It’s my pleasure. I love this place and I’m so glad I get to share it with all of you this time.”
Two black Cadillac Escalades are waiting for us outside the door when we exit. Drivers take our luggage and we hop in.
Marcus, Cass, Declan and I get into one car.
Patrick, Daisy, Jaxon and Treyvon get into the other.
Only a few minutes after leaving the airport, the scenery changes from older stucco buildings to the waterfront.
The Charlotte Amalie Bay is off to our right.
Smaller tropical islands rise out of the water.
A few boats are docked along the walkway.
We turn left and climb up a winding road that leads away from the ocean. About fifteen minutes later, we come to a neighborhood where the houses are spread out, surrounded by trees, with views of the ocean from every property.
We pass through a gate in front of Declan’s villa.
“More gates,” I tease Declan.
“Always,” he laughs.
Declan helps me and Cass out of the car and the driver opens the trunk and starts removing luggage.
“They’ll get everything inside for us,” Declan says. “Come. I want to show you the view.”
He’s looking at me, but I grab Cass’s arm, linking mine through hers, and we both follow Declan through the double glass doors, into the foyer that looks straight out through the living room to the patio and pool.
Declan glances over his shoulder. “The view is the whole reason I bought this house.”
He opens the sliding glass doors and steps out onto the covered part of the deck, which extends in sections out from where we’re standing. A white railing trims the patio and off to the left, a full pool is surrounded by loungers with umbrellas.
“Oh my!” I gasp at the wall of fuchsia bougainvillea flowers filling the wall on the other side of the pool. “Those are so beautiful.”
Declan smiles back at me from over his shoulder. He walks past the oversized wicker furniture to the edge of the patio. Then he leans his hands on the railing and lets out a long breath.
“You own this?” Cass says from beside me.
What takes our breath away isn't grandeur. The house is nice—way nicer than Declan made it sound like it would be.
But it's the view. I’m torn between what’s more gorgeous—my boyfriend, or the rolling green hills descending toward an impossibly blue sea. Blue doesn’t cover it. The water’s every color of blue, from cobalt to turquoise to the lightest, almost-white.
I step up beside Declan, taking in the scattered red rooftops on white stucco buildings peeking out between palm trees and bushes on the hillsides below us. Every single home seems to be positioned to maximize their share of the view. If I lived here, I’d never go inside.
I lean into Declan and he wraps his arm around me. The rest of our family and friends join us on the patio and start talking among themselves.
Declan places a kiss on the top of my head and squeezes my arm with the hand that’s wrapped around me.
“You like it?” His voice has a boyish tone to it.
“What’s not to like?” I ask, scanning the view again. “This is paradise.”
“I could have gone for something nearer to the tourist spots, but I wanted something that felt like a home away from home.”
“Have your parents been here?”
“No. Only the guys. And I’ve come alone. It’s a great place to come when you want to clear your head and think—get some perspective.”
“I usually do that at the library. Or on a hiking trail just outside town.”
He smiles down at me. “That works too.”
“It might not work anymore. Not after I’ve seen this. I’d far rather clear my head here any day.”
“You can. Anytime you want to come here, say the word.”
I don’t even know what to say to that. Declan has always been generous to me.
Mostly, we enjoy getting pizza and hanging out at his house or mine.
Sometimes we go out to eat. I’ve grown oddly accustomed to his house—to his personal chef and the other people who help his life run smoothly.
I’m even almost used to him having so many cars.
But this, being able to jet off to an island on a whim? That’s a whole other level.
“Thanks,” I say softly.
He smiles and draws me close, stepping behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle and resting his chin on my shoulder.
I point to a hammock on one of the decks, set apart from the other seating areas.
“I’ll be there, if you need me,” I tease Declan.
“Good. That’s right outside my bedroom. I love sitting in that with a book or just closing my eyes and letting the trade winds blow my worries away.”
“Sounds perfect,” I say.
Declan lifts his head off my shoulder and says, “Let’s get everyone settled.”
He gives me one quick squeeze and then steps away from me so he can talk to the whole group.