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Of course, her entire body jolts at my insult.
“You snuggle in nice and tight,” I tease, bringing her closer as water gently laps onto the back deck. “Press your body to mine. I’ll get you where we’re going nice and safe.”
“You’re as much a pervert today as you were the day we met.” She shakes her hand free from mine and sets it on her hip, then she looks down at the black and gray water motorcycle with a shrewd glare. “You know how to work this?”
“I do.” I circle around behind her and place my hands over hers. “Eighty-seven percent chance I’ll get us to Jamaica alive.”
“Eighty-seven.” She peers over her shoulder, her lips pressed into a tight line. “You a comedian today?”
“Just loving life.” I kiss the side of her neck and chuckle when she growls. “I gotta say, I didn’t expect this to freak you out.”
“I’m not freaked out! I’m just…” She scowls. “I’m observing my surroundings and considering my options.”
“The only options you have,” I step forward, nudging her toward the edge of the boat, “are to get on the Sea-Doo, or go back inside and we’ll stay on the boat. We could get lunch onthe deck. Maybe even swim, since the crocodiles are closer to the shore and not out here.”
She swings her elbow back and nails me in the stomach. My breath comes out on a grunt, but I don’t back up. I don’t let her chicken out.
“You asked for this, Mayet. You’re the one who wants to go shopping on the island.”
Her nose twitches with the lie she’s already told. Her lips jut forward. She considers her next move, while in silence, Calum merely watches.
“We could shop for wedding stuff,” I prod. “New shoes for you, maybe? Jewelry?”
“I probably should have selected my dress first.” Exhaling a long sigh, she chews on her bottom lip. “I was supposed to pick a dress, but I didn’t get to it yet.”
“We could stay on board today and do the dress thing. Skip the island altogether.”
“No.” Stuck, she inches forward. “You can drive this? Are you sure?”
“I was raised a spoiled prick, remember?” I hold her hand, the shiny diamond glittering in the morning sun, but I circle around her and step over to climb on first. I plant my ass on the slick leather seat and hold the handlebar in one palm, then I look across to Minka and grin. “Our birthdays meant expensive gifts. Motorbikes. Cars. Technology.”
“All in lieu of actual, genuine affection.” She unzips a pocket in her dress and dips her free hand inside to check she has her things. Her phone. The credit card she thinks she needs for a day of shopping—real shopping or a lie, she still thinks her money is hers, and mine belongs to me. She’s yet to settle in and accept what’sours. “I grew up poor.” Re-zipping her pocket, she steps closer to the edge of the boat and carefully extends her leg across. “Extremely poor,” she adds, setting her foot behind mineand shakily lowering to the seat. “But at least my parents loved me.”
“That’s why you’re you.” I glance over my shoulder and grin when our eyes meet. “Andyouare pretty fucking amazing.”
“Yet,yougrew up with no love at all.” She wraps her arms around my torso and presses her cheek to my back. “And still, you love so freely.”
“Not freely,” I counter. “But fully.” I slide my fingers between hers and draw her hand up to my lips. “I don’t love many people, Mayet. But the ones I do…”
“Are lucky,” she sighs. “Alright. Start the stupid water jet and get us onto the island before we die.”
“Probably should’ve put life vests on,” I tease. Stretching the key cord, I clip the tether to the hem of her dress and slip the other end into the port between the handlebars. Then I hit the stop/start button, so the engine roars to life and water spits ferociously out the back.
Speaking louder now as we bob on the ocean’s waves, I tell her, “Hold on. Don’t fall off. If you want me to go slower, just say so.”
“Go slower?! You’replanningto go too fast?”
“I’m planning to have fun.” I hit the button that takes us out of neutral and intoforward, then I extend my leg and kick off from the boat, creating distance between it and us. Four feet. Five. The tide carries us, even before I need to use the throttle.
The engine’s droning is all we hear. The gentle waves rocking us into a moment of calm. Calum remains back on the boat, watching us, but not interfering. Finally, I glance over my shoulder and wait for her eyes. I’ll wait for as long as she needs, and in my mind, I catalog another new piece of information about the woman I’ll spend the rest of my life with.
Allergic to peanuts.
Scared of snakes and heights.
Likes to kill men twice her size, if the need arises.
Has a healthy fear of the ocean, alligators, and falling off a Sea-Doo.
