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"We don't need to worry about that right now," Aiden said, dismissing Burke's concern. "When can you guys get me a check?"
"Monday for me," Burke said. "I need to move some things around."
"Monday works for me as well," Drew put in.
Aiden nodded. "I'll let Grandpa know. He's going to be thrilled that we're keeping the boat in the family. It's a sad situation for him and Grandma, but we're making it a little easier."
"Grandma didn't even recognize me at the party," Drew said, remembering the fearful look in her eyes when he'd approached her. "That's the first time she hasn't known who I was."
"There are a lot of us," Burke said quietly. "Don't take it personally."
"Hard not to take it personally when your grandmother forgets who you are."
"She usually thinks I'm Grandpa," Aiden said. "She talks to me about stuff as if I'm her husband, and I have no idea what she's talking about."
"Maybe we can get them both out on the boat again," Burke suggested. "One last ride around the bay."
"That's a good idea," Drew said.
"Absolutely," Aiden agreed. He turned his attention to Drew. "Now, let's get back to your mystery woman. Where did you meet her? What was the relationship?"
Drew took a sip of his beer, then said, "I met her about a year and a half ago, on Isla de los Sueños. I went there for a week with Tim right after I got out of the Navy. She was working at the beachside bar as a bartender."
"And you hooked up," Aiden said with a nod.
"Yeah. It was the last night I was there. It wasn't supposed to be anything, just a beautiful woman on a hot tropical night, but…" His voice drifted away as he searched for the right words. "It was more than I expected. She was more than I expected. The next morning, I woke up and she was gone. I later found out she was on a boat that caught fire and exploded. There were supposedly no survivors." He drew in a deep breath as the painful memory ran through him.
"So how did she survive?" Burke asked curiously.
"She said she swam for hours and ended up on some small deserted island. I don't know if I believe her. When we spoke just now, she was nervous, wary, evasive. And she mentioned that she wanted to start over, new name, new start."
"She changed her name?" Aiden asked, concern entering his eyes. "She sounds like trouble, Drew, and you don't usually go looking for trouble. That's my department."
"Well, you're getting married, so someone has to pick up the slack," he said lightly.
"She's on the run," Burke interjected. "No one changes their name unless they're trying to hide."
"I agree," Drew said. "I'm hoping to get more information when I see her tomorrow."
"You're seeing her again?" Burke asked with a frown. "Is that smart?"
"Maybe not. But I have her necklace, and I want to give it back to her."
"You want to see her again, because you aren't ready to let her go," Aiden said. "You're hung up on her."
"I'm curious," he said, knowing that the word didn't begin to explain his complicated feelings towards Ria.
"My advice is to give her the necklace and say goodbye," Burke said.
"Or you could give her the necklace, sleep with her again, and then say goodbye," Aiden put in, a sparkle in his eyes. "Get her out of your system."
He liked Aiden's advice a lot better than Burke's, but he doubted Ria would get back into bed with him when at the moment she didn't even want to talk to him.
"I'm going to order some nachos; I'm hungry," Aiden said. "I'll be right back."
As Aiden walked over to the bar, Drew turned to Burke. His older brother seemed lost in thought. "Everything okay, Burke?"
His brother shifted in his seat. "Yeah."
Silence fell between them. Drew wanted to say something, but he'd always had a harder time connecting to Burke than to Aiden. Burke was so much more closed off. He kept everything inside. And he'd gotten more distant since he'd lost his fiancé in a fiery car wreck. And unlike Ria, Hailey couldn't come back from the dead.
"I'm sorry," he said.
