Thankfully, Summer follows without anymore complaint, and an hour later when we do eventually end up back at the resort, everyone else is there, as well. A staff member from the resort is walking around with a tray of drinks, and I notice that Ethan seems far more relaxed. It is easy to surmise that his excursion must have been successful.
“Hey, baby.” A pair of familiar muscular arms slides around my waist and I feel myself melt back into Wyatt’s arms. It never ceases to amaze me the way my body responds to his. It’s unlike anything I have ever experienced. I still marvel at the fact that I believed orgasms to be inconsequential, until Wyatt proved me wrong.
“Hello,” I reply, turning in his embrace to face him, my hands lifting to run through his hair. “I trust everything is sorted now?”
“Everything’s fine. Crisis averted.” He drops his lips to my neck and presses a kiss to my pulse point. “Mmm. I love how your heartbeat speeds up when I do that. You’re so responsive to me.”
“You do seem to have a direct line to my physical reactions,” I reply breathlessly as he lifts his head and gives me a wolfish grin. “But didn’t you want to announce the plan for tomorrow? Perhaps we should do that before we go to our cabin.”
Wyatt huffs quietly. “Yeah. Right.” He raises his voice to catch the attention of our friends. “Hey everyone, I want to let you know the plans for tomorrow.”
“Right, your surprise,” Ethan says as everyone comes our way. “I told you that you didn’t need to do anything crazy.”
I hide my smile. One thing I have come to learn about the man I love is that he is generous to a fault. I tried to dissuade him from this plan, but he was insistent. Not only is his adventure tourism company doing very well in its first year, he also has a sizeable trust fund and healthy bank account thanks to his family’s bookstore chain, so Wyatt has the money to spend. And if spending it on our friends means he eases up on trying to convince me thatweneed a new house, or a new car, or a trip, or any other extravagant thing, I’m all for it.
“Is it crazy if it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, as well? Or is it entirely self-serving and you’re just along for the ride?”
“Shit, he’s got you there,” Jackson calls out and the rest of the men chuckle along with him.
Wyatt lifts his hands to settle them all. “Don’t stay up too late, gentlemen, because we need to be up early tomorrow to head out for a deep-sea fishing trip. And ladies, while we’re out on the water, I’ve organized for a spa day here at the resort. Massages, facials, nails, whatever you want.”
Summer’s eyes are filling with tears as she walks over and hugs Wyatt, then me. “Thank you, that is so thoughtful and so generous.”
“Seriously man, I want to say it’s too much, but I’m too fucking excited. Thank you.” Ethan claps Wyatt on the shoulder before turning to me. “Gotta say, Paige, I’m glad you kept this one around.”
My eyes drop down, then back up. This type of effusive attention still feels uncomfortable for me at times. But before I can figure out how on earth to respond to Ethan’s comment, Serena interjects, saving me.
“Okay, so Wyatt wins for best wedding present, since it’s one we can all enjoy. Now can wepleasetake these delicious drinks and hit the pool?”
Chapter seven
Serena
“I swear, Paige, if I didn’t love Leo so freaking much and firmly believe in chicks before dicks I would be tempted to steal Wyatt away from you. The perks of having a billionaire around are so, so, so good.” I moan as the masseuse hits a particularly tight spot.
“It’s a good thing I trust you implicitly, or I could take offense to that comment,” Paige replies mildly.
I lift my head and give her a cheeky grin. “You know I’m only teasing. We love Wyatt for more than just his money.”
“But I’m pretty darn thankful for that money right now,” Summer says from her lounge chair where she currently has a clay mask covering her face. “I’m in heaven. This was so incredibly generous of him.”
Paige shrugs, her attention focused on the woman currently painting her fingernails a pale pink colour. “Wyatt enjoys being able to use his wealth to make others happy.”
“And that right there is what makes him an amazing guy,” Ashley chimes in. “Because never in a million years would I have imagined I’d be getting a massage on a beach in the Caribbean.”
“Cheers to that.” Mila lifts her champagne flute. “I vote we come back here once a year. Make it a tradition.”
“God, that sounds amazing,” Abby says. “If only that could be possible.”
“Well, why not?” Mila sits up. “We deserve it, don’t we? We all work hard, why not play hard? In the Caribbean. I bet Layla and Violet would love it here; they could come next time.”
I love that Mila is thinking about Abby’s daughter and my stepdaughter, but she’s missing the most important point. I sit up from my massage table and give my masseuse a grateful smile before turning to Mila. “Girl, we don’t want the kids here. We have seven days in a cabin by ourselves, with no risk of kids wandering into the bedroom in the middle of the night and seeing something they shouldn’t. I might be new to the parenting game, but even I know the value of an adult-only vacay. Am I right, Abby?”
Abby nods emphatically. “God, yes. I’ve never done a trip without Layla and I can definitely say this is amazing. I love that girl, but a week with just Reid? Yes, please.”
“Exactly,” I say. “You have no idea how annoying it is trying to keep quiet when your man is going downtown. I can be loud here. Loud sex is the best. And no one will care.”
“Well, I might care, seeing as my cabin is next to yours,” Ashley replies teasingly.
