River won’t talk to me—at least not yet—but when he does…
I’m going to have to tell him.
I’m going to have to tell him I let Sebastian fuck me in the ocean.
Fuck it all. When Sebastian came to me this morning, wanting more, I told him I’d fallen in love. He didn’t ask with whom.
He was so tormented about his fifth friend who died…
And now that fifth friend is apparently here. Here, and very much alive.
The lyrics to Sebastian’s song echo in my mind.
We were just boys in a small-town haze,
Runnin’ wild through the long summer days,
Four of us strong, with the world at our feet,
Fighting for a future that felt so sweet.
He said the song was a lie—a lie because there were five of them. When he refused to say anything more, I told him he could keep his secrets, and I would keep mine.
My secret at the time was that I’m in love with River. Of course I spilled it later, though I didn’t name him.
“Earth to Emily.” Sienna nudges me.
“Sorry. Did you say something?”
“The girls were talking about lunch,” Sienna says. “You interested?”
Sienna’s the only one I’ve told about my feelings for River, and I don’t like the way she’s looking at me.
Damn, do I have the same freaked-out look she had when Brett dropped her hand and went running into Jake’s arms?
Are we losing our men to a friend who rose from the dead?
I’m not hungry at all, but what the hell? It will give us something to do whilst River, Brett, and Sebastian deal with Jake’s appearance.
Sebastian must be over the moon to know his friend is alive. Brett certainly seems to be.
And River?
I don’t know anything about how River is feeling.
All I know is that I’m completely and hopelessly in love with him…and I don’t like feeling hopeless about anything.
I was pretty damned hopeless before I came here to the island, facing blackmail and the theft of my designs. I hated the feeling then, and I despise it now.
Not the love part. The hopeless part.
I follow the other women into the kitchen. Staff members are fussing about getting a lunch buffet prepared.
“Can I help you ladies?” one of them asks.
“We were going to help ourselves to some lunch,” Heather says, “but it looks like we’re a little early.”
“You’re right on time.” The staffer smiles. “We’re getting ready to set it up on the deck.”
