Jazz is a sassy blonde—just the type I hated back in high school. She would have called me a nerd and probably stuffed a fake love note from an imaginary admirer in my locker just to watch me blush and get my hopes up before she and her friends laughed about it later. Or maybe she would have gone the classic route—accidentally spilling her soda in my backpack, smirking as my books soaked through. As the resident wallflower in my youth, I’m well-versed in mean girls.
In fact, when I imagined Stephanie, the stripper that Leroy dumped me for…
She looked exactly like Jazz.
Leroy told me she was blond with green eyes. Jazz is blond with blue eyes. Close enough.
I dislike her on principle.
But Ariel comes first.
“Emily, Sienna!” Ariel says, smiling. “Isn’t this the perfect spot for the wedding tomorrow?”
Emily and I look at each other.
Damn. That’s right. Alex and Ariel are getting married tomorrow. Does she even know that her intended’s old friend has risen from the dead?
“Are you two all right?” Ariel asks, her brow scrunched.
“Of course, love. We’re fine.” Emily’s smile looks a little forced. “It’s a lovely venue. A perfect backdrop for your nuptials. Don’t you agree, See?”
It is beautiful. The sand seems softer than anywhere else on the island, though that may be my imagination. The waves roll in gently, and the ocean shifts between sapphire and emerald in the distance, its surface catching the light like scattered diamonds.
It’s freaking perfect.
If only Brett and I were the two getting married. He all but proposed to me already, but since Jake arrived, he’s hardly looked my way.
Of course, I understand. How could I not? Their lost friend—the one they grieved, the one they buried in their memories—is alive. After all these years, after the heartbreak, the guilt, the silence, he’s back.
And the men—all of them, except River, apparently—are reeling. Stunned. Overcome. Ecstatic.
Brett will come back to me. And Emily will work things out with River.
Because damn it, that’s why we’re here.
To marry a billionaire.
Ariel is chattering to her mother and Jazz while Emily stares out into the ocean.
Towering palms frame the area, their fronds swaying in the breeze. They curve inward, arching toward one another, a cathedral of green and gold, nature’s own altar—wild, untouched, sacred. The scent of salt and jasmine lingers in the air.
Fucking perfect.
“Did you hear the amazing news?” Ariel asks us.
“What?” From Emily.
“Alex’s old friend, one he thought had died, is here. It’s a miracle, just in time for our wedding!”
“Dibs on the newcomer!” Jazz spins around. “This is just fucking paradise!”
Dibs? Seriously? The man isn’t here for…
Emily meets my gaze. She’s not amused either.
“How much do you know?” I ask Ariel. “Have you met him?”
She shakes her head. “Sebastian ran over to us earlier, said that Jake was alive and he was here. Alex gave me a quick kiss and told me to continue with the plans, and then he ran off with Sebastian.”
