Paradise glanced ahead at the gate. “Hang back. The oncoming car has its turn signal on. We can slide through behind them.”
She was right. He eased his foot off the accelerator and let the oncoming car turn in front of him. He pulled his truck in behind it, and sure enough, he was able to tag along with the car ahead. “I knew I brought you along for a reason other than you’re beautiful and I love you.”
“Hey, we’re back here watching,” Abby said. “Let’s stick to business.”
Her voice held mirth, and when Blake glanced in the rearview mirror, Abby was only inches from Drew’s side, and they were both laughing. Were they holding hands? Sure looked like it to him.
Blake turned toward the west building. “It appears you’re watching each other, not us.”
Drew and Abby burst into chuckles behind him, and heexchanged an amused glance with Paradise. It was like being a teenager again and going on a double date.
He parked the truck at the end of the lot. “That’s his car.” He pointed out a Toyota Corolla.
They went inside the open-air lobby and the elevator refused to take them to the third floor. “I’ll bet we need a code here too,” Paradise said. “But it’s only three floors. Let’s find the staircase.”
He’d much rather take a stroll on the beach, but they hadn’t come here for fun. They caught another break when someone exited the door and held it open for them. They filed up the stairs to the third floor and found the D door. He rang the bell but no one answered. He tried the door. “It’s not locked.” Entering felt wrong, so he pushed the door open with his foot and peered inside.
A familiar backpack with a tiger’s face on it lay just inside the foyer. “That’s one of our logo backpacks. He’s here somewhere.” Blake leaned inside the door. “Warren, you in there?” No one answered, and the place felt empty.
“Let’s try the beach,” Drew said. “I’ll bet the elevators work going down.”
Moments later they were on the ground floor, and Drew pointed out the path around the well-lit pool to the beach. Blake followed the sound of the waves mingling with laughter. He took Paradise’s hand and led the way across the boardwalk to the white sand dunes shimmering in the moonlight. There weren’t many people here, and none of them were Warren.
“Let’s stroll along the beach and see if he took a walk,” Drew said. “We can check the condo one last time before we leave. He might be back by then.”
They kicked off their shoes and carried them along the sandwith the water foaming around their feet. Paradise paused to run into the water up to her knees. Blake stopped and watched the breeze blow her glorious brown hair around her face. He was a lucky man.
She darted back to him. “It’s beautiful here.”
He kept his gaze on her. “It sure is.”
Amusement lit her amber eyes. She tucked her arm into his. “Let’s catch up with Abby and Drew.”
He fell into step with her and put his arm around her waist. They should come back when the sun was hot and they could stretch out on the white sand. Which brought up a good question. “Where do you want to go on our honeymoon? With the refuge on good footing, we can go somewhere fun.”
“I hadn’t thought about it. I’d assumed we’d be at my apartment and plan something later.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
“Since I’m an Alden, I’ve always wanted to go to England.” She swept her arm toward the water. “But I love the beach.”
“There are beaches in England. I’ve heard Bournemouth Beach’s microclimate makes for warmer water than most. It should be nice in August. Let’s see what we can find out. And if it’s too cold, we can explore England, then go to the South of France for a few days.”
“That sounds incredibly exotic.” She stopped. “Maybe a cruise! Let’s check it out.”
He loved seeing her so happy and animated. They started walking after Drew and Abby again. “He just kissed her.”
“He’s moving fast, and Abby’s still raw and hurting from her divorce. I’ll have to get Abby alone and see what she says.”
She stopped and they turned around to walk back toward thecomplex. The wind picked up and she shivered. “That breeze is a little cool.”
He put his arm around her again, and they picked up the pace to hurry over the boardwalk to the condo. Drew and Abby were right behind them. As they rounded the pool and got close to the outdoor lobby, he gasped. “Warren just got into the elevator. He didn’t see us.”
Blake ran toward the stairs and took the steps two at a time. His lungs labored as he pushed himself to go faster. If Warren got to the condo and locked the door, they’d be shut out. He wouldn’t open it to them—not after trying to elude them all day. Breathing hard, he crashed through the third-floor door and raced to door D.
It was closing so he stuck his foot inside. “Warren, we need to talk to you.”
The door banged farther open, and Warren backed up with his eyes wide. His red hair dripped water. His gaze darted from Blake to Paradise right behind him. “What are you doing here? Leave me alone.”
