Page 16 of Paradise Ties

Zin looked shocked and a little affronted. “She said that?”

Kanan shook his head. “No, of course not. She’d never utter a word against you and would probably wait until the end of time before saying anything. Roz would have my balls for this but let me tell you something. When a woman starts to leave out bridal books and creates wedding dress boards on Pinterest, then she wants a fucking ring.”

It was the first time Jace had ever seen Zin taken aback. Zin and Celeste were madly in love, any fool could see that, and the fact that Kanan was encouraging Zin to propose to his baby sister spoke volumes. Despite not knowing each other for most of their lives, Kanan and Celeste were close, and Kanan had effectively given his seal of approval with his comments.

“I thought it was for Lucy and Lauren,” Zin said quietly, obviously deep in thought.

“So?” Kanan said.

“So what?”

“Are you going to marry my fucking sister or not?”

“That’s never been in doubt for me. I love her and always will. Yes, I will propose, but I’ll need to give it some thought and make it special.”

“Now you’re talking.”

“Well, now we’ve finished with that can we please discuss the fact that the al-Kamali family is in town?” Will asked as he smothered his steak in hot sauce.

“Yeah, that makes my starfish all sorts of twitchy. If the Princess fucks up the wedding, Lucy will lose her mind,” Jace said gravely.

“I’ve had a bad feeling since we saw those men at the airport,” Daniel added.

“Do you think the two things are connected?”

Daniel shrugged at Zack. “Not sure but could be.”

Will stood and poured more beer from the keg into a glass before walking back over. “I did a quick check and couldn’t find any flags for them with Interpol, but I didn’t dig deep. Do you want me too?” he asked Zack.

Zack shook his head. “No, but it might be worth finding out how long the Princess intends to be at the hotel.”

“Why isn’t she on the yacht and why does she have a three-man team with her?” Drew asked.

Jace looked at Drew and wondered if he had any clue how much of an asset he still was to the team. “She doesn’t get along with her brother’s wife, but her father won’t permit her to travel alone. She goes with the Prince and then gets away on her own as often as possible.”

“That doesn’t explain the three-man team. One would be better and allow her to go under the radar easier.”

“Her father doesn’t trust her guards not to sleep with her. She has somewhat of a reputation.”

Jack twirled the second glass of beer in his hands. “If by that, Zack, you mean the woman is dick-hungry, then you’d be right. She once tried to seduce Blake when he was working for the British Royal family as a PPO.”

“Sounds like the perfect woman,” Liam said, who until that point had been quiet. Jace laughed.

“Yeah, you two would get on great, both being sluts,” Nate said.

“Not everyone can find the love of their lives so easily, my friend.” Liam saluted Nate but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Nate smiled at Liam. “Believe me, it wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.”

The sky began to darken, and they lit torches in the sand and drank and bullshitted until around midnight when Dane stood up. “Well, I don’t know about you all, but I have a warm woman waiting for me. I’m heading back.”

“Wait up, I’ll come with you,” Zack called, who followed Dane with Nate, Will, and Zin joining them. The single guys, along with Kanan who said waking Roz was not worth his life, stayed back to keep drinking.

Jace thought it’d been a low-key end to his single days but an enjoyable one. He didn’t see the point in pretending it was something he’d miss when what was waiting for him and his future with Lucy was so much better.

* * *

The room was silent when Dane entered and began to undress. He had poked his head in on the kids who were both sound asleep, their cherubic faces peaceful. Tomorrow the four of them would be spending the day on a small, secluded beach before the hectic lead up to the wedding.