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“It’s her wedding. She’s allowed to have a big ego. Most women wait their entire lives for this day,” I countered. If I was gambling correctly, the girls were the best bet on worming my way into the group. If I had their approval, the guys would follow.
“I like her,” Christine said with a smile and looked directly at Adam. Her look said,Keep her.
Jasmine looked at me and said, “It’s nice to see you again. I like your shirt.”
I looked down at my tank top that said, “Chilling with my gnomies,” and had the image of four gnomes sitting in snow.
“Thanks, I figured it would be ironic. I’m a big fan of it and sarcasm,” I replied.
Before Jasmine could respond, two equally good-looking Latino men who I recognized as Mendez and Garcia spoke. “Wow. Please don’t take this the wrong way.” That wasn’t a great start to an introduction. “You look like the female version of Strong, but way better looking,” they said.
“Haha, I will take that as a compliment. Adam is very good looking,” I said, looking around the table at all the guys, who were ogling me.
Several of them blushed when they realized I knew they were checking me out.
“Okay, so what’s your deal? You’re hot, in shape, and on vacation alone? What’s wrong with you?” Yates asked me. His arms were crossed in front of him, and he leaned back, balancing his weight on the back two legs of his chair. He was blunt, and I always appreciated that. Adam looked like he wanted to kick the chair and send his friend falling backward. Instead he glanced up at me with a look that said,I’m sorry.
“Yates, what the fuck?” Christine asked.
“No, it’s okay. I don’t take it personally.” I mean, I did a little, but taking offense wouldn’t get me anywhere. “I work too much, which also answers why I’m so fit. I’m a fitness instructor. I’m also straightforward, have no filter, and often hurt people’s feelings.” I mixed some truth with the lie.
“Hm, well, what you need to find is a guy like one of us. We appreciate that trait,” Yates said, further pushing Adam’s limits.
“Maybe I do,” I said, and then my eyes turned to Adam. I watched as his cheeks flushed.
“Okay, can we stop interrogating the woman? Abby, would you like to join us?” he asked me. By the looks of things, they were about halfway through their meals. “Although I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t want to.” I was still awkwardly standing there, holding my tray.
“Why not?” I plopped down into the empty chair next to him. On my other side was Guy. He had a laptop open in front of him, and he minimized his screen so that I couldn’t see what he was working on.
Damn it.
“Hi, I’m Abby,” I said to him quietly.
“Guy, nice to meet you,” he said and held out his hand.
I shook it and then turned back to my food. I hadn’t had chocolate in several months. The last time I had chocolate, it was practically forced down my throat by an asshole who thought he was rewarding me forbeing a good girl.AKA, fucking all the higher-ups in the trafficking ring and not complaining about it. He had no idea my love-hate relationship with chocolate or that I didn’t always have a body like this.
I took small bites of the chocolate crepe. It was enough to still taste the chocolate and keep control over my cravings. I did not show the same restraint for the bacon or fruit—I inhaled them both. The group was all silent as they watched me eat, like they couldn’t wait for me to finish so they could ask more questions. Instead, I took control over the conversation; it was better than waiting for an ambush.
“So Christine, why a wedding in Nassau? I know it’s beautiful, but so are all the other islands. What made you decide on this one?” I asked.
Christine hesitated for a moment and struggled to come up with an answer.
“Well, it’s no secret her family has money, so that wasn’t really an issue for us. It was more of a ‘let’s pull up the map of the tropicals and we’ll go wherever the dart lands’ type of situation,” Wells said. I didn’t miss the flex of Christine’s upper arm as she likely squeezed his leg in a silent thank-you under the table.
“That seems reasonable,” I said as I chewed on a piece of bacon. “How do you all know each other?” I pointed between all of them.
“The guys were all in my unit. We served together,” Adam said.
“We were later additions,” Jasmine said, pointing between herself and Christine. The way her eyes focused on me had me a little nervous. It was like I was a puzzle she was trying to figure out. For the sake of my cover, I hoped she was bad at them. She was the one that Bob had made a job offer to, so I knew she was intelligent and wouldn’t be easy to fool.
As Jasmine stared, the rest of the group started several conversations among themselves. They discussed their plans for the day. Christine reminded them that they needed to meet back up on the beach at three for the rehearsal, and then dinner would be in a restaurant in the resort.
“What are your plans for the day?” Adam asked me.
“Well, I didn’t really have any. I had planned to text you to see if you wanted to hang out.”
“Perfect, then we will hang out.” He beamed a charming smile at me—and my stupid heart fluttered. “Do you want to come with me to the rehearsal dinner tonight?”
