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24
ARIA
“The resort was stunning,” Shelby said with a dreamy sigh. “They had to completely renovate it after the hurricane, and they did an amazing job.”
They’d gotten home from their honeymoon the night before, and the four of us decided to go out for Taco Tuesday as our first official double date. I took a bite of my carne asada taco and grinned as I chewed, loving how happy and glowy my brother and new sister-in-law looked. And it wasn’t just from spending all that time soaking up the Caribbean sun.
“I still can’t believe you picked that resort because of your pirate obsession, bro,” Will said to Paul, shaking his head.
Paul didn’t look fazed in the slightest. “I’m telling you, man, you need to listen to that podcast. It’s so interesting.”
We all laughed, then I shrugged. “Hey, we love true crime podcasts. Everybody has their thing.”
“It’s actually troubling to me how much women like to listen to true crime. It’s like you’re taking notes on how to get away with murder,” Will said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“You’d better watch your back. I’ve learned all kinds of stuff,” I replied.
Will leaned over and kissed me, tasting of salt from the tortilla chip he’d just eaten. “At least I’ll die happy.”
Paul and Shelby groaned, then Paul kicked him under the table. “Easy, Will. I’m still getting used to this.”
“Tell us more about your trip,” I said to Shelby, ignoring my idiotic brother.
“Well, the pirate obsession definitely came into play. We sailed by Blackbeard’s Castle–”
“Which,” Paul interrupted, holding up a finger, “may or may not have actually housed Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach.”
Shelby chuckled as Will pulled a face. “You’re such a nerd.”
“Anyway,” Shelby continued, “we checked that out, went to the Pirate’s Treasure Museum, went to Drake’s Seat—which was supposedly a lookout for another pirate—and of course, the tower at our resort was Bluebeard’s castle.”
“Lemme guess,” Will said. “He may or may not have actually inhabited it.”
“Oh, no, he for sure did,” Paul replied with a bob of his head. “Legend has it he used the watchtower to imprison the woman he loved. Her name was Mercedes. But it backfired because she led his rivals there to steal his gold.”
“How romantic,” Will deadpanned.
Shelby beamed at her new husband. “It was. Despite the pirate lore.”
“Okay, but did you do anything that wasn’t pirate-related?” I asked. I wasn’t judging, but I was waiting for some stuff to keep St. Thomas on my bucket list. The rest of that wasn’t too appealing.
“We did,” Shelby said wistfully. “We did lots of sunbathing. Shopping in Charlotte Amalie. Sailed to Water Island to hang out at Honeymoon Beach…”
“For obvious reasons,” Paul drawled, making us laugh. “We also did a kayak thing at night. The kayaks had glass bottoms and lights underneath them and we saw some really cool fish.”
Shelby groaned, putting her head in her hands. “Yeah, but that night we almost got divorced.”
Will and I looked at each other with matching expressions of confusion. I turned back to Shelby. “Wait. What?”
“Have you ever tried to kayak with a man? It’s impossible,” she lamented.
“It’s not impossible if you do it right,” Paul said with an eye roll. “Which you weren’t.”
Shelby held up her finger. “Don’t you start with me, Paul Bristol. I listen to true crime.”
He leaned forward and kissed the finger she held between them. “You wouldn’t kill me, Shelby Bristol. You’re still hoping I’ll move your butt to Hawaii after this.”
“Kill him once you get there, Shel,” Will said, waving a taco in front of him. “Then you’ll get to experience Hawaii and stay there using that big ole life insurance policy.”
