I glance back at Flynn and he’s laughing at me, his eyes warm and full of something so powerful, it makes me swallow hard. It exhilarates and frightens me, and I have to wonder which emotion I’ll ultimately let overtake me.
26
“Wanna go swimming again?” I ask Rowan, glancing over at her as she lies beside me on the warm beach.
She’s stretched out on her stomach, her cheek resting on her hands, with her eyes closed. She looks so peaceful and it’s a look that I’m so glad can lay naturally on her face.
We’ve been out here all morning, soaking up the sun and just chillin’ with each other. Nix and Emily had to go into St. Thomas to get their marriage license, and Renner and Cillian decided to tag along. I have no clue where all the parents are, but for now, I’m enjoying some alone time with Rowan.
After renting some snorkeling gear, we swam out in the small lagoon and tried to find some sea turtles. No such luck but we did swim over some really pretty reefs, teaming with colorful fish. I tried to talk Rowan into some scuba diving but she was having none of it. She muttered something about “shark bait” and “not enough money in the world”. I didn’t have the heart to tell her sharks could swim into this lagoon but I’d never get her back out in the water if I did that.
Rowan sits up and I can’t help but notice the way her breasts sway underneath her tiny bikini top. She didn’t own a bathing suit so yesterday afternoon, she bought one in the resort’s gift shop. I tried to talk her into a sedate one-piece because, frankly, I don’t like the idea of her assets hanging out for everyone to see. Those are for my eyes only. She merely threw it back at me and grabbed the tiny pile of dental floss that she’s now wearing. I have to admit, though, the turquoise blue material looks beautiful against her skin and it makes me want to peel her out of it.
In fact, I’m thinking maybe we should take a beach break and hit the room for a while. I’m now obsessed with getting that bikini off her. I lean over and rub my nose along her neck. She sighs and brings her fingers up to glide through my hair. She tilts her head and brings her lips against mine. I press the advantage and slip my tongue in, deepening the kiss.
“Hey you two, get a room.”
Cursing, I pull back from Rowan, who wipes at her lips with the tips of her fingers and smiles. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Linc headed our way. He’s wearing a pair of board shorts and a New York Rangers t-shirt.
“Isn’t it sacrilege or something for you to wear that shirt?”
Linc looks down at his chest, no doubt not even conscious of what clothes he threw on. Shrugging his shoulders, he says, “Hope I don’t get struck by lightning.”
He takes the towel in his hand and unfurls it, laying it in the sand next to mine. He plops his butt down with a sigh.
Glancing over his shoulder back toward the building where our rooms are housed, he looks back to me. “Okay... I need your advice before Ever gets down here.” Linc glances at Rowan. “You’re a woman! I could use your advice too.”
“Thanks for noticing,” Rowan says dryly.
Linc’s mouth turns upward and he wiggles his eyebrows at her. “Oh, I noticed all right.”
A low growl emits from my throat. “Hey... eyes back on me, buddy, or I’ll introduce your face to my fist.”
Linc lets out a chuckle and I smile at him, but I’m dead serious. If he looked at Rowan’s perfect body a second longer, we’d have gone at it. “So, what’s up?”
He glances one more time over his shoulder and then leans in toward us conspiratorially. “Okay... so I’m going to pop the big question to Ever the night after the wedding. I talked to the resort manager, and he’s going to arrange for us to have a private dinner on the beach. He’s going to set up a small table, candles... they even have this canopy that is like nothing but some bamboo poles stuck in the sand with some filmy material or some shit like that that goes over the top. So Rowan... do you think that sounds romantic?”
I glance at Rowan, because I am curious as to what she considers romantic. She gives him a wry smile and holds her hand to her chest, “My heart just went pitter-patter when you said ‘some shit like that’, Linc. Very romantic.”
A bark of laughter escapes my mouth and Linc punches me in the shoulder. “Dude, not funny. Seriously, what do you two think? Because I really wanted to do something huge and over the top. Let her know how much I love her... you know, sort of like what Ryan did for Danny.”
Rowan looks puzzled so I take a minute and explain how Ryan proposed to Danny on the big Jumbotron at Madison Square Garden before a Rangers game. She’s dutifully impressed and a fleeting thought goes through my mind... I wonder what type of proposal it would take to get Rowan to agree to marriage. I have no clue what her views are, but I know her ideas of parenthood are skewed based on her family experience.
Turning to Linc, I tell him, “Look man... I don’t really know Ever all that well, so I can’t say for sure what she’d like. But I do know you. And you’re the low-key, subtly romantic type of dude. You’re not an over-the-top, in-your-face, shout-to-the-world-my-feelings kind of guy. So I think this beach dinner sounds perfect. What I do know about Ever is that she loves you... just the way you are. So she’d much rather have something that reflects the real you.”
“But what if it’s not enough? I’m so nervous, I’m practically sick to my stomach. What if she says ‘no’? I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.”
“She’ll say yes, man. Trust me,” I assure him.
“Really?” Linc asks and he sounds so pathetically miserable over this whole proposal not working, I start to feel really bad for him.
“Absolutely,” Rowan chimes in. “No woman could resist that.”
I stow that piece of information away for future reference. I also add, “Quit stressing, Linc. I swear she’ll say yes.”
Linc lets out a huge sigh and flops back on his towel, eyes raised to the sky. “God, I hope so. I’ll be miserable if she says no. I’ve never been so stressed in my life.”
“Stressed over what?” Ever asks as she walks toward us. She’s wearing a red bikini top that looks perfect against her pale skin and dark hair, with tiny, white shorts. Yeah... she’s beautiful, but she’s got nothing on Rowan.
Linc sits up ramrod straight and his mouth hangs open like a dead fish. I can see panic on his face, having no clue what to say. Before I can even swoop in to save him, Rowan says, “Linc was worried about his toast at the wedding dinner. Says he’s a bit of a pansy-ass when it comes to public speaking.”
I snicker and Linc turns a stunned face toward Rowan. Ever drops down in Linc’s lap and his arms wrap around her waist while he rests his chin on her shoulder. He looks at Rowan and mouths the words, Thank You to her, relief swimming in his eyes.
“That’s true. Linc hates being the center of attention like that. But you’ll do great, baby.” Ever leans her head back to look at Linc and he kisses her temple. When she straightens back up, she looks at us. “What do you two have planned today?”
“Just relaxing... but we’re actually going to go swimming right now. You want to join us?”
“Nah,” Ever says. “I think I just want to lie out here for a while.”
Linc chimes in, “What she said.”
Standing up from the towel, I hold my hand out to Rowan. She takes it and I tug her up from the towel. When she’s standing, I bend over and catch her legs with my shoulder, tossing her over me as I stand up. She squeals as I start walking toward the water.