A Player for A Princess

Ava precedes her down the aisle. She’s wearing a filmy green dress, strapless and short, and her dark hair swirls in the breeze. She’s very beautiful, and I give Rowan a glance. Yep, he’s transfixed. I do a little chuckle. Good to know.

The song changes, and I feel tightness in my throat. Shit, I’d better not cry like a fucking pussy. Still, I?

??ve wanted this woman to be mine for so damn long.

It’s sunset. The world is striped in pink, purple, blue, and gold, and Zelda appears at the top of the aisle. Her dress is made out of some kind of filmy material. I don’t even look at it. All I can see is her beautiful hair moving around her face. She has a little headband around her head. Her lips are that soft pink color, and her sexy legs are on full display. She’s a fucking goddess, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

“Shit,” I whisper, and the pastor laughs.

It’s the only thing that breaks my focus. “Sorry,” I say, giving him a quick glance.

“No worries,” he says with a grin.

And she’s beside me. She’s standing here barefoot, and she seems so small. I don’t know how it’s possible, because Zelda Wilder has always been larger than life to me. She’s looking up at me, and I see the most amazing thing. Her blue eyes are glistening. They’re huge and warm, and so much love is spilling out to me from them. I want to skip all these words we’re supposed to say and pull her to me and kiss her long and hard.

But I control myself.

The friendly island pastor leads us through all the traditional vows. My mother, whom I’ve barely noticed sitting next to Ximena, is satisfied. We exchange our rings. I laugh as I slide the rose-gold wedding band over her prosthetic wooden finger. My pirate wife, Margo Tenenbaum. The band sits perfectly atop the engagement ring I gave her last year.

Finally, he gets to the part where he announces us as husband and wife, and I can kiss my beautiful bride. I hold her for a moment, looking over her face as the wind pushes her hair all around us. My eyes move from that slightly off-center line in her chin to her fuller upper lip I love to bite to those flashing blue eyes. Good god, how did this happen to me?

Holding her cheeks, I kiss her with all the love in my soul. The crowd erupts into applause around us, and we turn to face them. It’s time to party. Ximena has Belle for the night, and I want to love my woman until dawn.

The steel drum band plays “Waiting in Vain,” and I think of our reunion night at Bomba’s, her cute little buzzy self. She’s singing softly in my ear, and I love the sound of her voice. My hands slide over her smooth skin, and I close my eyes, holding her small body, a perfect fit to mine.

The song ends, and she smiles up at me. “You’ve made me so happy, MacCallum.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear, beautiful.” I touch her cheek, and the song changes. It’s another island favorite, and we laugh as our guests surround us to dance. Ava grabs Zee’s waist, and the two of them dance together. I step away to watch the show, and my brother catches my elbow.

“I’m sorry to bother you with this on your wedding day.” His voice is grave, and my military past instinctively triggers.

“What’s happening?”

“Let’s walk,” he says.

Together we stroll down to the enormous pit dug in the sand. A fire glows orange over embers, and several chairs and a canvass-covered sofa are positioned around it.

“I’m pleased with the job you’ve done establishing our position here,” he says. “Wade Paxton spent a lot of time cultivating ways to disappear in this area. I like knowing we’ve exposed all his secrets.”

“We’ve exposed a lot of them,” I correct, thinking of the one Paxton operative who continues to evade discovery.

“This appeared with my mail last week.” He hands a crude scrap of paper to me.

I unroll it, and it’s an old-school style message made up of letters cut from a magazine. It’s unsettling.

* * *

Wade Paxton owed me twenty million pounds sterling. I want my money. Instructions for delivery are pending. Don’t make me move on your family again. –B.

* * *

My stomach grows tighter the more I read. “What the fuck?” I hiss. My muscles tweak, and I’m ready to fight. “Who else knows about this?”

“I’ve shown it to Reggie, Logan, and Freddie.” He looks back over his shoulder, and I follow his gaze. He’s thinking of Ava. “I will not let her be hurt.”

I watch the glowing orange flames dancing over the embers as I think. “Ava is stronger than you realize.” I remember how she found the rat at Occitan. “I’ll find this fucker, and I’ll take care of him. I’ll be sure he remembers every finger he’s ever cut.”

Rowan turns to me and smiles. “I knew you’d want to do the honors. Still, I’d be happy to have a few moments alone with him before you do your worst.”