‘Again, Ted has proven to be the worst kind of—’
‘I got it the first time,’ Samantha said. ‘I’m trying to see if there’s a trend here. Have you met them?’
‘Anthony’s folks? Briefly.’
‘What sort of people are they?’
‘Normal. Simple. One’s a teacher. No … a school principal. The other … I don’t remember. Anthony is their only kid.’ After a pause, he said, ‘They love me.’
‘Well, you’re not marrying their only child.’
‘True.’
Roman hunched low and picked up a cracked seashell on the riverbank. After brushing it off, he planted it in her open palm. Samantha closed her fingers around it, hoping it gave her the courage needed for one last difficult question.
‘Are Anthony’s parents the sort to stop a wedding?’
‘Babe, I can’t vouch for them,’ he replied. ‘But who knows what they’re thinking? Even if they were pulling a stunt, it wouldn’t matter. There’s nothing they can do. It’s a done deal.’
Nothing rattled this man. He was certain everything would work out. She could use some of that certainty. After all, it was possible that Ted’s abrupt and early departure had nothing to do with Anthony’s parents’ late arrival. Maybe they were all too thrilled for their only son, relieved that he’d found the love of his life at long last. Possible, but unlikely … Unfortunately, the only two people who could shine a light on this were stuck at an airport hotel in Florida.
‘If they don’t show up tomorrow, it’s safe to assume they don’t want to be here,’ Samantha said. ‘And I don’t want Naomi to be embarrassed, not on her wedding day. She’s so proud, it would kill her. Besides, she and Anthony aren’t doing anything wrong. Even if it turns out to be a huge mistake, so what? They’ll deal with it. We’ll deal with it. It’ll be fine.’
A fresh wave of frustration washed over her. She looked around for a pebble to kick. Finding none, she aimed at a decent-sized rock – and stubbed her toe. ‘Dammit!’
Roman pulled her to him. He rocked her and kissed the top of her head. ‘Calm down, baby. It’s like you said. If tomorrow is a disaster, we’ll deal with it.’
Samantha pressed her cheek to the flat of his chest. Roman had called her ‘baby’. Rainbows formed inside her chest. Had she stumbled upon some neglected back door into heaven?
‘As far as I know, Anthony’s parents are good, decent people,’ he continued. ‘But I promise you this: if they pull any stunts, I’ll straighten them out.’
Samantha clamped her mouth shut. If she uttered one word it would be ‘love’, as in ‘I love you’. Clearly, Tobago had warped her brain. She blamed it on the enchanted waters of the Nylon Pool.
‘Feel better?’ he asked.
She nodded, and stepped away. ‘No more secrets. OK?’
‘I promise.’
As they slowly took the path back to the beach, Samantha lit up with an idea. ‘Hey! Would it be rude to ask Chris to charter a plane for Anthony’s parents?’
‘More weird than rude,’ he said.
‘Come on! He must have access to a fleet of planes. He’s filthy rich, you know?’
‘Oh, I know,’ Roman said.
‘Did you, really? I had no idea.’
‘Once we got talking, I figured it out.’
Roman and Chris had been talking a lot. Every now and then she’d caught them with their heads together. ‘What have you been talking about?’
‘Finance, investments, how things get done in the West Coast.’
She eyed him with suspicion. Roman’s blank expression gave nothing away, not one hint. Would Roman ditch Wall Street for the West Coast? Next thing, he’d join Naomi and Jen on long hikes and send her photos of the sun setting over the Hollywood hills.
‘Anyway, Chris doesn’t fly private,’ Roman said. ‘He’s mindful of his carbon footprint.’