“I wasn’t aware that you were working with Gabriel,” I say.
Her eyes dart over to me and I shiver nervously under her hard imposing stare.
“I am now. With the way Gabriel is burning through our money, we’ll be bankrupt in two years. There’s going to be some changes now that I’m taking over.”
Eyes dart around the table, but we’re mostly looking at Westin. This is exactly the kind of situation that he would normally take control of, but he’s strangely silent.
He looks dumbstruck as he stares at her.
“I’ll be paying your office a visit first thing Monday morning,” she says as her back straightens. “I trust you’ll be able to make some time for me?”
Again, Westin is silent.
“Yes!” Nolan quickly says. “We’ll be there waiting with fresh coffee and bagels.”
He has a big welcoming smile on his face, but Victoria doesn’t return it. She just nods her head and walks away.
“What does that mean?” Carrie asks. “Do you think she’s going to keep her business with you guys?”
“She’d be crazy not to,” Eli says with a shrug. “What do you think this is about, Westin?”
Westin is still staring at the spot where she was with his mouth gaping wide open. “I’m in love.”
“Oh God,” we all mutter.
This can’t be good.EpilogueAubreyFifteen Years Later…“There’s a huge wave,” Luke says as our oldest son starts paddling toward it on his surfboard. “Go get it, Spencer!”
Luke and I are both sitting on our surfboards in the ocean as we watch him hit the crest of the wave, stand up, and surf down it like a pro.
“He’s getting good,” I say as I smile at my man.
“I taught him everything,” Luke says proudly.
I laugh. Luke is good at a lot of things, but surfing is not one of them. His big bulky body is more fit for football or rugby. Not for gliding down waves.
We’re sitting beyond the waves in the calm Caribbean water. It’s a perfect morning with the perfect man.
I look into the distance at our huge villa on the beach where we’ve happily lived for the past fifteen years. We’ve had four children in that house and I think we’re finally done. At least, I hope we’re done. I know that Luke would breed me with a dozen babies if he could. He loves it when I’m pregnant. The man is insatiable at all times, but when I’m pregnant… let’s just say he won’t let me go six hours without being inside me.
I smile when I see our three youngest kids on the beach with my parents. They’re looking for seashells.
After we lived here for a year and we had our first baby, I finally managed to convince my parents to leave their small town in Texas to come and visit us on their first-ever vacation. Luke sent the private jet to pick them up and they loved it so much that they’ve been coming twice a year ever since.
I love it here in the Cayman Islands. The surf shops that Luke invested in have made us a fortune as well as all the other businesses we picked up along the way.
I was working with him in the early days, but once I had a toddler running around, I had to quit. Once Andrea goes to school next year, I think I’ll be ready to work with him again. It was fun being in the office with my man and getting thrown over his desk with a growl. I miss it.
“There’s one for you,” I say as I glance over at a puny wave.
“Please,” he scoffs. “I only ride monster waves.”
“Oh, really?” I say with a laugh. “Then allow me.”
I feel his eyes on my ass as I paddle over to grab a wave. We’ve been married forever but I still always want to impress him. Sometimes, when I hit a big wave, he meets me on the shore, picks me up, and spins me around. I love that.
I grab a medium-sized wave and jump on my board as it takes me for a ride. “Yes,” I whisper when I don’t fall. I have a big audience watching me with my kids and parents on the beach, and Luke off to the side. Luckily, I don’t bail.
“Your turn!” I shout to Luke.
I can hear him groan as he starts paddling over.
He grabs a large wave, hits the crest, gets up, and immediately falls over headfirst into the water.
I burst out laughing and don’t stop. Even when he pops up beside me with a grin.
“I meant to do that.”
“Oh, sure…”
He grabs my board and I squeal.
“No! Don’t—”
It’s too late. He flips me over and I plunge into the water.
“That was mean,” I say when I come back up. We’re treading water close to each other just like the romantic time in the caves all those years ago.