“Yeah, money’s a little better than when you’re active duty.”
Sofia laughed. “A little?” Then she looked at Malin. “It’s another reason I left,” she murmured.
“I agree with Dutch. I spent some time in Spain, and this is still the best paella I’ve ever had.”
Sofia beamed at her.
When Onyx’s phone buzzed, he looked at the screen first and then at Dutch. “Time for us to go.”
“No f’ing way,” Dutch said through another mouthful of food. “I am not leaving until I eat at least another five or six plates of this stuff.”
“We can bring it with us. That’s what my plan was anyway,” said Sofia, smiling.
“Yeah? Damn, woman, I think I love you.”
Malin knew Dutch was joking. She also knew that Onyx and Sofia were in some kind of relationship, however new it might be. It didn’t lessen the sting of hearing him say the words she’d once hoped he’d say to her but never had.
3
It was after midnight when they landed at Shaw, which meant since the only access to the island was by boat, they wouldn’t head over until morning.
“We’ll stay somewhere in the historic district tonight so we can leave first thing in the morning,” Dutch told Onyx.
“Sounds good.”
“Got any ideas where?”
“For you?”
Dutch shook his head. “For all of us.”
Onyx looked away. “I made other arrangements.”
Dutch smiled. “Good for you, bro.” He hated that expression, but between him and Onyx, it seemed to work.
“I’ve heard good things about the Yellow Jasmine.”
“I’ll check it out.”
“They’re great about respecting peoples’ privacy.”
Dutch raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know from personal experience. I just know that celebrities stay there sometimes.”
“If they’re good about privacy, how do you know about the celebrities who stay there?”
“I read it somewhere.”
Dutch looked online and settled on another place. The Meeting House Inn was highly rated, right near the water, and one of the most romantic places to stay in all of South Carolina. Only trouble was, they only had one room left.
He found Malin coming out of the ladies’ room followed by Sofia.
“We’ll stay in town for the night,” he told her and then turned to Sofia. “It was nice to meet you, and thanks for the amazing grub.”
“You can take it with you.”
“Nah. I appreciate it, but…”