Page 34 of Undercurrent

Nikki refused to let go of my hand until we had reached her room on the other side of the resort. “Do you realize how much of a hypocrite you seem right now?” I asked, rubbing my wrist after being released.

She waved me off, setting my suitcase near the bathroom door, where two garment bags were hanging from a coat rack. “This is your first—and hopefully only—wedding. I know what it means when it’s not done just right.”

“You mean Cupid’s Wedding Chapel in Atlantic City wasn’t everything you dreamed it to be?”

She answered with a pointed glare. “Marriage is not for me. The fates have made that abundantly clear, and since embracing that fact, look what’s happened! I’m living in paradise with a god of a man, a relaxing job, and no shortage of bliss. What more could I ask for? However,” she added sternly, “I have seen the way you two are when left alone for more than five minutes. It’s no wonder he proposed less than a week after the divorce was finalized, and you didn’t even breathe before saying yes. Far be it from me to try to reign you in before the big day.”

“You think we’re rushing.”

“I said nothing of the sort.” She opened my suitcase and dug around until she found something she liked. “Here. You should change.”

“A sun dress isn’t good enough now?”

“Too casual for the day we have ahead of us. Now, chop-chop!”

“I’ve known him for fifteen years, Nik. And I finally feel like me. We love each other, and I want to marry him. The only thing in my life I have ever been more sure of was dumping Fred’s sorry ass. Don’t you trust me?”

Her stern expression faltered, her lips twitched. “Oh, of course I trust you,” she whined, throwing her arms around me in a bear hug. “I was just testing you, I swear. I’m so happy for you both. After everything the two of you have been through, how can I not be?”

“Nik,” I croaked. “Bride… choking…”

She let go of me just as I started to see a tunnel, her eyes wet with tears. “Sorry. But really, you should change.”

I took the dress she’d chosen for me—a silky turquoise blue maxi dress with a very light shimmer, something I thought should be more for an evening look than late morning—and changed into it, just before there was a knock at the door. She opened it to find Jason, already wearing a white linen button down shirt and khaki pants. “Undisclosed location, eh?” he quipped.

Still overcome with emotion, she slammed him into another bear hug, making his eyes pop. “I’m so happy for you!” she howled, tearing up again.

“Did the brownie just kick in or something?” he coughed.

“Seriously guys,” she said, wiping her eyes. “If you really want some alone time tonight, the secret’s safe with me.”

“No, you’re right,” I sighed, looking over the broad shoulders of my fiancé and his now clean shaven face. “If we spend the night apart, it will make tomorrow all the more special.”

He entered the cabin and gave me a sweet and tender kiss. “But don’t think that I’m going to let go of you until after dinner tonight,” he whispered into my ear. “I’m thinking this time, we’ve got to try out our private pool.”

I practically purred with anticipation. “I’m in.”

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