Page 4 of Six Nights in Paradise

“Oh, come on, man. You’re my best friend! We’re both single. We’ll be in another country. There will be beautiful women running around in bikinis and plenty of rum to keep us nice and comfy.”

“Dude, no. I’m up for a big promotion and we have not one, but two major clients to meet with next week. If I spring a last-minute vacation on them now, I can kiss that promotion goodbye.”

Shit. “What about Travis?” I asked hopefully, going down the line of our closest friends.

“He’s studying for the bar exam. No way he’s going to take off right now.”

“Shawn?” I questioned, the hope starting to drain out of me.

“Bethany will kill him. She only has a month left before the baby gets here, and she’s already having contractions. He’s not even allowed to leave the county right now, much less the country.”

I pulled out my wild card. It was my last resort. “Well, does Adam have anything going on?”

“He’s in rehab,” Aiden deadpanned. “Again. He can’t even leave the center for a couple more weeks. It’s court-ordered this time,” he added sadly. I winced, hating myself for not knowing he had relapsed again. What kind of friend was I?

A shitty one.

Seemed like I couldn’t do anything right these days. I lost my fiancé to another man and couldn’t even be bothered to keep up with the four guys who had been like brothers to me.

Taylor

Two weeks ago

Why did I answer my phone? When I saw it was the university calling, I should’ve just let it go to voicemail. I wasn’t ready to deal with this. I wasn’t ready to face the consequences of my actions. I’d been misguided and naïve, and now I was paying for it.

My hands wrung together, my foot tapping a fast-paced beat against the hardwood floor as I waited in the sturdy wooden chair outside the dean’s office. This was it. I was about to get kicked out of school. What was I going to tell my parents? I’d have to think of something convincing, something so far from the truth that they’d never guess what I really did.

While I was getting ready this morning, I did my best to look innocent, even though I was far from it. I had to convince them I belonged there, that I didn’t do anything wrong, although nothing could be further from the truth. What I did wasverywrong, and I knew it. This morning, I dressed in conservative clothes, ensuring my skirt wasn’t too snug or short and there was no cleavage showing. I applied minimal makeup, allowing the slight smattering of freckles across my cheeks and nose to shine through when I usually concealed them, and opted to wear glasses instead of putting my contacts in. I looked demure, non-threatening, inculpable. I needed them to believe me incapable of what I’d been accused.

My heart leapt into my throat when I heard the door open and watched the dean emerge. “Hold my calls,” he instructed his secretary, and then his gaze slid to me. “Ms. Wesley,” he greeted. His tone was indifferent, professional. He wasn’t thrilled to have me in his office, but he didn’t outwardly show his disdain. I was confident this wasn’t the first time he’d had this conversation with a student, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

I stood from my chair and grabbed my purse, my hairline and underarms dampening with nervous perspiration. I suddenly regretted the sweater set I’d slipped into, hoping it gave me the look of a dedicated and rule-abiding college student. It was far too warm for the knit material and long sleeves. At least my skirt was knee length and didn’t cover my legs entirely. I’d mercifully left the panty hose off as well.

Mr. Crawford motioned for me to follow him and I did, smoothing a sweaty hand over my clothes. “Have a seat,” he instructed, pointing to the chair across from his desk. Another man I recognized but couldn’t place was perched in the seat next to his desk. From the placement of my chair, I guessed that his chair had been next to mine, but he moved it away. They wanted to show a united front, to draw a line between us. Them on one side and me on the other.

“Ms. Wesley,” Mr. Crawford repeated after settling behind his massive, ornately designed desk, “there have been some serious accusations made against you. Accusations of this nature require thorough investigation, and your cooperation would be greatly appreciated.”

I swallowed hard, willing myself to keep my mouth shut until he was done speaking. I wanted to lie through my teeth and shout my confession all at the same time. If I could’ve lied, just denied the whole thing, this might have gone easier. But I’d learned years ago that lying never got me anything except hurt, so I vowed never to do it again.

My heart raced as he read over a list of the things that had been reported to him about me. I gripped the arms of my chair, my fingernails biting into the soft leather. When he finished, he removed his reading glasses and set them atop the papers in front of him.

“Now,” he began, folding his hands together, “what do you have to say about these accusations?”

My mind screamed to me,Deny! Deny! Deny!I wanted to. I wanted to make this all go away, to go back in time and make a different choice. But nothing could erase what I’d done. No amount of pleading or begging would make it go away. So, I folded and told the truth. I told them everything.

Dalton

“I have no idea what I’m going to do.” I raked my hands through my already messy hair and hung my head. “There’s nobody else I can take. I guess I’ll just have to go by myself.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Aiden asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically. “I foresee you doing a whole lot of drinking while you’re there, and you’re going to be surrounded by water. I’d hate to see you get smashed, fall into the ocean, and end up drowning yourself.”

“How do you even come up with this shit?”

He shrugged and took another swig of his beer. “Just trying to think ahead, bro.”

I shook my head, contemplating his concerns. I supposed his points were valid. I did plan on drinking myself into oblivion for the next week. The location and company were irrelevant. And if I was lucky, I’d fuck Gianna out of my memory.

Speaking of drinking myself into oblivion… I popped the top off another beer and glanced up, catching sight of Aiden’s sister, Taylor entering the kitchen. Both Aiden and Taylor still lived at home with their parents. Taylor was still in college and Aiden was saving up to buy a house. There really wasn’t any reason for either of them to move out. The house was huge, so nobody felt crowded or like anyone was constantly in their business. Their parents let them come and go as they pleased as long as they cleaned up after themselves and didn’t have rowdy parties. My mom had never been anywhere near as laid back as Mr. and Mrs. Wesley.

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