Page 24 of Joel
Oh damn.
“That dress what made for you,” Vanessa says.
“She’s right,” Mara agrees.
“And we’re not just saying that because you have like three options,” Serenity adds.
“It’s fate,” Vanessa decides.
“Do you love it?” Blakely asks.
I can’t speak, because for the first time in my life, I’m choked up with tears—happytears that have no business here. This is afakewedding. One I won’t be attending because I’ll be on a plane out of here.
I manage an enthusiastic nod in response.
“Joel is going todiewhen he sees you tomorrow,” Ella says.
“That’s my favorite part of a wedding,” Blakely admits. “Watching the groom’s reaction to seeing his bride in her dress for the first time. I’ve watched every other J-Squad member get choked up with emotion, and now I’ll get to see Joel’s reaction too.”
I don’t mean to picture it, but the image trespasses its way into my mind anyway. Joel standing at the altar—or well, the justice of the peace’s desk—in a tuxedo. Or may his dress uniform. That devilish smile spread across his lips as he looks me up and down in an elegant ivory gown that accentuates my curves in all the best ways. I don’t hate the low-cut cleavage, either. I bet he’d be thinking about all the fun he’d have taking it off afterward.
“Why are you getting married at the courthouse?” Blakely asks, her tone curious.
“Because the justice of the peace?—”
“Any one of us can get the authority to marry you in Alaska,” Blakely continues. “It’s some one-time thing here. You should get married at the museum.”
“What museum?” I ask, unable to stop looking at myself in the mirror. I never thought I’d see myself in a wedding dress. It was never something I got excited about, and now… Now Iwantit.
Maybe I even want it with Joel.
“The North Haven Historical Museum,” Vanessa adds. “That’s perfect!”
“Why?”
“Because they have an entire display about The Esmerelda,” Blakely explains.
I freeze at the words, feeling suddenly naked. Did Joel tell them?—
“Joel told the guys that’s why you came to North Haven. Because you love the legend of The Esmerelda so much that you wanted to see what the hype was all about,” Mara adds.
“Thatiswhy you came, right?” Serenity asks.
“Yep.”
It’s not a full-on lie. While Joel was on an emergency rescue yesterday, I spent the day Googling everything I could about the local legend. The more I read, the less I wanted to tell anyone—especially Todd—that I found it. It seems wrong to disturb the ship now, and I already have a plan to return the coin. Kind of like the old lady at the end of The Titanic dropping her necklace into the ocean.
“It’s such a sad story,” Vanessa says, frowning.
“It’s also alovestory,” Blakely counters. “A man so determined to come home to his true love that he brought a pirate ship to the coast of Alaska. I mean, who does that? Talk about grand gestures.”
“Except, the boat sank,” Ella says flatly.
“Or did it?” Blakely’s eyes sparkle. “No one’s ever found the wreckage.”
“That’s because only someone with a pure heart can find it,” Vanessa adds.
“Really?” I ask, instantly regretting the question when several sets of eyes stare at me like I should already know that. Shit. “I didn’t know that part.”
