Page 69 of The Night Before (Savannah 1)

but Caitlyn still felt odd. She didn’t want to think it was because of Adam, because he was handsome, because there was an air of mystery about him, because she found him too damned sexy for her own good.

“What happened?”

She thought back, remembered the calm sea, the bank of clouds that had seemed so far away. So peaceful. So benign. “I’d gone sailing with my sister, Kelly. Just the two of us. Kind of a birthday celebration. We’d just turned twenty-five, and that’s when our trust funds kicked in. Anyway the boat was Kelly’s birthday present to herself,” Caitlyn said, the words coming out as she remembered the hot, muggy day that had started out with so much promise.

“Where are we going?” Caitlyn had asked when Kelly had shown up on her doorstep and insisted they celebrate their newfound financial freedom.

“It’s a surprise.”

“I’m not sure I like surprises.”

“Quit being a spoilsport, okay? For once, unwind. Come on.” She’d convinced Caitlyn to get into the car, and she’d driven to the marina. After parking, she’d stuffed a beach bag into Caitlyn’s arms and pulled a small padded cooler from her trunk.

“You rented a boat?” Caitlyn asked as they walked along the sun-baked planks of the pier.

“Not rented.”

“What do you mean?”

“I bought myself a birthday present.” She paused in front of a slip where a gleaming cabin cruiser was moored.

“This?” Caitlyn’s had asked, shocked. “It’s huge.”

“Hardly a yacht.”

“But—do you even know how to drive it?”

“Steer it. Of course. I’ve been given lessons. Now, hurry up or we’ll be late for the party.”

“Party?” Caitlyn had felt as if she’d just stepped onto another planet. “What party?”

“The one I’m throwing for us.”

“You didn’t tell me about any party,” Caitlyn had said, eyeing the sleek craft as it rocked against its moorings.

“Sure I did. Ages ago! Now, come on, let’s take her out for her maiden voyage, just the two of us. I’ve got some champagne to celebrate.” She’d climbed into the boat and opened the cooler to show the long necks of two green bottles capped in foil. “Dom Perignon,” she said, as if that would add to the allure. Then she stepped lithely out of her shorts to reveal the bottom of a yellow bikini. “We’ll go over to Hilton Head and dock in at the resort. I’ve rented a banquet room for our party.”

“You’re serious about this?”

“Abso-frickin’-lutely. We can’t turn twenty-five without a party. It’s kind of our last hurrah before we become real adults.”

“I thought we were real adults.”

“Speak for yourself. Come on.” Kelly had flashed her naughty smile, and her hair glinted red in the shafts of sunlight piercing the clouds. “We deserve this. Finally we’ve got our share of Grandpa Benny’s money. God, how long have we heard about it?” She stood on the deck, one hip thrown out as she’d taken a long, appreciative look at her purchase. “You know what I think?”

“I’d hate to guess.”

“I think, no, I believe that old bastard would have liked nothing better than for his favorite granddaughters to do a little celebrating.”

“What makes you think we were his favorites?”

Kelly had laughed and winked as she’d squinted at Caitlyn. “Who else? Amanda? Hannah? Or those damned Biscaynes? Come on, I’m sure we were his favorites. Not that it matters. Now, come on, Caitie-Did! Let’s go.”

Of course, she’d been unable to resist. Kelly’s enthusiasm was and always had been infectious.

Now, sitting in the psychologist’s office, Caitlyn remembered the day vividly, and whereas she’d rarely spoken of what had happened on her twenty-fifth birthday to anyone, not even the members of her family, she told Adam. About sailing through the darkening water, about the clouds rolling in, about the friends and family that had gathered. There had been a band and a birthday cake and champagne and they’d partied long and hard into the night. By the time they returned to the boat, the wind had come up. Kelly had been drinking, but had insisted she could maneuver the craft back to the mainland, and Caitlyn had consumed too much champagne to argue. Looking back, it was a situation set up for tragedy.

On the way back to the marina it had begun to rain, but Kelly had been undaunted at the helm of her new craft. She’d turned on her running lights, and Caitlyn had felt more than the light buzz from her champagne. But beneath the euphoria ran a darker sensation, a headache threatening to throb, a tightness in her skull. However, if Kelly had felt any hint of her own upcoming hangover, she didn’t show it. She had still been laughing at the weather, standing at the helm, the wind tearing at her hair when the boat just stopped, the engine sputtering and dying.

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