Magical Weddings (64 page)

“Holy hell, that’s hot!”

Davis’ solution was to let her walk along the shadier side of the trail. With the sun higher in the sky, there wasn’t much shade. And the sharp-edged palm fronds were making her legs look like a cutting board.

Veronica was beyond ready for a new solution when Lucas showed up.

Lucas stood silently on the path, blocking Veronica, while Davis continued toward the beach. Lucas waited for his brother to disappear around a bend in the path before turning his full attention on Veronica. “I should have known that you’d go off alone with Davis at the first opportunity.”

“Well, that makes all this your fault, then.” She pointed to her feet.

He quickly noted her scratched-up legs and broken sandals. Adding up those and the irritated expression he’d seen on his brother’s face, Lucas surmised that the private walk hadn’t gone well. He handed her the shoes to carry.

“You’ll need to apologize to whoever these belong to.”

“She’ll never know.” Lucas picked her up in his arms. Her skin was incredibly warm from the sun exposure. He enjoyed that. He didn’t enjoy the big blue hat in his face. “Could you...”

She removed it and held it behind his back.

“Thank you.” He couldn’t resist a chance to point out a character flaw. “I’m surprised Davis didn’t take the opportunity to pick you up and hold you in his arms.”

“Mmmm.” She wrinkled her nose. The sun was already giving new color to the freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her fair skin would not take much more without a large dose of sunblock. “I think I ticked him off a bit.”

Lucas laughed. “This I gotta hear.”

“He was showing off his
vision
for the fancy community he has planned for the north island.”

He could tell by her voice that she wasn’t impressed. “And you didn’t like it.”

“Nope.”

“Are you a tree-hugging preservationist?”

“In this case, yes. What I’ve always appreciated about the west coast of Florida is its natural beauty. There’s plenty of room for development inland.”

“Well, the Prestons are donating
this
island to the state to be preserved.”

“I’d be willing to bet they see more of the benefit in the tax break than in the preservation of Florida wildlife.”

He couldn’t stop his smile. She hadn’t been in the meeting, but she was right on the money. “Maybe you should stage a protest.”

“Land preservation isn’t my area, but preserving our food supply is. I have been a part of a culinary protest.”

“You have?”

“The chef I apprentice with has refused to cook swordfish for years. They were so overfished. The species needed time to replenish its population. It’s better now, but they’re still far below the average size they used to be.”

“Did you march with signs during this protest?”

“No.” She laughed. “It was never illegal to catch and cook swordfish. We made a stand by refusing to serve it. We even stated it on our menu.”

“I’m sure some people wanted to eat swordfish anyway. Damn the consequences.”

“People like the Prestons.” She smirked.

“And the Crowleys.” He smirked back at her. “We are, after all, the ones who’ll do all the work.”

“
You
will.”

He shrugged, having no idea what she implied by that.

“Davis said that
he’s
the visionary.
You’re
the worker.”

“That’s what he said?” Lucas tried hard to keep his voice steady and devoid of sarcasm.

“Yes. Good cop, bad cop. He wows them, and you battle for a better financial stake.”

Bitter laughter forced its way through his gritted teeth. “I’m the bad cop.”

“The view from the lighthouse is wonderful, by the way.”

“I’m glad you got to see it.”
With Davis.
It wasn’t a surprise to Lucas to know that he was thought of as the family pit bull.

The bitterness came from realizing he was tired of it. All of it.

Veronica was certain she’d said something to tick off Lucas, but she had no idea what it could have been. He simply stopped looking at her or talking to her until they’d reached the water.

Even though it was early spring, the Gulf water was only slightly cool. Cool enough to be refreshing on a sunny day but warm enough to walk right in without needing time for her skin to adjust.

“Thank you.”

He grunted something. Apparently, she was damned good at ticking off the Crowley brothers. However, he did slip her hand into his before leading her toward the group gathered near the food tent. Everyone was looking at her as they approached.

“Hi. Nice hat.” The bride-to-be extended her hand and smiled. “I’m Piper Preston–for the next twenty-something hours.”

Veronica realized that meeting the bride personally was one of those significant moments that Lucas intended for her to experience. Unfortunately, Piper Preston was exactly what Veronica feared she would be–head-to-toe gorgeous with flawless skin, expressive eyes and perfect hair.

Piper’s soft smile was echoed in her large, brown eyes. She seemed genuine, and Veronica found it very hard to not like the woman on first impression. “Thanks. I—um. I’m Veronica Milano.”

“Well, welcome to my wedding weekend.” She winked. “I’ve been planning it for a very long time.”

One of her bridesmaids chimed in. “She’s been planning it since she was six.”

Piper laughed. “The hard part was finding the right groom.”

The same bridesmaid giggled. “The hard part was locking him down.”

Piper didn’t laugh. Instead, her brown eyes narrowed on the bridesmaid with annoyance. The poor woman coughed into her hand and backed away from the group.

Usually the quiet one, Veronica surprised herself by speaking out in an effort to end the uncomfortable silence. “Ms. Preston, you will be a stunning bride tomorrow. I’m sure Davis knows exactly how lucky he is.”

Piper hugged Veronica and nodded at Lucas. “I like this one.”

“Okay, everyone, you’ve had good food and warm Florida sun. Now it’s time for a treasure hunt.” As Piper explained the adventure, a boat steward handed a scroll tied with white ribbon to every other person. The scroll turned out to be a hand-drawn map of the island with the lighthouse on one end and some old ruins on the other. In between, several paths wound around the island linking special spots marked with red dots. “You’re looking for a pirate’s key.”

“What’s it look like?” Veronica heard someone ask.

“You’ll know it when you see it. The lucky couple to find it first wins.” Piper’s voice pitched higher with excitement. “The key opens the door to a private cabana where you will enjoy an afternoon couples’ massage, a culinary basket courtesy of our chef, and a bottle of Cristal.”

People paired off and disappeared into the maze of Florida sand and scrub. Shrieks and giggles rose from somewhere in the midst of the glade. The heat of the early afternoon sun slowed the chirping of cicadas to a low hum.

“Shall we join in?” Lucas aimed a smirk in Veronica’s direction. “If we win, I
am
expected to share the prize with my wedding date.”

“If? I’m certain all of the legends regarding the great Lucas ‘Bad Cop’ Crowley include the words
highly confident
.”

He had a full grin now. “I’m thinking we have a leg up on the others.”

“Do tell.”

“You’ve already been to the lighthouse. Did you see a key there?”

She shook her head. “And I didn’t see Davis plant anything there, either.”

“And we didn’t see anyone on the trail on the way back. So either they picked another trail or the key was placed on the island before any of the guests arrived on shore.”

“Not too many people are headed north, but we still have one problem.” She pointed down. “My feet. The sandals are toast.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Hop up on my back.”

“For the whole way?”

“Pretty sure I just carried you a half a mile without huffing and puffing.”

“Oh, deflate that sense of pride. Insult was not intended.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

As Lucas bent over, Veronica climbed on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He took off at slow jog, holding her thighs tight to keep her from bouncing too much.

Several of the dots on the map turned out to be small hills with great views of the ocean or bay. Another dot was a long pier on the bay side of the island where several small boats and Jet Skis were docked. Lucas informed her that the bottom was too shallow around the pier for the yacht. Where it was anchored was the closest it could get to shore.

The bay side of the island seemed to be a popular destination for boaters from the mainland. Small boats were deliberately beached on the sandbars. Dozens of people were enjoying the warm shallow water of the bay. She still hated the idea of a posh development on the other island. But she decided it was fortunate for the locals that their favorite boating destination here would become a state park and remain open for their enjoyment.

Veronica and Lucas passed two of their competitive teams along the way. One couple were too engrossed in an argument to care. Veronica heard a few harsh sentences from the woman accusing the man of ogling some other woman.

Lucas seemed to get a laugh from that. She could feel the rumble of his laughter through the connection of her thighs to his chest. Veronica swallowed hard. She couldn’t help but think about her own role between Piper and Davis. But Veronica had no intention of being the
other
woman. Hell, no. She wanted to be someone’s
only
woman. Could she become Davis’ only woman?

The next couple they passed was frantically digging into the sand. Lucas paused. “They must have found something.”

“Let’s keep going anyway. If it’s nothing, we’ll be ahead of them. If it’s the key, we’ll hear them celebrating.”

“Veronica, I like the way your mind works.”

She was glad he couldn’t see her smile or how that pleased her. He would wrongly get the impression that his opinion of her mattered.

They caught up to the only other team ahead of them, two of the giggling bridesmaids. They were definitely a force to be reckoned with as they divided up to scan through the ruins of an old shack.

The four of them raced around the relic looking under every rock and shell. In the excitement, Veronica ignored the searing heat of the sunbaked sand.

They found nothing but pieces of old wood, broken shells and crumpled soda cans. After a while, Veronica rested on a large rock–until Lucas scooped her up and headed down another path leading back in the general direction they came.

“Did you think of something?”

“Last ditch thinking.” He was huffing a bit now with her in his arms in front of him. “Remember the pier?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s take a closer look.”

By the sounds of kids splashing, she could tell they were getting closer. Finally, the long dock was in sight. She looked around but didn’t see any of the other wedding guests.

He held her all the way to the end before setting her down gently on the old wooden planks. Leaning over each of the water toys one by one, he finally whistled.

He waved her over to the Jet Ski and pointed to the foam key chain. One silver key was buried into the ignition, but another one–a bejeweled bronze key–hung limply on the other side of the foam fob.

“Brilliant!”

“My lady, let’s go claim our prize.” Lucas assisted her onto the back seat and handed her a life vest. The water route around the island was to the south, which meant rounding the end where the lighthouse stood like a sentinel protecting the bay. The waters coming through the inlet were stronger now with the incoming tide. The small watercraft bounced heavily against the higher swells, which bounced her against Lucas’ back.

Veronica almost asked him to take her back to the yacht. The lack of sleep and abundance of sun exposure had sapped her energy. But the appeal of a massage and champagne was too tempting. And both together would probably put her to sleep on the massage table. She was okay with that.

Lucas beached the Jet Ski directly in front of the food tent, which wasn’t a food tent anymore. Thick red curtains now hung on all four sides, turning it into a private cabana. As Lucas waved the key, the steward blew the horn to signal the hunt was over. While other guests were enjoying the beach or heading back to the boat, Lucas and Veronica were escorted into the large tent.

The first step from the bright sunlight into the darkened tent required some sight adjustment. Finally, she could see the spa staff holding out white fluffy towels and robes. The next room was a tiny shower stall, so they took turns until both were clean and sand-free.

The third and largest room of the tent was everything a sultan would consider standard. A buffet was tucked into a corner and filled with ripe fruit, cheeses, a platter of shrimp and cracked crab claws on ice with dipping sauces and a large tray of sushi. In another corner sat a champagne station with two glasses and a bottle of Cristal nestled in the ice, ready to pour. Finally, two masseurs stood with their tables draped and ready.

Veronica smiled and moaned with pleasure. “This is heaven.”

Usually spa music irritated him. It clouded his head like a horrible perfume. Today, it irritated him for a completely different reason. The music, the darkened room, way too many flickering candles–all heightened his awareness of the woman sharing the room with him.

Veronica.
The woman he was babysitting so his brother could have a problem-free wedding.

Davis.
The idiot who thought Lucas was keeping her around to be Davis’ special woman-on-the-side.

Effortlessly, the masseurs set about with their heated towels and oils.

“Sir, you are extremely tense.”

He hated having his face squashed in the hole. Instead, he faced to the side where he had a good view of Veronica. “I think I’ve been tense for over thirty years.”

“Well, I can definitely help with these knots.”