Nathan and Preston were last to arrive. Preston flashed me a wink on his way to Delilah. I fell behind the pack, walking with Nathan as we set off.
“Did you get a phone?”
He shook a shiny new Samsung at me. “I’ll expect you to send me nudes to start refilling the bank.”
“You’ll be waiting a long time for those.”
“A long time for what?” Kelli drifted closer to us than she did the right direction. “What are you guys talking about?”
“For my number,” I said. “I told him he was lucky to get it the first time. That’ll teach him to go flinging his phone into the sea.”
Kelli playfully swatted my arm. “Wicked harsh, Belle.” She expertly slid between us and linked her arm through his. “You can have my number again. Why did you get rid of your phone?”
I sent a silent communication to him over her head and then jogged to catch up with the others. I hoped Nathan got the message and, most importantly, took the opportunity to tell Kelli about his tyrant grandfather and his plans to rescue his mother from his care. If Kelli wanted to pursue a marriage with Nathan, she had to know what that meant. And it had to be sooner rather than later.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The beach goes on for another half a mile,” said Preston. “It’s all private. Once we’re out of sight of the villa, anything goes.”
“What kind of anything are we talking about?”
Mila flashed me a grin that did nothing to reassure me. “You’re partying with the Blackburn crew now. Buckle up.”
“It’s not too late to turn back, is it?”
“Way too late.”
Mila hooked my left arm while Nora got the right. Delilah shot me a poisonous look over Preston’s shoulder. It’s possible the two of us had a few things left to work out.
We tramped down the beach, laughing, goofing off, and trading stories of their time in the academy with my much tamer life at Bracknell High.
We reached the spot of the beach where it began to curve around the tip of the island. This was the cue. Mila and Nora dropped my hands.
The girls ran off, stripping their clothes as they went, and howling along with the hooting group. In minutes everyone was naked and racing toward the water. Except for me and Zion.
“Shall we?” Zion spread his towel further up the bank.
“Coming.”
In the moonlight, I searched for Carter’s clothes and then for Carter. He was diving into waves—his pale, shapely butt a buoy in the water. I gathered up his stuff, dropped them next to Zion, and laid my blanket on top of them.
“Do I want to know?” he asked.
“Nah.”
He patted the spot next to him. “Look up.”
I sank onto the soft, shifting earth, and the whole of the heavens overcame me. “Wow,” I breathed. “You search your whole life to see something this beautiful, and the entire time all you had to do is look up.”
“What are the stars like in Bracknell?”
“Not like this.”
“Did you study astronomy? My dad and I used to pore over star maps.”
“When I was a little girl, my dad would savor his nightly scotch on the patio. I’d sneak out of bed, climb on his lap, and he would point out the stars and tell me which was the bear and the lion. I said once that he was making it up and it was just a bunch of dots in the sky. He told me that you can’t look at things for what they are, but for what they can be.”
“Solid advice for a designer.”
“Belle.”
I raised my head and met with Poseidon, king of the sea. Strong, powerful, and bare before all. Ropey, corded muscles flexed as he moved, drawing my eyes down the length of his body. The dripping wet Olympian shook out his hair, showering me in droplets. I blinked and Carter Knight appeared in his place.
“Can’t find my clothes.” Pissed looked good on him too. “Assuming you have something to do with that?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. What would you say if I told you I’d give them back in exchange for calling off the engagement?”
Carter threw his head back laughing. “I’d say I’ve got plenty of clothes half a mile down the beach and a naked moonlit walk is good for the soul.”
“Didn’t think that would work.” I fished his clothes out from under me. “But you can’t blame a girl for trying.”