day before, and I loved to see it. I realized as I watched and listened to her that my keeping things from her and wanting to protect her isn’t because I want to keep her weak and dependent on me, far from it.
I want her to be strong, sure of herself, with a confidence that cannot be beaten. But I want her to do all of that with me at her side, shielding her from the worse the world has to offer. There’s nothing wrong with that, and if there is, too damn bad because that’s the way it’s going to be.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Alex?” Can she be any more adorable? I pretended to turn my head this way and that as if studying her profile which made her laugh.
“I think you’re the most beautiful creation ever made. I’m looking at you because I want to remember how you look right this second with the sun in your hair and eyes for the next fifty years.”
She blushed like I knew she would and didn’t know what to do with herself until I pulled her from her seat and onto my lap. “You don’t have to worry about telling your parents about our engagement; I’ll handle that. Your mom already knows I’m taking you back to school with me; in fact, your school situation should already be taken care of by the time we get back.”
“If there’s anything else bothering you tell me. If it’s the notes, I wouldn’t worry too much about them; the guys have pretty much figured out who was leaving them.” I figure I can tell her that much to put her at ease.
“Really? Who?”
“Liz!” She looked rather contemplative at my answer.
“I thought of that, but didn’t she testify at the trial against Mandy?”
“Yes, maybe in a moment of clarity, she did that, but let’s not forget how many things she did with Mandy that we don’t know about. Maybe Mandy’s blackmailing her.”
“Oh, yeah, that sounds more like it.”
She didn’t ask any questions, didn’t probe how we figured it out, and instead went back to nibbling on her toast. Just to be sure her mind was filled with only me, us, and the island, I took her back to bed and kept her there well into the afternoon.
By the time the sun was going down, we were now coming up for air, and it was time to get ready to greet the others who should be here in a little while. I was grateful for the two days we had to ourselves, but with the new development, I can’t wait to see the others and get to the bottom of what might’ve happened to Mandy. Since we’ll have the rest of our lives together, I wasn’t too worried about losing time with her now, and she too seemed more excited to see her girls.
We stood outside holding hands as the cars came down the hibiscus-lined driveway. This one was all but jumping up and down at my side. I knew what her deal was; she’s all about the wedding. She’d talked my ear off nonstop like I have the first clue about that shit, but as tempted as I was to tell her no Disney costumes, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Jace and the others will just have to deal.
The noise level went up a few octaves as they offloaded, and it was pandemonium. The girls were talking over each other with excitement while the saps I call brothers watched them with doting smiles on their faces. The noise faded the further they walked into the house, and the five of us headed towards the water in the moonlight.
“Okay, tell me, what did you find out?”
“Well, we’re pretty sure someone from Mancini’s camp took her out, but we don’t know who yet. He was business as usual when I called to talk to him, didn’t even bring it up.”
“How sure are we that it was them?”
“Well, Catalina called us to establish an alibi of that much, I’m sure. Not sure if she knew that that’s what she was doing or if someone put her up to it. I guess we’ll find out more when we get there in a couple of days. All we know for certain at this point is that Mandy’s dead, and Liz is in the psych ward. Dad called in a few favors and got the details.”
“So, how did she die? Was it as painful as