“Good to know.” I couldn’t resist peeking over my shoulder. I fell on Nathan just as he pulled his shirt off. “Are those guys really the most eligible bachelors?”
“Um, yeah. Just look at them.”
Look at them indeed. I called them sirens for a reason.
“So, if they proposed, you would marry one of them?”
“Yep.”
“For sure.”
“Hell yeah.”
“I’d say yes before he dropped on his knee.” Hazel nudged me. “But you wouldn’t?”
I heaved a sigh. “I can’t. There’s too much history there, especially between me and Nathan. Having a baby together and giving him up for adoption. Something like that is hard to come back from.”
A profound silence shrouded the group.
Wide-eyed Hazel looked from me, to Nathan, and back to me. “Excuse me?”
I shook my head. “Guessing he didn’t spread that around the academy. But yes, we have a son. He’s two and about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. He’s got curls and freckles just like his daddy.”
The girls inched back, passing a look around each other.
“Our parents wouldn’t let us keep the baby, but we have an open adoption and we want to be active in our son’s life. Tell me, Hazel,” I said, halting her retreat. “Are you ready to be a stepmother?”
“Uhh. Actually, our friends are waving for us, so we gotta go. Nice talking to you, Belle.”
“Bye.”
It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to fall over laughing as the four of them scurried away.
“Oh, yeah.” A smirk split my cheeks. “This is going to be fun.”
I set my sights on another group of girls and got to work.
“Huntington’s disease,” I moaned. “It’s a terrible genetic disorder.”
My new friend Piper clapped a hand over her mouth. “Carter has that? How awful. He never said.” She threw a mournful look at the oblivious boy running across the lawn. “No wonder he’s so closed off.”
“Can you blame him? If his condition wasn’t bad enough, he told me that any child he has will have a fifty percent chance of inheriting the disorder. His future wife would have to be comfortable using a sperm donor and caring for him as his disease progresses. But you know what, that’s true love right there.” I beamed at her. “If you marry Carter, I know you’ll be there for him in every way.”
“Well... uh... There’s a lot we’d have to discuss before talking marriage.” Her gushing praise of the gorgeous, aloof ice prince of Blackburn dried up fast. “To make the right choice for both of us.”
“Of course.”
I wandered over to the buffet to get another mocktail. Drifting closer to a pack near the spring rolls, Ivy’s voice reached my ear.
“—be with someone mature. Who accepts their responsibilities and takes them seriously. Plus, Preston and I have hooked up a few times and we’ve got great chemistry in bed.” Ivy flipped that blue-black mane over her shoulder. “I don’t care if he’s with Delilah. He’ll be proposing to me at the end of the summer.”
“Preston Du Pont-Desai is popular.” I drew their attention on me. “Everyone who isn’t talking about Nathan or Carter, is talking about him.”
Ivy’s brows crawled up her forehead. “Don’t I owe you a trip face-first into the dirt?”
“No need for that. We’re all friends here.” I threw my arm around her shoulder, earning a squawk. “I heard what you said on the shuttle and I realize I was too judgmental. There is no right or wrong way to find love. If it happens for you on a secluded island among two dozen potential suitors. Go for it.”
“Don’t touch me, Adler.” She slapped my hand off. “Never do that.”
“Just one thing,” I continued, dropping my voice. “I can sadly also agree that Preston’s incredible in bed.”
“Sadly?” one of the girls spoke up.
I nodded. “We hooked up a while ago. I got a little too in the mood and told him he didn’t need the condom. The next thing I know, your girl is burning in places that shouldn’t burn.”
“What?” she gasped.
“That’s right. Chlamydia.” I swirled my finger at them. “I’m sure you girls are way smarter than me, but if you have been with him, get tested just to be sure.”
“That’s not true,” Ivy cried. “You got that shit from someone else.”
“Unlikely since I was a virgin before him.” I walked off. “Just a tip between us girls!”
I went off in search of my next batch of victims.
“Hey. It’s Belle, right?”
Or maybe they would come to me.
Two broad-shouldered guys in trunks and open shirts