two together here in Fiji. The universe sometimes connects us in strange ways, but those connections are already written in the stars, and they always have been. It’s not something we should ever ignore. It’s not something you should ignore, Lindsay.”
Tears welled in my eyes, but he wasn’t done yet. “Just because you met in an unconventional way doesn’t make your connection any less real. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Everyone here has and we consider ourselves experts in these matters.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” I whispered, “but I’m happy I got to meet you. Thank you for telling me all that. I’ll keep it in mind.”
He reached into his pocket and extracted a plain business card with a number handwritten on it. “It was cheaper that way than having them printed, but that’s my private line. Call me if you ever need to talk. The universe might’ve pushed you together, but that doesn’t mean the path will always be an easy one.”
Grasping his card in my palm like a lifeline, I flung my arms around him. He chuckled as he rubbed my back in soothing, friendly motions. “Jaxon’s in your room by the way. We didn’t know what time you would be back, but he was almost done the last I saw him. This little chat should’ve bought him the time he needed, but every word I said was true.”
I gave him another squeeze before pushing to my feet. “I need to speak to him. Thank you again for everything, Big Mac. We’re really lucky to have met you.”
The man inclined his head in the direction of our room and mouthed the word “go.” I didn’t wait any longer, practically sprinting back to the bungalow. When I opened the door, there were rose petals on the floor leading to the dining table. Candles were lit on every available surface, and Jaxon was just setting a box of matches down in the kitchenette.
He turned slowly to face me when he heard the door, and those stars Big Mac had been talking about seemed to align when I looked into his golden eyes. There was no way what I was seeing there was fake. He felt something for me too.
The only question is what?
Chapter 22
JAXON
Lindsay’s blue eyes shone when they met mine. There was a storm brewing behind them, but I hadn’t spent most of my day setting this up to have our last night dissolve into a whirlwind of emotion and another fight about me pushing her to talk about things she wasn’t ready to.
After my fifty-minute dive early this morning, I’d realized that asking her about her brother had been insensitive. I didn’t want that memory overshadowing the time we’d had on this island, so I called in the cavalry and set this up to hopefully wipe that stupid misstep from her mind.
“I know it’s our last night here together, and I wanted to make it memorable,” I said, taking a step toward her. “No more talk about anything that makes us sad. No talking about how our time in Fiji has come to an end. Tonight, it’s just about you and me and making one more memory we can take home with us and look back on wistfully while we’re slaving away at work. We’ll just be in the moment tonight, agreed?”
She swiped her tongue across her lips, looking like there was something she wanted to say, but then she lifted her hands and gave me a smile. “That sounds amazing. You’re remarkable for putting this all together in a few hours.”
I shrugged. “I had a little help from our new friends. Go put on what I’ve laid out for you in the bedroom, and then we’ll get this party started.”
She laughed softly when she recalled I had said those same words to her in what seemed like an entirely different lifetime on the day we’d met. “If it’s lingerie so we can make good on your threat to the manager, you need to know that I’m not that converted to spontaneity just yet.”
“It’s not that.”
“I’ll be back in a minute then.” Reaching out to brush her hands against mine as she walked past, I saw her chest heave at the same time that I felt the electricity that always seemed to be present when we touched.
I wasn’t a big believer in all that shit, but what I felt with her was undeniable. There was no point trying to rationalize away what I knew to be true.