“I might have to buy an island now and name it after my woman,” he said.
“Yeah.” Michael sighed. “Mia thought it wassoromantic.”
Jamie chuckled. “Way to show us up, Linc.”
I couldn’t help smiling. Michael sounded genuinely stressed about not being romantic enough for his wife. It was sweet.
Lincoln rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m glad I can get all you slackers to up your game.”
He received good-natured slaps on the shoulders as they joined everyone else at the table. So, I guess they weren’t really mad.
Lincoln and I remained in place. He eyed me with a sheepish expression.
“Lincoln…”
“Ava, the whole island-naming thing isn’t that big of a deal.”
My eyes narrowed on him. The tinge of pink in his cheeks said it was. “Oh, really?”
“Dinner is underway, let’s go.”
He took off at a desperate speed. I shook my head at his evasion tactic. He pulled out a chair and gestured for me to join them. Letting out a quiet sigh, I did.
Dinner was nice. Lincoln’s friends were amazing, simply put. I’d been worried about feeling like an outsider around them. But the flow of warm, genuine energy put me at ease. They obviously love Lincoln. I was glad he had this kind of support system. As enjoyable as dinner was, I kept thinking about the island-naming revelation. What did it mean?
22
LINCOLN
I felt like such a fool, avoiding Ava like my life depended on it.
I’d dodged her all through dinner—kept conversations light, avoided eye contact, and conveniently busied myself with refilling wine glasses or laughing too hard at someone’s story. But she kept looking at me.
Olivia, sharp as she was, realized she’d let out something I had wished to keep secret. She’d pulled me aside and apologized profusely. Of course, I couldn’t be mad at her. She, along with everyone, thought Ava and I were back together. I wanted that to be reality so badly.
Now, hours later, I was waist-deep in the pool on the terrace, soaking up the tropical air and still kind of stewing in embarrassment. What went through her mind after finding out I named an island after her? Sure, I wanted her to know how I still felt about her, that I never stopped loving her. But I planned to ease into things, regain her trust and love one day at a time. Was she freaked out about Cay d’Ava? I hadn’t told her the name of the place, not even when she asked. I’d mumbled something vague about Belize and changed the subject.
The soft pad of her footsteps reached me before I saw her. She stepped out onto the terrace wearing a silk robe.
I braced myself.
She walked to the edge of the pool and sat with her feet in the water. We were close enough for me to feel her body heat. I gazed at her. Neither of us said a word. Amber eyes that had always hypnotized me searched my face.
Finally, she said, “Cay d’Ava, huh?”
I exhaled slowly, dragging my hands through the water. “I know you’ve been dying to bring that up.”
“I’ve been trying to decide if it’s insane or romantic.”
“Can it be both?”
One side of her mouth curled into a half smile. “You named an island after me, Lincoln.”
“I did.”
“When did you purchase this place?”
“Four years ago.”
