“Yeah, actually. Everything is good, really good,” I assure him.
“Edie wants to go for a swim, and she threatened to come and get you herself, so we thought we’d save you the drama,” Ash explains from behind. The track’s not wide enough for us all to walk abreast, so I’m surrounded, with Shane holding my hand, Alex with Jace, Cole in front, and Riku and Ash bringing up the rear.
“We bought some steaks in town. We’re going to grill, and I’m going to make some salads.” Oh, I could go for some of Jace’s cooking. His declaration has my stomach ready to growl. Now that the nerves are a bit settled by my conversation with Diego, I’m ready to resume my regular life which means paying attention to how hungry I am.
“And I’m going to make cocktails because we’re in paradise,” Alex singsongs, skipping ahead, having reclaimed the puppy.
“How was Spencer?” I ask Cole, and he grimaces.
“Not happy. He misses me, and his mother is paying no attention to him because she’s getting ready for her move to Australia.”
“Why doesn’t he fly down with Jax?”
“Jax is coming?” Shane asks.
“Well, I’m pretty sure he will when I call him and tell him everything that’s happened.”
“Yeah, I would too.” Riku doesn’t sound surprised.
“Do you think Jax would mind? He’s a handful.”
I laugh. “He needs to get used to it. He’s going to have two of his own soon. Honestly, I bet they’ll all come. Maybe not Merideth, but I bet every last dime of my fortune that my whole family makes the trip. Don’t forget, Diego and Dad were friends. He’ll be looking forward to his own reunion, I’m sure.”
Alex stops and turns to look at us. “You know what that means?” he says, and I shake my head.
“We need to have our orgy tonight! Can’t have one once the family is all here.”
Laughter and shouts fill the air as we all react to his words, and it makes my heart feel so full. I didn’t think I was the kind of person who deserved to have this kind of joy, but moment by moment, my men are proving that assumption wrong. Maybe Jacinta Summers is the kind of girl who does get a happy ending after all.
“There you are! I was ready to come looking,” Edie complains as we step onto the veranda.
“Just give me a moment to get changed and make a call, then I’m all yours,” I tell the teenage girl, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Cole echoes the same, grabbing his phone and heading inside.
“Okay.” She smiles happily, taking Dolce from Alex and cooing at her.
“I won’t be long,” I assure them all as I walk away to give my brother some life-changing news.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Jacinta
As predicted, when I give my brother the news, he gets off the phone as quickly as possible so he can make flight arrangements, though it’ll be a day or two before they can leave. Harlow has a prenatal appointment, her first one, tomorrow, and they don’t want to miss that. Once he hangs up, it just takes a few quick calls for me to figure out the rest of the family is coming too, so I take care of the other arrangements—like hiring cars—then get changed and go back outside to meet Edie and the others.
Dinner was a casual, relaxed affair with lots of shouts and laughter in the swimming pool. Alex disappeared after dinner, reappearing later with a triumphant grin and a smudge of dirt on his face.
“Where have you been?” Edie asks him, wiping a thumb across his cheek to remove the dirt.
“Exploring the secrets underground,” he explains, which earns him a pout of his own. Oh shit. Alex has mastered that sad lower lip, but I think he’s got nothing on fourteen-year-old-girl pout. He’s going to have to up his game if he doesn’t want his throne usurped.
“Oh, but I wanted to come too!”
His eyes widen, giving him that deer in the-headlights look that the rest of us usually get when he turns his pouts on us. But then resolve stiffens his shoulders. “Tomorrow. Why don’t you head up to bed? We can get started early once everyone is rested,” he coaxes her a little suspiciously, but luckily, she doesn’t catch on. Not long after, she says goodnight, the excitement of exploring tomorrow winning over staying up late.
“What are you up to?” Shane asks our boyfriend, who taps a finger against his nose.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes!” we all chorus, but there are smiles on our faces and laughter in our voices. Alex is just too ridiculous and adorable to get mad about him keeping a secret or two for a short while. The joy on his face from knowing something we don’t is kind of infectious, and I’ll take anything that makes my guys happy.
