“Oh, come on. Try throwing one of these doughnuts. It’s fun. See if you can ring it around one of the centerpieces on the table.”
“Everly, we’re going to get into so much trouble for this.”
Wolf and Declan play monkey in the middle with a loaf of bread and Brandon Campos, our new center and the guy who started this thing.
But then my gaze lands on Branson, standing alone in the midst of the chaos.
“But how did you find him?”
Everly and I duck for cover when asparagus spears sail our way. “While I was hiding on my wedding day, Princess Papaya—who, at the time, I only knew as the woman to whom I owed a great debt for saving me from marrying Todd—waltzed into my wedding and professed her undying love for the groom.”
“Princess, my ex?” I ask.
“The one and the same. They kissed like a couple would after saying I do. As my thoughts scrambled and I fled for safety, a man wearing a Bermuda shirt and a pair of shorts hurried after her like a lost puppy dog, calling for her, but I didn’t think I heard right. I figured I was caught in some kind of wacky love triangle.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I realize now, he was calling, ‘Princess Papaya.’ Only, in my frenzied state, it just sounded like gibberish.”
“But why is my brother following my ex around?”
Everly gives me a little nudge as we get to our feet. “Why don’t you go ask him?”
“I’m afraid he doesn’t know who I am.”
“There’s a chance he doesn’t know who he is, but miracles happen, Grey. Every day. Me not marrying Todd. You and Igetting married. This.” She holds up her hand as blue liquid sprays everywhere.
“The Bruisers sports drink shower is not a miracle, Buttercup.”
Everly steps toward me, closing the space between us. She’s a bit taller in heels but still has to lift her chin to meet my eyes.
“I saw a photo of you and Princess in a photo album at the cabin. Bran was in the background. You don’t have any recent photos of him around, so I didn’t make the connection until the other day.”
“Because I lost him and couldn’t bear to?—”
“No, I found him, and it looks like he needs you to help him find himself.”
“So you brought him here?”
“I reached out to Todd and asked him for Princess’s info to find out if she knew anything about the guy who trailed her on my wedding day. Turns out he washed up on a Caribbean Island, didn’t know who he was or where he was but must’ve heard her doing her cruise ship routine as Princess Papaya, and that tripped something in his memory.”
“Why didn’t she contact me? She met my brother once when he was on leave—took a trip to Barbados. That’s when that photo was taken. We saw her performance. But we look alike. Why wouldn’t she have?—?”
“No offense, but I don’t think Princess is the most perceptive fruit in the bunch. I reckon if Bran was a Missing in Action soldier or escaped as a Prisoner of War, then he wasn’t looking quite himself either.”
I glance over at the man who was once a behemoth. Now he has shaggy hair, a bedraggled beard, and a tan like he’s been hitting Margaritaville hard for the last six months.
The harsh reality that he doesn’t know who I am or who he is hits me like a tackle from an opposing team. I’m thinkingspecifically of Garrison Wheeler from the Miami Riptide. The guy is a brick house of muscle.
“I asked Princess to give him the info for the event tonight if she could. I figured he’d show up, though I wasn’t expecting the rest of this motley crew. Todd took advantage of the situation and Princess followed. At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do, though, in retrospect, perhaps I should’ve arranged a private meeting.”
I scrub my hand over my face. “I could probably use an escape to a remote island after this.”
“I know just the place.” Everly winks.
“Not the Caribbean.”
“Nope. A few clicks north, where there’s a beautiful cabin on a lake.”
