“Looks like it’s hanging loose,” Pete answers.
“Loose and free,” Darryl adds. “You dog.”
My face heats up knowing Paige’s parents just heard that entire exchange. “Haha. Very funny,” I answer as I continue on to the cottage. “I’ll be right back.”
Pete nods. “I need to check your vitals, but I’ll let you get some clothes on first, for both our sakes.”
“Can we skip it? I’m in perfect health.”
“Nope.”
Before I can reach the cottage, I hear another helicopter coming. After a few seconds, I recognize it as a Robinson R44—used by the local television station. Crap. That’s what we need right now. I squint and look up in time to see it making a wide turn around our corner of the island, likely getting footage of Tweety, the cottage, Paige, and my naked ass.
Son of a bitch.
Our clothes are strewn around outside. I quickly locate my shorts and pull them on while the R44 lands. By the time I’m almost back to Paige with the bikini and t-shirt she had on briefly this morning, a reporter and cameraman are rushing out of the chopper. “Mac! You’re alive! Did you know the disappearance of you and Ms. Chadwick has been one of the biggest trending stories around the globe for the last week?”
I ignore him and jog down to the water while the reporter keeps shouting questions. “Paige? Mac? How’d you survive the crash? Did you two know each other before this? Was this all planned?”
“Please, can you give us some privacy?” her mother asks.
“Yes, back off!” her father demands. “And put that camera down. I will sue you for everything you’ve got if footage of my daughter in the nude ends up on the news.”
His threat seems to work because the cameraman puts the camera down and the reporter stops shouting questions at us.
“I can’t believe you’re alive, Paige!” her mom shouts. “My baby is alive! Should I come out there to you?”
“That’s okay, Mom. I’ll come to you!” She crouches in the water, her face red with shame while I hurry toward her. When I get to her, I’m in up to my waist, and my shorts get soaked, but I couldn’t care less. “Turn around. I’ll shield you while you get your bikini on.”
“Are you okay?” she asks as she stands, and I get one last glimpse of her nude body.
No, I’m not. “Yes, I’m fine. But I’m afraid your parents are going to hate me forever.”
She quickly ties her bikini top, tugs on the bottoms, then manages to pull the shirt over her wet body before turning back to me with an embarrassed look on her face. “Worst case scenario, right?”
“Nah, this isn’t so bad,” I say, lifting her chin with my index finger. “We could’ve been having sex on the beach.”
Say it, Mac. Say it right now. Tell her you love her.I stare into her beautiful green eyes and think about the world she comes from. One of luxury and important people. I’ve met a thousand people just like her parents—rich, demanding, and one-hundred-percent sure I’d never be good enough for their daughters. I don’t belong in her world any more than she belongs living in my little beach house, scraping by from year to year. It’s a life she would hate. It would be amazing for a while, but eventually, she’ll leave.
“Paige! Please,” her mom says, her voice breaking. “I need to hug you so I know this is really happening.”
“Coming, Mom!” She gives me one last look before she steps out from behind me. A moment later, she’s in her mother’s arms, as they both sob happy tears and tell each other they love each other. Her dad hovers protectively over her, blocking my view of them. “We thought we’d lost you,” he says, his voice cracking. “Thank God, you’re okay.”
“Youareokay, aren’t you?” her mom asks, pulling back to look Paige up and down.
“Yes, of course, I’m fine. Mac took very good care of me.”
“Apparently,” her mom answers, and they both start to giggle while her father looks utterly annoyed.
The reporter has set up on the beach nearby and is talking excitedly into the camera. “Again, Paige Chadwick and Mac Gamble, who have been missing since January twenty-fifth, have been found alive and well on Fanny Island, a remote cay that is part of the Benaventes. Again, I repeat, they are alive and well on what was to be the last day of the official search by the Coast Guard. The odds that they would be found alive were one in two-hundred-fifty thousand, but they are indeed alive and appear to be in good health. A happy ending for a story that has had the entire world gripped for weeks. We’re going to get more footage here on the scene, but for now, we’re cutting to New York to get reaction from some of the key celebrities involved in the search, starting with Li’l Rhythm, whose videoFinding Paigehas had forty million views. After that, we’ll cut to Sean Penn who was here helping with the search until yesterday, and who has some well wishes for Paige and Mac.”
Pete walks over to me with his first aid bag, a welcomedistraction from their family reunion. “Have a seat,” he tells me, pointing to the lounge chair.
I do as he asks, and he takes the blood pressure cuff out of his bag and wraps it around my arm. “I caught a good look at Tweety when we were landing. Damn, man. What were you thinking flying in that storm?”
“I wasn’t,” I answer, glancing over at Paige again as she hugs her mom again.
“A beautiful woman’ll do that to a guy,” Pete says, his gaze following mine. When he finishes with my blood pressure, he takes my pulse, then uses a light to look in my eyes, and gets me to follow his finger from side to side. “Everything seems fine. Pulse and blood pressure are a little high, but I’m going to chalk that up to meeting her parents while naked.”
