And according to this crew, it was partly thanks to me. No pressure or anything.
“Candace, what’s happening with the house going on the market?” Gwen asked. “Harrison said he can’t get a straight answer from Oliver. Can you give us some clarity?”
She adjusted little Sophia on her lap and leaned back against the chaise longue with a sigh. “I wish I could. Oliver understands that selling the house is the right decision, but there’s some sort of block inside of him. It’s the memories, I think. Selling it is like acknowledging that Alicia is truly gone. I think he’s comfortedby the reminders of her around the place. Moving will take that away from him.”
“From all of the guys,” Emilia mused. “This home is full of Alicia’s aura. I wish I’d met her. She sounds like an incredible woman. Big-time animal lover.”
“And generous philanthropist,” Candace agreed. “For the longest time, she didn’t even publicize her contributions. And it wasn’t just financial. She got her hands dirty andhelped.”
It impressed me to see that Candace wasn’t threatened by Oliver’s late wife. A less confident woman might force the issue and try to speed up the moving process, but Candace seemed content to let Oliver process what the move meant to him and his sons at his own pace.
“I’m going to miss this place,” Gwen said, glancing at the paradise surrounding us. “I pictured Sophia spending time here as she grew up. At least Noah will remember the magic of it.”
We all looked at the little fish in the pool, who was currently trying to do handstands in the shallow end. Sophia fussed, so Candace handed her back to her mother and the baby settled immediately. I had to keep reminding myself that this idyllic scenario had an expiration date for me. Sure, I’d remain in Logan and Noah’s life, but as an employee.
I still wasn’t sure how that shift was going to manifest.
“So, Nina,” Emilia began, a devilish look on her face. “Can we gossip for a second? Because Drew gave me the guy version of what happened between you and Logan during the cruise, but obviously he left all of the good parts out. Can you fill in the details?”
I felt the collective weight of their curious stares. Even little Sophia glanced my way, eager for the details of how I ended up her temporary aunt.
“Uh…” My cheeks went hot as visions of my naked boss filled my head. Not a complete picture, of course. Just flickers of scorching memories. “Can we blame it on the alcohol?”
“Well, I happen to think that alcohol only gives us an excuse to act on our hidden urges.” Candace winked at me.
“Exactly,” Emilia said quickly. “So I’m guessing there was this undeniable attraction between you two, and the drinks were an excuse to go for it. What was the ceremony like? I’m picturing Elvis as your officiant.”
“It was Nésion, not Vegas,” Gwen reminded her.
I shrugged helplessly. “Wish I could remember.”
“You can’t remember it at all? You were blackout drunk?” Gwen couldn’t hide her shock.
“No,” I said quickly. “Not exactly. They probably wouldn’t have let us go through with the ceremony if I seemed that out of it. And don’t forget, a wedding needs a brideanda groom. A certain Mr. Ashford was also feeling the effects of the Ouaca.”
Candace shook her head. “I can’t believe that the unflappable Logan Ashford cut loose like that. It’s so unlike him.” She hummed softly, considering something. “But from what I’ve seen, the man needs to have some fun. He’s been through more than his fair share of tough times.”
Gwen craned her neck to look at my hand. “When is he going to get you a proper engagement ring? If you guys want to sell this relationship, you need a rock on that finger.”
“Yeah, we need to take care of that at some point,” I agreed, gazing at the gold band. “But I sort of like the simplicity of this ring. I’m not used to wearing much jewelry.”
“I’m sure when the time comes it’ll be ridiculously big,” Emilia laughed. She raised an eyebrow. “And speaking of big, any memories of that part of the night?”
“Emilia,” Candace fake scolded, laughing.
“What? Two hot, drunk people on their accidental wedding night in a comped suite basically guarantees frisky business.”
“Ladies, I’m sorry to tell you that I can’t remember much of that either.”
Other than thethreeorgasms I had. And the way his voice sounded when he whispered in my ear. The snippets were enough to fuel my fantasies.
“Maybe you should go for a re-do,” Emilia suggested.
I sputtered, trying to come up with an appropriate response, until Noah came stomping over to where we were sitting, dripping wet.
“I’m c-c-cold,” he said. “Towel, please?”
“Noah, your lips are blue! Get over here,” I said as I grabbed a thick towel. I wrapped him in it, and he snuggled against me.
