Alana spun and headed for her room.
Chase followed.
Alana stuffed her red dress into the suitcase and hurried into the bathroom for her toiletries.
“You okay with this?”Chase asked.
“I wouldn’t have offered to leave with you if I weren’t,” she called out from the bathroom and then emerged with her toiletries kit in hand.She jammed it into her suitcase and zipped it.
Chase stuffed his shaving kit into his duffel bag and hefted it onto his shoulder.“Ready?”
She nodded.“I am.”
They headed back into the living room.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Gina said.“I hate that you’re leaving me so soon.Are you sure you’re up to facing your father?”
“I wasn’t the one to walk out on the wedding,” Alana said.“If my father doesn’t understand that, I’ll keep moving.It’s about time I left his house and his corporation and went out on my own.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he busted a gasket when you left the church before he realized what you were going to do,” Gina said.“I’m sure he was hot when the best man read Vance’s note out loud to all the guests.”
“I just couldn’t stay and face all of them again.It was too humiliating retreating down the aisle in full white tulle and satin,” Alana said.
“Wait,” Trevor said, shaking his head.“What church?The one you two got married in last night?”
“No, the one she didn’t get married in back in Hawaii,” Chase said.“I’ll fill you in another time.Right now, we need to get to the airport before it’s too late to book a flight out today.”
Trevor chuckled.“Like I said, I can’t take you anywhere without you causing some kind of trouble.”
Chase frowned at his friend.“I don’t cause the trouble.”
“The bar in San Diego two years ago?”Trevor reminded him.
“I didn’t know the woman was married,” Chase said.“She didn’t wear a ring, and she didn’t tell me that little detail.”
“What woman?”Alana asked, her eyes narrowed.
“A woman whose name I don’t remember.”He slipped his hand around her elbow and guided her toward the door, anxious to get her out of the resort before Delgado showed up, and before Trevor spilled all the sordid details of his past romantic escapades.“She doesn’t matter.What matters is getting you to the airport and out of Mexico before Delgado has a chance to figure out we’re making a run for it.”
Stopping short of the door, Alana looked up into Chase’s eyes.“Do you think he’ll follow us there and shoot up the airplane?I couldn’t live with myself if other people were caught in the crossfire.”
The concern in Alana’s gaze made Chase’s heart squeeze tightly.He’d do anything to keep her safe.He hoped he could do just that.Cartel members could be all over Cabo San Lucas.For all they knew, Delgado already had people stationed at the international airport.They’d have to go in wearing disguises, much like they had when they’d visited La Casa Loca.
“I wouldn’t put it past Delgado to start a war at the airport,” Carson said.“He’s really bad news.Only last week, he hung five members of an opposing gang from a bridge at the southern end of Cabo.”
Alana shivered.“Now, I’m even more convinced I wasn’t meant to come to Cabo.I should’ve known it was tempting fate to go on a honeymoon without a groom.I’ve had nothing but bad luck since Vance ran out on me.”
“I hope you don’t think everything that’s happened was bad luck,” Chase said.He, for one, was glad she’d come to Cabo.For a die-hard bachelor, meeting Alana had been nothing short of a miracle.She liked to dance, was fun at a party, cared about people and kissed like nobody’s business.Making love with her had been unforgettable once he’d remembered every detail of the night before.
“He’s right, Alana.”Gina reached for Carson’s hand.“If you hadn’t come to Cabo, you wouldn’t have met Chase, had the party of your life, gotten married and had sex with one hunky SEAL.And I wouldn’t have met Carson.”She lifted her face to the man and batted her eyes.
Carson growled hungrily and dropped a kiss on her lips.“That’s right.We wouldn’t have crossed paths if you hadn’t come to Cabo when you did.I’ve been considering moving back to the States for a while.Had you and Gina waited much longer, we wouldn’t have met.Now, Hawaii’s looking really tempting to me.”
Gina kissed Carson.“Alana, I think Chase is much better for you than Vanishing Vance.”
“I’m not looking forward to going back to Maui and facing my father,” Alana said.“He’ll find a way to make this all my fault.He thought Vance hung the moon.”
Gina snorted.“You’ll just have to convince him that Chase is the right man for you.”
