“You came,” I whispered.
His hand moved once over the back of my head. “Of course I came.”
That was all he said.
It was enough.
Tarak hugged me next, hard enough to make my ribs complain and my throat close. “You keep aging like this and I’m gonna start feeling old.”
“You are old.”
He pulled back and gave me a look over his sunglasses. “That mouth survived to eighteen by miracle alone.”
“I had help.”
His expression shifted. Just for a second. The joke faded, and something fierce and protective took its place. He touched my cheek with two fingers, gentle as a prayer. “Yeah. You did.”
Amber rushed in next, wrapping me in a hug that smelled like perfume and travel. “You look amazing. I mean, slightly like you might stab someone with a snorkel, but amazing.”
“I might.”
“Birthday violence. Love it.”
The crew started moving around us, untying ropes, checking gear, offering drinks. Regan stepped onto the boat like she owned it, which, honestly, she might have by the end of the day if someone annoyed her. She accepted a sparkling water from one crew member and immediately started rearranging the seating situation like the captain had asked for tactical guidance.
“Where’s Janine?” I asked. “And Skye?”
“At the villa,” Regan said. “They sent love, and there’s a gift waiting for you later.”
“A gift?”
“A good one.”
“That sounds suspicious.”
“It is not alive, illegal, or sharp.”
Edge looked mildly offended. “Then why bother?”
Regan pointed at him without looking. “Do not start.”
Tarak leaned toward me. “She’s been like this all morning.”
“Efficient?”
“Terrifying.”
Amber lifted her phone. “Group picture before we leave.”
“No,” Edge and Tarak said at the same time.
“Yes,” Regan said.
They posed.
Of course they posed.
Edge looked like he was being held hostage by joy. Tarak looked like he was planning revenge against photography as a concept. I stood between them while Amber arranged my hair, adjusted my sash, and told me to stop looking suspicious.
