Page 239 of Tangled with the Tight End

Declan nods his head. “Good.”

Cass adds, “Perfectly bossy.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Declan says.

“Don’t,” Cass and I both say at the same time.

“It’s fine,” I tell Declan. “They’ll work it out.”

“I just promised Winona I won’t mess up the trip,” Cass says. “And thank you, again.”

“It’s my pleasure. I love this place and I’m so glad I get to share it with all of you this time.”

Two black Cadillac Escalades are waiting for us outside the door when we exit. Drivers take our luggage and we hop in.

Marcus, Cass, Declan and I get into one car. Patrick, Daisy, Jaxon and Treyvon get into the other. Only a few minutes after leaving the airport, the scenery changes from older stucco buildings to the waterfront. The Charlotte Amalie Bay is off to our right. Smaller tropical islands rise out of the water. A few boats are docked along the walkway.

We turn left and climb up a winding road that leads away from the ocean. About fifteen minutes later, we come to a neighborhood where the houses are spread out, surrounded by trees, with views of the ocean from every property.

We pass through a gate in front of Declan’s villa.

“More gates,” I tease Declan.

“Always,” he laughs.

Declan helps me and Cass out of the car and the driver opens the trunk and starts removing luggage.

“They’ll get everything inside for us,” Declan says. “Come. I want to show you the view.”

He’s looking at me, but I grab Cass’s arm, linking mine through hers, and we both follow Declan through the double glass doors, into the foyer that looks straight out through the living room to the patio and pool.

Declan glances over his shoulder. “The view is the whole reason I bought this house.”

He opens the sliding glass doors and steps out onto the covered part of the deck, which extends in sections out from where we’re standing. A white railing trims the patio and off to the left, a full pool is surrounded by loungers with umbrellas.

“Oh my!” I gasp at the wall of fuchsia bougainvillea flowers filling the wall on the other side of the pool. “Those are so beautiful.”

Declan smiles back at me from over his shoulder. He walks past the oversized wicker furniture to the edge of the patio. Then he leans his hands on the railing and lets out a long breath.

“You own this?” Cass says from beside me.

What takes our breath away isn't grandeur. The house is nice—way nicer than Declan made it sound like it would be.

But it's the view. I’m torn between what’s more gorgeous—my boyfriend, or the rolling green hills descending toward an impossibly blue sea. Blue doesn’t cover it. The water’s every color of blue, from cobalt to turquoise to the lightest, almost-white.

I step up beside Declan, taking in the scattered red rooftops on white stucco buildings peeking out between palm trees and bushes on the hillsides below us. Every single home seems to be positioned to maximize their share of the view. If I lived here, I’d never go inside.

I lean into Declan and he wraps his arm around me. The rest of our family and friends join us on the patio and start talking among themselves.

Declan places a kiss on the top of my head and squeezes my arm with the hand that’s wrapped around me.

“You like it?” His voice has a boyish tone to it.

“What’s not to like?” I ask, scanning the view again. “This is paradise.”

“I could have gone for something nearer to the tourist spots, but I wanted something that felt like a home away from home.”

“Have your parents been here?”