Page 241 of Tangled with the Tight End

Declan peeks around the refrigerator door and starts laughing.

“What?” I say, smiling back at him. “She needed a vacation too.”

“And you left Touch-Down at home?”

“Someone needs to guard the house while you’re gone. Geese likes the tropics.”

Cass walks in behind me, takes one look at Geese Witherspoon in her bikini and sunglasses, and bursts out laughing.

Marcus comes in from the other side of the house, rubbing his eyes and looking around the kitchen. His eyes bounce from Cass to the ceramic goose on the counter.

He stretches his arms overhead, inadvertently showing off more than a sliver of his well-toned abs. My sister’s gaze locks on Marcus’s muscles. I clear my throat. She looks away, seemingly more irritated at him than when he actually does something mildly annoying.

“Delaney,” Declan says. “I thought I said no cuddling.”

“Aww, Marcus,” I tease. “Were you the big spoon or the little spoon?”

“I was neither,” he insists.

“Wrapped around me like a koala in a eucalyptus,” Declan says with a soft huff of laughter.

Jaxon and Treyvon walk into the kitchen. “What’s that, QB? You makin’ moves on Winona’s man while she’s asleep on the other side of the house?”

“You know what?” Marcus says, “I’ll just sleep in the hammock.” His smile gives him away.

“That hammock is really comfortable,” Declan says. “Feel free to relocate.”

Richards apparently came early this morning, making sous vide eggs and a French toast bake. We sit for breakfast and then Declan announces that we’re going to Trunk Bay. We charter a boat to St. John, take an open-air bus down a crazy winding road, the wind whipping our hair around and smiles on all our faces.

The driver is playing reggae music. Daisy snaps photos of all of us. Declan and I pose and then he says, “Send me that, would you, Daisy?”

We arrive at a cove, and when we step through the trees onto the beach, I pause. The view from Declan’s villa is stunning. But this? The water is so clear and the sand on the horseshoe beach is practically white.

Declan helps me into my snorkel and fins. We wade in together, holding hands.

“Ready?” Declan asks me.

“I can’t wait.” I glance out past him toward the middle of the bay where a small island rises out from the water.

Cass is standing with Daisy and Patrick near the edge of the sand just a short distance from us.

“Go on,” she waves at me. “I’ll be in shortly.”

“Need help?” Marcus asks.

“If I’m drowning, yes.”

“Keep the snorkel above water and you should be good.”

“Above water?” Cass answers him. “Who would have thought?”

Jaxon cracks up.

Declan shakes his head. “She brings out the worst in him.”

“He seems to do the same to her,” I say.

“Well, once our ears are submerged, we won’t hear them anymore.”