Page 86 of The Romance Adventure

“I know that look.”

“How would you know that look, CJ? You’re practically a man-child.”

He chuckles again. “Can a man-child handle two guys at once and make sure they never set foot on this island again?”

“Fair point. What did you do with them? Don’t tell me you made them walk the plank?”

“Something like that. I used them to pay off a debt. Let’s put it this way, they’ll work on a boat until they think twice about ever being involved in criminal activity again.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Do I want details?”

“Probably not, but it’s not as illegal as you’d think.”

I cup my hand over my face. “Sometimes I worry about you.”

“Nah, I’ve got just about everything under control. It’s you I’m concerned about. Brother to brother, I think you have a few things to get off your chest.”

I hardly consider his offer before the words pour out of me. “Isla is a fountain, meanwhile, I’m a drain. No, more like a sewer. She’s so sweet. So giving. Meanwhile, I was going to tell her to get lost.”

“But you rescued her.”

“I was going to say goodbye. Not see you later. Not até logo. Goodbye. Emphasis on bye. Meanwhile, she had good news and was excited for Valentine’s Day.”

CJ glances toward the sky. “It’s barely afternoon. There’s a lot of day left. Why don’t you go tell her this instead of me?”

“Because she made my pulse explode, followed by stillness, silence inside. Like time itself came to a standstill. The striving subsided. She gave me a kind of inner calm I didn’t know was possible. Didn’t know I needed.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“She’s the only one who makes me feel better. Her hand on mine. Her touch. Her lips.”

CJ waves his hands to stop me from saying more. “I guess I’m playing the echo game with myself. Tell me why that’s a bad thing?” he repeats.

“I’ve been a fool for thinking that Isla and I can’t be together. That my life is anything without her.”

“Now, we’re talking. While you’re having life-changing revelations, about Chip...”

“A conversation about our grandfather will have to wait.” I don’t have the bandwidth to hear CJ’s wild theories. For now, I’m thankful Isla is safe. As far as I’m concerned, the Norris brothers still have a debt to pay, but seeing as one is dead and the other will probably avoid me for the rest of his life, I can forget about the lawsuit for now.

Waving CJ off, I turn my attention to my phone. With the briefest explanation of why, including Bean’s story of Isla fleeing Charleston, I punch out a text to Angela with the sparse details and think about sending her a post-holiday bonus, maybe even some chocolates for putting up with me. If she accepted tips, I’d double hers.

My phone swiftly beeps with a reply—a link to traffic cams, showing a young woman dumping paint all over an eggplant-colored sedan that’s in hot pursuit.

A proud peal of laughter pours out of me. “That’s my girl.” And if Isla’s abduction didn’t prove her innocence, this proves she wasn’t in cahoots with Dax.

In addition to the chocolates for my secretary, I’m going to make sure Isla has a lifetime supply of chocolate—of anything and everything she wants.

But my one hope is that she’ll take me back.

Isla

CHAPTER 21

Bean doesn’t let me go of me for a long minute. I start to draw away, needing to catch my breath after the ordeal in the van, but she still doesn’t loosen her grip. When I wiggle, she drops her arms.

“Sorry, but I was so worried. Are you okay?”

I glance over my shoulder. “Yeah, I think so.”