Page 11 of Walking the Bird

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Melinda clasped her hands tightly together, resisting the urge to rock back and forth on her three-inch heels as she waited for the resort’s limo to return from the airport. She hadn’t slept the night before, too busy triple checking that everything was ready for the arriving guests. Mr. Silvers was counting on her, and she was counting on the substantial bonus she would receive if she was able to pull off the most expensive event ever booked at the resort. Six weeks ago, she’d received the tentative booking, refusing to get her hopes up as she’d done the two previous times someone had placed the exclusive wedding package into their cart to purchase. Her heart leapt into her throat when the booking was confirmed a few hours later, and a certified check arrived the following morning. She’d researched the couple, finding out everything she legally could about Jordan and Aiden. She Googled their bar in South Carolina, falling in love with the photographs of the southern town they called home, and shedding more than a few tears of jealousy as she longed to find a place she could call home.

A ping from the radio in her right ear pulled her attention back to the empty cul-de-sac, her heart racing as she searched the horizon for the approaching car.

“Mobile One arriving with six guests,” Bash spoke in a hushed voice through her earpiece. She could picture him holding his wrist to his lips, trying his best for his actions to go unnoticed by the guests inside the limo behind him. Bash was a sweet, and devilishly handsome man with dark hair and light blue eyes, who she suspected harbored a deep fantasy of being the ultimate hero. He’d tried in vain to save her when he’d learned the reason why she’d accepted her position. A smile tickled at her lips as she thought back to the day she’d found him pacing outside her room, a bouquet in one hand, and a marriage proposal on his lips.

Melinda squared her shoulders and took in a settling breath as Bash pulled the limo into the private entrance, followed immediately by the second limo and an SUV she’d reserved from the sister resort next door.

“Everyone ready?” She called to her staff of eight behind her while keeping her face forward to the first approaching car.

“Yes, Ma’am,” her team called out in unison. The glasses of champagne and beer clinked in their acknowledgment as Bash pulled the limo to a stop in front of her.

Alex swallowed thickly as he watched the entrance for the resort Jordan and Aiden chose come into view. Eleni was here, or at least next door, and had been for the past few days, checked in under her maiden name, and using a credit card he didn’t know she’d kept. Having been unable to sleep last night, he’d turned to his computer, donned his detective hat, and thought like a SEAL, instead of the asshole husband he’d been for the past few months.

Sliding from the limo, Alex stood to his full height, his body buzzing with nervous energy as he scanned the area around him. He was going to find Eleni, and he was going to make things right between them. Not because Zach ordered him to, but because she was the air he breathed, and he’d been suffocating way too long.

“Good afternoon.” Melinda began as the woman she recognized as the bride, Jordan Holt, stood from the first limo. Tipping her head in the group's direction, she waited until the trays of drinks were empty and each of the sixteen guests had a drink in their hand before continuing. “My name is Melinda Stuart, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to Magnolia Cove.”

Keeping her professional stance, Melinda took in the size and demure of the men standing not three feet away, a pleasant sense of Deja Vu washing over her. All seven men held an air about them, the confidence years of experience had left behind. She expected the anxiety to consume her at any moment, her memories of the tragedy she’d survived to come rushing forward and cripple her. Yet, as friendly banter sprang up among the small crowd, the opposite was true. When her eyes landed on the lone man in the back, her breath caught in her throat, mouth running dry, and a strange twinge creeping up in her chest.

Cade lifted his glass to his lips, silently hoping the beer inside wasn’t watered down like the two he’d consumed in the airport as he waited to board his plane. He needed this vacation, even if he spent the majority of it chasing after the three little boys gulping down the rainbow drink in their tiny hands. Kennedy and his sister-in-law Ellison assured him they wanted him to enjoy his time here, find an island girl and let her rid him of the terrible memory Vickie left behind. He appreciated their concern, but the last thing he wanted was another woman in his life. He’d stick with horses from now on, he thought to himself as the cold beer rushed down his throat and his eyes landed on the blonde beauty standing on the edge of the curb.

Melinda pulled her eyes from the handsome man, reminding herself she had a job to do and of the goal, she’d set for herself. “We have a buffet prepared for you inside.” She motioned behind her. “As well as a tour of your accommodations and introductions to your personal staff.”

Alex ignored the ramblings of the blonde who greeted them, stepping around Jordan and Aiden, his sights set on the brunette standing beyond the glass wall of the lobby. His heart hammered in his chest as he picked up his pace, reaching the doors and throwing them open as he kept his eyes locked on his beautiful wife.

“You’re here,” he whispered as he reached her, his need to hold her halted by the way she dipped her eyes to the floor in avoidance. Taking in her sun-kissed skin, the healthy glow he’d loved after a brief time spent on a beach in Greece on their honeymoon. Eleni had never been more beautiful in his eyes.

“Jordan is my friend,” Eleni drifted off. “I couldn’t miss—”

“I’m sorry.” Alex interrupted; his voice full of honesty as he reached out for her. “You needed me and I—”

“Not now,” Eleni cut him off, not having the strength to listen to him confess his crimes just yet. “After the wedding. I promise,” she swore as the laughter of their friends filled the room.

Alex nodded his head, reluctantly agreeing. He could see he was facing an uphill battle, one he had every intention of winning.

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