Page 12 of Walking the Bird

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Sitting on the edge of the deck, Eleni smiled as she watched a turtle swimming in the ocean beneath her feet. As impressive as her suite had been in the main resort, the private bungalows were phenomenal.She’d intentionally left her luggage upstairs, not at all certain she was spending the night with Alex.

“Eleni?” Harper called from across the way. “Get your sexy body over here and join us.”

Lifting her eyes in the direction of Harper’s voice, the ocean breeze pushed her hair off her face as she took in her bikini-clad friends standing on the beach waving her over. She was half-tempted to ignore them, head back to the secluded area by one of the pools she’d found the second day she was here. It was peaceful there, and she’d been able to rest her mind and collect her thoughts without any influence from the friends who now surrounded her.

Lifting her hand in the air, she waved at them, “Give me a minute to change.”

Harper swirled the straw in her daiquiri as she watched Eleni stand to her feet and disappear into the bungalow. She’d caught bits and pieces of conversations about Eleni and Alex as she waited for their plane to take off. It killed her to know the couple was struggling unnecessarily and she planned to do everything she could to bring them together. She owed a great debt to Alex for helping Logan come back to her and this was the perfect opportunity to repay him.

“I’ll be right back,” she tossed to the group, not bothering to wait for a response before making her way across the powdery sand and up the steps to the Nakos bungalow, narrowly missing an excited Alex who raced down the steps to join the rest of the guys on the beach.

“Hello, Eleni?” She timidly knocked on the wood of the open door, the whoosh of the ocean and crowing of Bob Marley sounding back at her. With urgency fueling her, Harper knocked harder, calling out once again in a much louder voice.

“Just a second.” She heard from the back of the bungalow, choosing to follow it instead of standing and waiting.

Eleni stood before the mirror, her eyes critiquing the modest swimsuit she’d chosen to wear this morning. When she arrived on the island a few days ago, she’d come with two suits, both of which she’d stolen from her mother. A trip to shops Derek told her about resulted in the purchase of several more, including the blue and white cover-up she fell instantly in love with. Now, she questioned the purchase. While the fabric was sheer, the design helped hide the imperfections she’d developed in recent months. Considering the rock-hard bodies of her friends waiting for her, she worried this would give Alex one more reminder of how much she’d failed him.

“You know, I’ve always envied your olive-toned skin.”

Eleni jerked her attention to Harper’s reflection in the mirror, their gazes colliding and holding.

“I bet you’ve never had a sunburn in your whole life,” Harper added, sitting on the edge of the bed Alex had tossed his discarded clothing on when he’d rushed to change earlier.

“Actually, I have.” Eleni smiled at the memory. “Alex and I fell asleep on our private balcony during our honeymoon, the side of my boob was red for days.”

Setting her drink on the side table, Harper crossed her hands over her knees and took in a deep breath. “Sounds like your honeymoon was a lot like mine.”

Harper watched as the smile faded from Eleni’s face. She couldn’t stand it any longer, this rift between them needed to end and it needed to end now.

“Listen, Eleni, I don’t mean to make you sad. I know you and Alex are going through some things and I know how it feels to want to walk away—”

“You do?” Eleni interrupted, spinning in Harper's direction.

Nodding her head slowly, Harper stood from the bed. “I was in New York at the time, and Logan was off doing whatever it is those guys do, so we didn’t see much of each other. I took it to heart, as I’m certain you are, and blamed myself for failing to keep his attention.”

Eleni turned toward the open door, casting her eyes to the turquoise blue of the ocean.

“Anyway, I was headed home when Logan called and gave the pilot orders to fly to Charleston instead of Virginia. When I questioned him about it, he became upset and refused to tell me he loved me. We were staying with Rayne and Matt and the guys were in full mission mode, when Logan didn’t come to bed that night and the other guys did, I made up my mind we were finished.”

Harper made her way around the bed, laying her hand on Eleni’s tense shoulders as a single tear rolled down Eleni’s face.

“Your Alex came in as I was telling the girls how long it had been since Logan touched me, spoke with me, hell, even looked me in the eye. I made the claim since I was no longer in harm’s way and he suffered from Hero Syndrome, it was time for him to move on.”

Squeezing Eleni’s shoulders, Harper could still recall with perfect clarity the pain she felt when she’d made the decision to file for divorce from Logan. She recognized the same agony in Eleni’s dark orbs.

“Alex agreed to take me to rent a car but made me wait while he took some batteries to the guys. What felt like hours later, Logan came busting through the door, swept me off my feet, and apologized over and over. I later learned it was Alex who ripped him a new one, told him to get his ass upstairs and save the best fucking thing to ever happen to him.”

Eleni wiped away a second traitorous tear, the air of similarity wasn’t lost on her. She’d made her mind up last night as she sat at the bar drinking her nightly glass of red wine that she needed to hear Alex’s side before signing the divorce papers.

“Talk to him, Eleni.”

“Not until after the wedding,” Eleni spun around, snatching the bag she’d packed earlier from the bed and tossing it over her shoulder. “I refuse to spoil Jordan’s wedding.”

“You think Jordan is blind to what’s going on?” Harper shouted as she followed a retreating Eleni down the hall. “It’s killing her, killing all of us to see the two of you hating each other.”

Eleni halted as she stood inside the door, the smell of sunscreen and fruity drinks doing little to sweeten the scene before her. Harper opened her mouth to beg Eleni to talk to Alex when her eyes found what held her friend's attention.

Alex stood in the center of several young ladies, his tan skin glistening in the sun as he lifted a giggling girl effortlessly in the air as he tipped a bottle of what appeared to be beer to his lips. Eleni’s eyes were locked on the way his hand gripped the inner thigh of the girl, a place he hadn’t touched on her in months.

“Please apologize to Jordan for me, I’m not feeling well.” Eleni tossed as she ran down the steps and through the private entrance of the resort.

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