Page 171 of Risky Passion

"Woohoo!" Maya cheered. "You're next, Tory!"

The crowd erupted into applause and teasing laughter as Jaxson tried, and completely failed, to hide his cheeky grin.

“Come on, husband,” Maya said, playfully slapping Zac’s chest. “We’ve got more partying to do!”

“What have I done?” Zac groaned dramatically, though the grin on his face told a different story.

He carried Maya out of the marquee, and we all followed to the edge of the fence line. Zac continued along the driveway that led to the airstrip at the back of Aria’s property, where Xander was waiting to fly them to Haggerstone Island; a private luxury retreat that must have cost an absolute fortune.

Maya’s laughter faded into the distance as the rest of us stood on the grass, gazing after them, waiting for the plane to take off.

Indiana and Tyler strolled up to us holding hands.

“You should’ve caught this,” I said to Indiana, holding the bouquet toward her.

“Hell no!” Indiana jumped back like I’d tried to hand her a ticking bomb. “Marriage ain’t for us. Right, babe?” She shot a twisted expression at Tyler.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tyler said casually, his tone teasing. “It might be on the cards one day.”

“Yeah, well, you’re never getting me in a dress like that,” Indiana interrupted, wrinkling her nose.

I giggled. Maya had looked radiant in her extravagant wedding gown, the kind few women could carry with such grace. But then, Maya had that rare ability to transform anything she wore into something amazing.

“I hear you,” I said. “I’d fall flat on my face if I wore a dress with a skirt that big.”

“We can still get married,” Tyler said, grinning. “You can wear black if you want. Or that skimpy little bikini you?—”

“Excuse me,” Indiana cut him off, tugging on his arm. “I think you’ve had too much to drink, DetectiveFancy Pants.”

In the distance, the plane engines roared to life, and we turned to watch as the plane took off. We cheered, raising our glasses as they disappeared into the night sky, and the lights faded into the darkness.

As the evening wound down and guests began to leave, we made our way through the crowd, hugging goodbye and exchanging promises to meet up tomorrow for lunch and to tackle the mountain of leftovers. Zena had provided enough catering to feed another wedding.

Levi and Billie approached us with Levi cradling his sleeping baby in his massive arms. The little one looked even smaller against his broad chest.

Billie pulled me into a warm hug. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?” she said, her tone both warm and firm. “You guys need to visit Risky Shores more often.”

“Move up here,” Levi chimed in. “With all the empty houses around, you could pick one up for a song. We can help you renovate, just like everyone helped us when we bought our place, right, babe?”

“Yeah,” Billie said with a grin, “because you have a knack for demolishing things rather than building them.”

We all laughed.

“But seriously,” Billie said, brushing her hand over Jack’s blond hair. “It would be nice to have some more friends in town. Maybe you can convince Whisper and Cody, too. I hear they’re looking for a place of their own.”

“Hey, guys,” Cobra called, strolling toward us. “We’re heading off now. You ready to go?”

“Sure,” Jaxson replied. “Give us a sec.”

We made the rounds, saying goodbye to everyone still lingering, and confirming that we would be back at midday tomorrow, along with just about every other guest, it seemed.

Jaxson and I climbed into the back seat of Yasmin’s car, and she drove us back to their place. The banter between us was fun and lighthearted, and despite the late hour, the energy in the car was contagious. It was nearly midnight, and although I should’ve been exhausted, I was riding such a high that I doubted I would be able to sleep.

As we crossed the railway tracks and drove up and over the crest atthe top, the view ahead took my breath away. The moon hung like a giant beacon in the sky and shimmered on the ocean like liquid silver.

“Wow.” I curled my hand over Jaxson’s leg. “Look at that moon. It’s beautiful.”

He leaned toward the window. “Yeah, sure is.”

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