Page 81 of Faking the Pass
Cutting himself off, he darted a glance at his parents and redirected his sentence.
“It’s where Jess and I got to know each other better,” he said while his brothers snickered.
“You’ll have everything you need there,” Wilder told us. “Fully stocked kitchen, a home gym, snorkeling gear, hiking gear. And most importantly, total privacy. You’ll be able to relax, and the celebrity press won’t have any idea where you are. Even if they found out—which they won’t—they couldn’t get to you. That place gives new meaning to the word ‘remote.’”
He turned to Presley. “My Sunseeker Predator is at the marina in a coastal town called Bagedur. I know you can handle it. And you’d better—I love that boat. That’ll get you to the island.”
Presley shook his head then gave his brother a brief hug. “It means a lot that you’d share your secret getaway spot with us. I know you never let anyone go there.”
“Hell,Iwant to get married now just so I canseethe fucking place,” Merc says.
“Language,” Mom scolded him.
“Sorry mom,” he said. “Anyway, you guys have a great time. Don’t forget the sunblock when you’re running around naked.”
“We’ll keep an eye on your place, Pres,” Dylan vowed. “Don’t need to worry about a thing. I’ll only throw one or two ragers.”
“A private island!” Danielle hopped on her toes, clapping. “Are you excited, Rosie?”
Though she looked more terrified than excited, Rosie smiled at her friend then at my parents and Wilder and Jess.
“It’s a dream come true.”
“Well, we’ve got to get you to the airport,” Mom said. “Your flight leaves in an hour and a half. It wouldn’t do to miss your own honeymoon.”
On the island
So yeah…distancewould not be happening.
Not for the next week anyway. There was exactly one structure on this gorgeous tropical island.
And while my brother’s private vacation home was luxurious and high tech and incredibly well-stocked, it was maybe half the size of my house in Eastport Bay.
None of us (except for Jess of course) had ever seen it, until now.
Wilder had only brought her here because there’d been a deranged fan set on either marrying her or murdering her, and her brother Hap—Wilder’s lifelong best friend—had begged him to keep his little sister safe.
Jessica was more famous than all of us put together. It was hard for her to go anywhere in the world and not be recognized.
Wilder had to literally go to the ends of the earth to protect her.
And this place was definitely theends of the earth. It put the R in remote.
By the time Rosie and I reached the house, we’d flown for twenty-two hours and then driven for five from Jakarta to Bagedur. That plus the boat trip from Bagedur to the private island, and all either of us wanted was to fall into bed.
Of which there wasone.
Yep. One bedroom.
One bed.
Fantastic.I’d dozed a little on the plane, but I was exhausted, and my shoulder was aching. The love seat in Wilder’s office was not looking tempting right now.
Maybe I’d just sleep on one of the pool loungers. I’d probably wake up with third degree sunburn over one half of my body, but whatever. I was tired enough not to care.
Rosie discovered the ugly truth just after I did. She walked quickly from doorway to doorway, peering inside each room.
“Only one of these is a bedroom,” she said in disbelief.
