ChapterTwelve
The sun streaming in the window stabbed Delaney’s eyes. She blinked and raised her hand to shield the light. Her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep. She had heard Ethan moving around across the hall during the night. A part of her had hoped he would knock on her door like before. The sane part of her reminded her that she had destroyed their future and she didn’t get to have him anymore. She rolled over and her legs protested the movement, a reminder of the bike riding and walking they had done the previous evening. She swung her legs out of bed and groaned, falling back against the pillow. Five more minutes.
She drifted off almost instantly.
A banging on the door shook her fully awake.
“Wake up, sleepyhead. We have wedding stuff to do today.” Caroline’s voice echoed through the door, cheery as always.
Startled awake, she jerked up, her legs cramping. She yelled back, “It’s barely eight. Middle of the freakin’ night.”
“Breakfast in twenty minutes. I have bear claws.”
Oh, shit. Bear claws. The only thing that could probably make her feel better. Well, that and some aspirin. She threw on a T-shirt and shorts and opened her door. At the same moment, Ethan’s door opened, and they both paused, staring at each other.
“How did you sleep?” Ethan asked.
She didn’t want to admit she had spent most of the night tossing and turning, wishing she could sneak across the hall and finish what they had started. “Great. You?”
He took a step forward and smoothed one side of her hair down, tucking it behind her ear. “Sure you did. I slept about as well.”
Another door opened, and Anna stepped into the hall, freezing for when she saw them. Ethan greeted her, then headed downstairs, leaving Delaney staring open-mouthed after him, her ear tingling from his touch.
Anna stopped in front of Delaney. “So, you and Ethan? Again?”
Her tone was mocking, and Delaney’s gaze narrowed. “What about you and Wyatt?”
Anna’s face blanked immediately, expression neutral. “That’s between us.”
Delaney just shook her head and laughed. “College all over again.”
“God, I hope not,” was Anna’s fervent reply. She sniffed the air. “Did I hear there were bear claws? From Rise and Shine?”
Delaney sighed. “And they’re as amazing as always.”
“Race you down there.” She grinned, as if the past was behind them.
Delaney laughed. Things seemed bright and sunny now. Until she walked into the kitchen and saw everyone clustered around the television, looking grim. “What’s wrong?”
She snagged a bear claw, beating Anna to one, and raised up on tiptoes to see the screen.
“Tropical storm. Headed straight for us. Better pray it doesn’t turn into a hurricane.”
She frowned. “I thought that was headed north of us.”
Ethan stood and pushed through the small group, running his hands through his hair. “It shifted. Should be here tomorrow night.”
“Well, that’s good, right? The wedding should be fine.”
Caroline faced her, tears sparkling. “It’s an outdoor wedding at Oak Bluff Hotel. On the Gulf side of the island. It’s going to be destroyed. The gazebo. The tents. The gardens. All destroyed.”
Grady walked over and squeezed her shoulders. “Look, the guys and I will head over and see what we can do to shore up anything they have. And anything that gets damaged, well, I can fix it. Don’t worry. The wedding will be fabulous. I promise.”
The guys all nodded and headed for the door. Ethan grabbed Delaney’s arm and hauled her into the dining room. He pinned her against the wall and proceeded to kiss the life out of her. Her hands fell limply at her side, the bear claw forgotten.
“Good morning.” He snatched the pastry from her slack hands. “Thanks for breakfast, darling.”
He sauntered after the guys, munching on her breakfast. She straightened against the wall, struggling to focus and figure out what had just happened.