Jess frowned but didn’t stand, leaving me to pad barefoot toward the Indonesian woman with an ebony bob, dressed in a stunning white suit and the biggest sunglasses I’d ever seen. “Can I help you? You are?”
Where did she come from?
She had to have been invited. Otherwise, she would never have stepped foot on Sully’s shore alive...but why exactly was she here?
Pulling the huge lenses off her dainty nose, she blinked pretty black eyes. “It’s time, Ms. Grace.”
“Time?”
“To get ready.” She backed up, holding out her arm for me to follow. A dune buggy waited with Arbi acting as chauffeur. Ever since Cal arranged to have the ATV shipped over from Lebah, Sullivan had ordered a few dune buggies to make it quicker to get around the island now there was just the four of us—not including the discrete staff who ran this paradise.
“You too, Ms. Young. I took the liberty of bringing a dress for a maid of honour as well as a bride.”
“A bride?” I coughed.
“Yes. For your wedding.”
My head whirled.
My heart exploded.
Sully...
How had he done this?
When?
The woman grinned, enjoying my shock. “I’m Jaya, and I’ve been tasked with preparing you. The ceremony is in two hours, just before sunset.” Beckoning again, she added, “Please, we don’t have much time.”
I looked over my shoulder at Jess.
She stood, but her eyes flared with worry at how far she could walk without falling flat on her face. Darting back inside, I hooked her arm over my shoulder, moulding her feminine curves to mine, so different to the hard planes of Sully’s body. “So that’s why he’s been acting weird,” I murmured.
Jess snickered. “He’s keeping his promise.”
“Seems so.” I tried to fight the smile on my face but couldn’t. I tried to stop my heart from running away with romantic notions and erotic conclusions but started to shiver with anticipation instead. “That man only managed to walk on his own this morning, yet he somehow organises to marry me by the evening.”
“What did you expect?” Jess asked as we cut across the living room. “He’s a god ruling his own version of heaven and you, my dear friend, are his chosen goddess.”
Chapter Forty-Three
JAYA HAD DONE EXACTLY what I’d hoped.
The small arch she’d crafted from vines and palm leaves from my island framed the open-air altar where I stood. The celebrant—a middle-aged man with a bald head and iron-pressed grey suit—stood behind me. Cal waited off to the side in a charcoal suit, complete with waistcoat and cravat. I’d told him not to dress up, but my command seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. At least he’d obeyed when I’d asked him to video call Eleanor’s father and wedge a small table into the sand so my laptop could record and transmit our ceremony.
Ross Grace had been polite—even after I’d hung up on him previously—and run to get a glass of champagne that he’d been saving for special occasions. He now waited quietly, watching my beach and the glowing sky, poised for Eleanor to arrive.
I’d yet to meet Eleanor’s mother, but at least her father was in attendance. He could watch his stunning, amazing daughter swear her life to mine.
She was no longer his.
But I would share her occasionally because that was what good husbands did.
Jess appeared on Arbi’s arm. The man who’d once had a job of keeping imprisoned goddesses in line and bowing to every sinister guest’s request now had a much more important calling. He’d been tasked with being head of staff, ensuring food was plentiful for us and the locals who lived on neighbouring islands, the villas were maintained even while currently out of use, and being at the beck and call of the two women who remained here.
Jim Campbell wasn’t a part of our wedding witnesses, having flown to see his grandchildren in Chicago at the same time as Louise Maddon and her team flew home to Geneva. Louise had returned with a personal payment, along with a bank deposit substantial enough to fund another wing at her hospital. A gift of thanks for her tireless work giving me back my legs and life.
Campbell had also left with a gift. A hefty sum that spoke of gratefulness for his care toward Jess, Cal, and Skittles. He’d left with my blessing. He no longer thought of me as something to exterminate and I managed to accept his reasoning for his betrayal.
I’d expected his departure to be our last interaction. However, he’d requested if he could return in a month. Now that elixir had been destroyed, girls released, and no future imprisonment planned, he’d second-guessed his retirement.
Regardless of our amicable respect, despite the treason and tragedy we’d both caused, I couldn’t make up my mind if I’d welcome him back. He was still the reason Serigala was bombed and so many animals crucified. But he’d redeemed himself by saving others’ lives.
Ah well, that decision could be made another day.
Today was my wedding and all I wanted to focus on was my wife-to-be.
Cal sucked in a breath as Jess continued her laboured stroll toward us. She shared most of her weight with Arbi, her face tight with strain. Determination to keep going and not give in sparkled in her gaze. Her blonde hair had been coiled and pinned, complete with a sprig of jasmine in the fairness. Her lips glistened with gloss and her smile seemed to stop Cal’s heart as he jerked beside me.
Jaya had done well, choosing a golden dress that skimmed Jess’s ankles with a floaty hem, adorned with just enough lace and decoration to be perfect without overshadowing the bride.
Not that anything could overshadow Eleanor.
She could wear kelp from the ocean, and she’d still look exquisite.
Speaking of the bride...where the fuck is she?
I fought the urge to fidget, clasping my hands around the cane wedged into the sand in front of me. I’d managed to walk unassisted. My endurance increased each day. However, my balance still came and went
