“I packed your bathing suit because I had to wash it, and I went ahead and put your shoes in there when I did mine, but I told you to make sure you packed your stuff. Your suitcase was sitting out for a week!”
He groaned, hands over his face. “I know that, but I hadn’t gotten around to it! And then you had it zipped up, so I just assumed you packed it.”
It took all I had not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. “I zipped it up because I was cleaning the windows and it had been laying in the window seat for a week. You mean you didn’t notice it wasn’t full when you loaded the bags in the car?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t pay any attention. I had four bags in my hands, and you were already in there, playing on your phone. Excuse me if I didn’t have time to look through each one.”
“Well, excuse me if I didn’t think I had to pack my forty-five-year-old husband’s bag for him. I told you to pack it, so don’t blame me. You should’ve checked it. What do you have in your carry-on? I’ll bet they have places here where you can buy some shirts and maybe some extra swim trunks. You can wear that most of the time, I’m sure, anyway. And, for the record, I wasn’t playing on my phone, I was texting your mom to let her know we were leaving and to keep an eye on Nolan. And then I was checking the weather to make sure we weren’t driving into a storm.”
That didn’t seem to impress His Highness. His lips quivered with anger. “So, when we go to dinner tonight, you’re wearing a dress and I’m wearing swim trunks? I don’t have any damn underwear, Natasha.”
“Well, whose fault is that? What do you want me to do, call the boat back to get you some clean drawers?”
His expression fell flat, and he shook his head. “Whatever, make a joke about it. Fine. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Go on,” I told him, watching him storm up the stairs. “Maybe they have a towel up there you can fashion into a diaper.” He slammed the door, and I took another drink of my wine, walking out onto the deck of our hut. I took a seat in the wooden rocking chair.
Just another day in paradise.
Chapter Ten
Nick
We stood outside our hut, waiting for the rest of our group to join us. Slowly, they trickled out of their front doors. Natasha first, several paces ahead of Jaren, Laura and Brad next, then Emily and Andy, who flagged down Laura to have her take a picture of them in front of their hut. We were all dressed up—suits, blazers, and dresses seemed to be the agreed upon attire, despite the heat and the fact that we hadn’t discussed it. I looked down the line, thinking about how good we all looked, and stopped squarely on Jaren, who’d taken a more casual approach. Much more casual— he was dressed in just his T-shirt and swim trunks.
I smiled, then glanced at Laura, who grinned at me when she noticed my staring, and I looked away back to Megan, who, to my relief, wasn’t paying attention this time.
“You look so pretty, Natasha,” Megan said, waiting for her to catch up with us before we kept walking, the rest trailing just a few feet behind.
“Yeah, well, I have a feeling I’ll be looking like Cinderella compared to my date all week,” Natasha snipped. “Jaren forgot his clothes.”
My jaw dropped, and I looked back. Embarrassment washed over his face.
“Dude, forgot?” Andy asked.
“All of them?” I asked.
“You mean the airport lost them?” Brad asked.
Jaren shook his head. “There was a mix-up. Long story. I didn’t ever pack anything.”
“Do you need to borrow anything?” Brad asked. “Laura packed us both extra clothes, so I have some I can spare.”
Jaren cast an ice-cold glance at Natasha. “That’d be great, man. Thanks.”
“Yeah, don’t mention it. Or, actually do, I guess,” Brad joked. “I’ll need you to remind me when we get back to the huts later.”
“I’ve got some extras, too,” I offered. “Between the three of us, surely we can get you covered.”
“’Preciate it,” Jaren said, nodding stiffly. I could tell how badly he wanted to talk about anything else.
“Hey, guys?” Laura asked.
“Yeah?” Megan looked back at her.
“Did you notice there’s no service on the island? Malik said it’s part of the experience…” She trailed off, and I knew she’d be chewing on her bottom lip from nerves, though I couldn’t see her. “I was hoping maybe it was just our carrier.”
“I’m sorry, Laura,” I heard Emily say. “It’s an all-immersive experience. I thought Andy explained it before we left, but I’m pretty sure it was in the brochure, too. They want you to be solely focused on your partner and relaxation while you’re here, so there’ll be no phone service or Wi-Fi.”
“Oh,” Laura said stiffly. “I hadn’t realized. Well, it’s just…our kids… What if something happens and my parents need to get a hold of me?”
“Are your parents listed as your emergency contact? Or someone else?”
“My parents, and Brad’s.”
“Well, there you go, then. When they sent them a confirmation, there was a number for the resort on the email. The island takes safety very seriously, so they’ve confirmed that they have a way to get a hold of your emergency contacts. If your parents can’t reach you, they can call the resort, and someone will get word to you.”
“You sure know a lot about this…” Natasha said, and I glanced back at Laura, who looked incredibly uneasy.
“It’s my job to know, and rate, the finer details,” Emily pointed out.
“It’s—” I started to offer Laura comfort, but Brad beat me to it.
“It’s going to be fine, darling.” Darling. I curled my upper lip at the pretentiousness of it all. “Your parents
