[Invitation to Eden 15.0] Return to Sender (3 page)

Thankfully, Eden wasn’t Europe.

Maybe this year she’d be able to put her memories to rest, say goodbye to the past and move forward. Maybe this year she wouldn’t mourn a love lost but celebrate something new.

Maybe this year would be the start of an annual vacation where she celebrated a lighter heart full of life and happiness.

Maybe. She just needed to get past this year’s anniversary first. The weight of that thought hurt and a tear trickled down her cheek before she could wipe it away. She rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to do this, not here. She was on her first trip in what seemed like forever, and if Eden was everything she anticipated it to be...she wasn’t going to ruin this experience on the memories of a broken heart.

Who knows, maybe this trip was the start to healing her heart. Maybe it was time.

Chapter Four

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Joely said.

Lauren rolled her neck, slowly, to get the kink out from sleeping on an angle. When she opened her eyes, she gasped, amazed at the view out the window.

“Pretty awesome, right? It never gets old, trust me.” Joely chuckled while Lauren leaned forward to get a better view.

Crystal-clear blue waters lapped against the beach shoreline of Eden, the white-capped waves mesmerizing until Lauren’s gaze moved from the exotic beach to the castle more inland.

“Oh my...”

“Yep.”

“Is that...that’s not—” Lauren wished for a pair of binoculars for a better look.

“A castle? Yep.” Joely’s voice was full with laughter. “In the flesh, so to speak. Beautiful, isn’t it? But that’s not where you’ll be staying.”

Disappointment clouded Lauren’s gaze for a brief moment until she saw the water bungalows like in the Maldives she routinely booked for clients.

“I can handle those.” She pointed to the white roofs and smiled.

Joely shook her head. “Sorry, you won’t be staying there either.”

Lauren kept her gaze fixated on the island. If she wasn’t staying in that amazing castle, or in those luxurious water bungalows, where was she staying? Please don’t say a tent in the jungle located in the middle of the island. Anything but that. Just the idea of all the bugs set her skin crawling.

The plane angled to the left as they circled around and lowered until they were low enough to the water that Lauren could have jumped out if she’d wanted.

“There.” Joely pointed ahead.

If the castle and the bungalows had made her gasp for air, where she would be staying took it away. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. White cottages led from out over the water, trailed down the sparking white beach and then inwards. One cottage stood out from the rest, however. It sat out in the middle of the ocean, on its own little island, and as they neared it, she could see that there was in fact two cottages on the tiny island with a shared pool between them. A wood deck connected the cottages to the mainland but Lauren could only imagine the peaceful retreat it must portray.

What she wouldn’t give to stay in one of those cottages away from the others. It looked like pure heaven.

She must have sighed loud enough for Joely to hear because the woman chuckled before manoeuvring the plane to land in the water and then taxi up to the dock.

Lauren grabbed her bag and jumped out as soon as her door was open. She wobbled a bit on the wooden dock as it swayed beneath her and smiled in thanks as the pilot reached out to steady her.

“So now what?” Lauren looked around her and took it all in: the way the wind played with her hair, the sound of the water as it slapped against the wooden dock beside her yet caressed the sand ahead of her, the chirping of the birds off in the distant trees. But most importantly, she breathed in the air and let it cleanse her lungs.

She was here. Really here. In Eden. And it was nothing like she’d ever imagined it would be. She pinched the inside of her wrist to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“Now, you wait for those Greek gods to come out and escort you to your home away from home. Now, you learn to relax and just soak up Eden. Let it heal you.”

Those words, let it heal you, rang in Lauren’s ears as Joely jumped back in the plane and taxied it away from the dock.

“Where are you going?” Lauren called out.

“Gotta drop the supplies off. The Master gets a bit cranky without his trail-mix.” Joely winked and waved goodbye.

Lauren turned and noticed the men Joely had called Greek gods and had to admit, the girl was right. Even from a distance, the way the men moved...she enjoyed the view. The closer they came, the better it was.

“Ms. Summers, we’re glad you were able to make it. I’m Trevor and this is Tyler.” Trevor, the more muscular of the two, which really didn’t say much as they both had arms the size of tree trunks and their pectoral muscles were clearly defined even through their shirts, pointed to Tyler.

Lauren smiled. They were identical twins. Closely cropped dark hair, sea green eyes and a smile to melt a heart, the only difference she could see between the two were their tattoos that covered their arms.

Tyler held out his arm and waited for Lauren to attempt to wrap her arm around it. She failed miserably.

“If you’re ready, we’ll escort you to your cabin. Our brother, Sean, is there making sure everything is ready.”

“Sean?” Lauren laughed. “Let me guess, younger or older?”

“Middle,” both men said at the same time.

“Triplets?”

They nodded. “Dad couldn’t think of a name starting in U, so he went with T again,” Trevor explained.

“I’m a triplet as well, the oldest. But my parents picked our names out of a hat.” Her dad used to tell the story every year at their birthday, how they couldn’t agree on names and so Mom wrote a bunch out that they’d written down and tossed them all in her dad’s baseball hat and made their doctor pick out the names.

“Out of a hat, huh? That’s got to be the best name story I’ve heard this week,” Tyler said.

“This week?”

They walked down the pier; the guys’ flip-flops smacked against the boards while she wore heels that clicked.

“There’s a triplet gathering happening up in the main castle. You’ll have to check it out if you have time,” Tyler explained.

Lauren could only see the tall piers of the castle in the distance.

“Don’t worry, one of us will escort you. It’s a small island, but it’s easy to get lost. One of us will always be close by to make sure everything runs smoothly for you.”

Lauren liked the sound of that.

“So, in other words, I can leave everything in your capable hands?” Meaning, for once, she didn’t have to plan anything out, prepare anything for anybody or...

“You leave everything up to us. And the Master, of course. This is your time to relax and enjoy. There’s healing here and,” Trevor leaned down close to her ear, “your heart needs it.”

She glanced up at him, wondering how he knew. Just like Joely. How had she’d known?

“Is that why I’m here?” She knew people were only invited to Eden for a reason, or at least, it’s what she’d heard. Was she here to heal her broken heart?

She couldn’t think of a better way to do that. Not with the Greek gods by her side.

She couldn’t stop smiling as they turned the corner and headed towards the large cottage off in the water. She hadn’t wanted to hope, but this was the only path out there.

“Is that where I’m staying?” She breathed in deep and held her breath.

“Only the best. Those were our orders.”

The best? Only the best? The exact phrase she used with her clients. Only the best from Bella Dia. Except, for once, instead of ensuring her clients were treated in this fashion, it was her.

She could get used to this.

As she walked between her two Greek gods—and she loved how she thought of them as hers—she wished her sisters were here with her to experience this. They worked just as hard as she did and she felt a little bit guilty for not being able to share it with them.

But when she saw Sean step out of the door to her cottage, that guilt flew away.

Every once in a while a girl deserved to be pampered and now it was her turn. Thank the good Lord above.

#

Marc waited on the tarmac for what he assumed was his charter plane to taxi down the runway.

There’d been a text on his phone to let him know his pilot would be late, which was a good thing since his own flight had been behind schedule.

The air sweltered around him and he tugged at his t-shirt, which was already plastered to his chest.

He’d take a Parisian summer over this Miami heat any day.

When the plane stopped, he reached for his bag and jogged the remaining distance between him and the pilot, who’d just stepped down.

He almost did a double take. This small thing was his pilot? Could she even see over the dashboard?

“Dude, if you give me that look one more time, you’re not getting in. Got it?” The sprout had her arms crossed over her chest and frowned up at him. He would have smiled, but for some reason, he had a nagging suspicion she was serious.

“Sorry.” If he said anything else, it would be too incriminating.

“Hope you weren’t waiting too long.” She grabbed his bag and hoisted it up into the back of the plane.

“My flight was delayed, so only a few minutes.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Marc.”

“Joely.” Her grip was firm. “Would love to chitchat, but I need to get fuel and then up in the air. We’re behind schedule and there’s a storm brewing.” She waited for him to climb aboard and then slammed the door behind him.

The whole time they taxied down to get gas and then as they waited in line to depart, Joely had muttered beneath her breath things he was sure he wasn’t supposed to have heard. The message was clear—she was in a bad mood—so he waited until they were up in the air before he attempted to strike up a conversation.

“Think we’ll beat the storm?” he asked.

Joely sighed. “We’d better. If we’d left twenty minutes later, we might not have. I’d prefer to be on the ground when those clouds break.” She pointed towards the almost black clouds off in the distance.

“Will it hit the island?” He didn’t anticipate experiencing his first tropical storm on his first night in Eden.

“Not where I’m staying, it won’t. And that’s all that matters to me. You should be wishing the same, if I were in your shoes.”

Marc nodded, not really sure what she meant by that, but something told him not to ask either. He pulled out a book he’d wanted to read for ages and opened it, but he couldn’t focus on the words. Instead, all he thought about was Lauren. She would be there by now. Did she get his box of chocolates? Would she understand the message?

“Oh, before I forget. Here’s a message from the big guy.” She reached back to hand him a folded note.

All is as planned. You’ve got a good friend in Paul.

Don’t mess it up.

Don’t mess it up. What the...seriously?

“I can tell by the look on your face, you’re not happy,” Joely said. “Don’t shoot the messenger, or in this case, the pilot. The Master has a way of—”

“Rubbing people the wrong way?” Marc interrupted her.

Her sigh was more than audible in his ears through the headphones. “He just doesn’t mince his words. And he’s got a special interest in your girl.”

He what? “My girl. You know Lauren?”

“No. But I am the only pilot who flies the guests to the island. Guess who was my guest earlier today?”

Marc hadn’t thought of that and for some reason, the idea left him anxious.

“Was she okay? Did she come willingly? Did she seem excited, worried? Did she have any idea why she was invited?” He paused. “And what do you mean, he’s got a special interest in her?” He really didn’t like that part.

“Whoa, dude, enough with the questions. You’ll find out soon enough. And I didn’t mean it the way you think. All I know is that your buddy told him she was special and to make sure she got the royal treatment. Not many get that and if they do, there’s a specific reason.” Joely looked back at him and smiled.

Marc hated that smile. It seemed to be the universal look all women gave men when they were keeping a man in the dark about something. He hated it.

He turned away and looked down at the ocean and let his thoughts drift back to the last day he’d seen Lauren, exactly six years ago to the day, this weekend.

They’d met for breakfast at a local boulangerie down the street from where she was staying and lingered over their baguette and orange juice, not wanting to admit that they would soon be parting ways. Marc had loved how Lauren would reach across the table, almost without thought, and entwine her fingers with his. She was headed to Belgium, to do a chocolate tour through the small country, and then to Germany before she headed back to Paris, but not before she stopped in Tuscany. She promised she would come back to him, to Paris, and she did. But he stood her up.

He’d been a boy in a man’s body and made the worst mistake of his life. He only hoped she would understand when he tried to explain it to her.

She’d stolen his heart right from the very beginning and it wasn’t until after she’d left, to complete her traveling, that the idea of a soul mate, of true love, really scared him. He knew what it meant. Knew how it would shape his life and he’d been afraid he’d have no life afterwards.

What a fool.

He would never forget the day they’d first met. There’d been an instant connection, a spark that grew quickly into a flame. She’d been standing in the line to go into the Musée d’Orsay and he’d bumped into her after he snuck in to meet his friends.

Throughout the day, they continued to run into each other at various collections until they both sat down on a bench and decided to introduce themselves. From that moment on, they’d been inseparable and Marc had fallen hard. She was his everything and he thought she felt the same way.

It had been six years, and he knew he sounded like a fool, but there was something still there, deep in his soul, for her. No one else came close to touching him the way she had. He’d tried to ignore it, played the ladies’ man, was seen all over town, in the magazines, on the entertainment channels, and even Lexi had tried to set him up with her friends, but it hadn’t mattered. No matter what he’d done, whom he’d dated...that connection hadn’t been there.

No one could compare to Lauren.

Don’t mess it up. Those words irked him. He had no plans to mess it up. He’d go on bended knee to apologize and make things right if he needed to. Everything was in place and his girl was about to get swept off her feet, one tiny toe at a time. And he was determined she wasn’t going to slip away from him again. He needed her in his life, even after all this time.