George and Sarah, Caroline and Ian, Andrew, Teresa and Armando all accompanied us, whereas Jack Holloway and Darren Morgenson would arrive the next day with their wives. Unfortunately, Noah and his wife, Camilla, were unable to come.

“Do we need to call Erin and let her know we’re here?” I asked to no one in particular. Erin and her family had gone down a few days in advance due to her vacation schedule.

Sarah turned around from the seat in front of me. “She said she’d meet up with us when we see the coordinator at three.”

I nodded and looked out the window. The weather was much different than the cold winter in Indiana. The sun was shining and the palm trees were blowing in the sea breeze. Flickers of blue ocean appeared between buildings, and I could almost taste the salt in the air.

When we arrived at the resort, I couldn’t help but smile. It was perfect—the exact image that appeared when I told Nathan I wanted the beach—sun, sea, and salty air. It reminded me of one of the happiest times of my life and would forever be a reminder of the happiest day of my life.

Nathan squeezed my hand and smiled down at me. I grinned back, then launched myself at him. He laughed, stumbling back a bit as he lifted me off the ground.

He kissed my neck. “Are you happy?”

“So happy.”

“Me, too.”

We checked in, and, by some luck, were able to get into our rooms right away. One of my bags went to the room I would share with Nathan, but for tradition’s sake, I was spending the eve before the wedding with Caroline, and Nathan was sharing with Ian.

Nathan had insisted we do our honeymoon to the extreme and splurge on a suite. I wasn’t about to complain.

We agreed to meet for lunch at the buffet after getting settled, and I headed in the opposite direction from Nathan. Caroline took my hand and smiled, swinging our arms between us.

The first thing I did when we entered was unpack my dress and hang it up in the closet.

“Hmm, we may have to have it pressed,” Caroline said as she looked it over. Her eyes scrutinized it as she pulled at the fabric and released it. “I’m sure the hotel can do it. We can ask Marie when we meet with her.”

It did have a few wrinkles and was looking on the limp side. After all, it had been stuffed in a suitcase for the last eight hours.

I shut the closet and moved over to the sliding door that led to the balcony. The second I stepped out, I was hit with the warm sea breeze and the salty tang in the air. My hair blew around my face, and I sighed as I soaked in the warmth.

“Thank you for picking the beach.” Caroline bumped my shoulder. “I needed a vacation.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for all the tea in China.”

“You don’t even like tea.”

She shrugged. “Okay, how about all the stars in the sky?”

My lip twitched. “The stars are in space.” She huffed and pinched my side, making me cry out.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. How’s that?”

I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Better than you could imagine.”

Meeting with the event coordinator, Marie, went smoothly. She was a petite brunette with a curvy figure, round face, and wide, bright green eyes that stood out against her tanned skin. Her bubbly and open personality set me at ease the moment we met.

She’d done a great job asking all the questions in the few short weeks before the wedding and rolling it all together in time. Granted, I wasn’t a bridezilla. I let her fill in a lot of the blanks. In the end, I had a feeling she liked having the freedom to plan a wedding for a bride who wasn’t so specific on every single detail. Especially with the short timeline.

Marie snapped her binder closed and stood after going over everything with us. “All right, I’ll see all of you back here in two hours for the dress rehearsal. Hopefully you can round up the men by then.” She snickered and waved as she headed back to her office.

I was so happy to have her. She’d made the whole process so much easier and kept me from having a panic attack.

“The boys will probably be at the pool bar,” Erin said with a roll of her eyes. Her skin was pink from playing in the surf with her boys, and she had raccoon eyes.

Caroline snorted. “It’s always five o’clock when you’re on vacation.”

“We should find them before they get trashed and sun-baked.” Sarah sighed and smiled at me.

I wondered if Nathan was having a drink as well. After my accident, it was only some wine here and there or a margarita at Erin’s—our Friday nights were a long gone thing of the past. Though, the reason we stopped was due in part to all the medications we were on, along with therapist directions. In the end, it was a good thing for both of us, but it was vacation, so I suspected we’d be partaking quite a bit more than normal.

Teresa slipped her arm in mine and smiled. “Come, mi niña, let’s find them.”

As we walked through the lobby, I couldn’t help but take notice of how…different things were. Four women were paced with me, talking to me. I was involved and part of the group. In fact, I was the center of attention. It was surreal.

There’d already been so many “what do you want” or “what do you like” questions thrown around—people doing things for me and wanting to know what I wanted.

“There they are,” Caroline said, pointing to exactly where we thought they were—the pool bar. Ian was sitting next to Nathan, his Cheshire grin aimed at Caroline. She beamed back at him. His blond hair was a mess, making it obvious he’d already been in the pool.

“Well, hello, beautiful ladies.” Nathan grinned and pulled me between his open knees, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Extra special hello to my bride.”

He pursed his lips, and I leaned down to meet them. They tasted like beer.

“Are you drunk already?”

He chuckled. “On half a beer? No.”

“So, you’re just being overly charming, laying it on thick.” My eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”

He quirked his brow at me. “What I am up to is cloud-fucking-nine, because I haven’t felt this good or been this happy in years. If I seem drunk, it’s because I’m drunk on happiness and…giddiness. I’m giddy.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re being silly, but I have to admit, it’s fun, and I kinda like it.”

He gave me a quick peck. “Anything for you.”

I drew a circle on his chest with my finger and looked at him from under my lashes. “Anything?”

Ian laughed next to us. “Uh oh, man. She’s breaking out those feminine wiles.”

Nathan backed up and looked me over. “Who is this temptress before me? Because my fiancée isn’t like this.”

“I guess I’m giving in to my inner harlot.”

“Well, I like this inner harlot. Tell me more.” He grabbed onto my ass and pulled me hard between his legs. “What was it you wanted again?”

I placed my arms on his shoulders and ran my fingers through his hair. “I want to go walk on the beach and play in the water.”

“Now? What time is the rehearsal dinner?”

“In a few hours. So, we have about an hour or so before we need to get ready.”

“All right. Let’s go get changed.” He stood up, taking a long last sip of his beer, then grabbed my hand as we walked off. “We’ll be in the water.”

Ian toasted us with his beer. “Have fun!”

We headed into the hotel toward Nathan’s room, walking hand-in-hand. I couldn’t keep the smile from my face.

“You look happy.” He smiled down at me, his free hand brushing a strand of hair back. “It looks so good on you.”

I grabbed hold of his arm and leaned against his shoulder. “I am happy.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Good.”

When we entered his room, I sat down on the bed next to his suitcase. It was a front row view to a strip show, and I’d left my singles back in the room. I licked my lips at the sight of one of my favorite parts of his anatomy swinging as he stepped out of his shorts. He noticed me staring at him and smirked.