Chapter Four

Kate’s awkward questions sat uncomfortably in the forefront of her mind over the next few weeks. A day didn’t go by without Jen questioning herself, how blind she had been, and how she felt about her flatmate, her friend. Felix, however, had behaved as if nothing had been said at all. He treated her just as he always had, but Jen had begun to see him through abruptly opened eyes.

That good-looking man she’d always thought she couldn’t have, who she had treated like her brother. She cringed at her ignorance and, most of all, winced at a sharp pain of regret at not seeing how a friend was feeling. Wasn’t that the key in any close friendship? Reading their feelings and being there for them when they needed you?

She felt awful and horribly embarrassed. Where their relationship had always been close, free, and easy, it now seemed stilted and almost forced—on her side, anyway. Any which way she twisted it, those regrets clouded any inward thinking about her true feelings about him.

As Kate had her hands full with training Tyler and organizing her wedding, Jen found herself busier than ever at work. Which in turn meant more agonizingly long hours in the office. Working late into the night and leaving earlier and earlier in the morning had at least guaranteed one thing—less chance of uncomfortable, face-to-face meetings with Felix. That still didn’t mean her mind reeled out mental movies of what would happen if she did happen to bump into him. Constant thoughts about him invaded her mind and set up a permanent camp. As the days wore on, those thoughts surprisingly morphed into not-unwelcome ones.

She would find herself daydreaming, surrounded by the mundane. Restaurant accounts and bar records would fade away, and instead, she’d see his easy smile, his expressive eyes, and his dark hair flopping over his forehead. She would remember fondly their previously tight relationship. How they’d talk for hours about the most insignificant occurrence in their lives to the most important. Not to mention that he was sweet, her best friend, and drop dead gorgeous.

Then, there is Tyler, her mind nagged.

Even more confusion piled on top of the already emotional turmoil in her brain when she realized that Tyler was also having a most distinct effect on her. Every interaction she’d had with the new Adonis sizzled with an unspoken attraction. Every look, every accidental brush of fingers caused an internal fission of excitement that she sensed was not one-sided. His reaction to her was too obvious, her reaction to him clear to him.

With emotions flying high and no resolutions, while work negated any opportunity to discuss them with the man involved, Jen both dreaded and nervously anticipated the wedding day. It would mean make or break for her and Felix. It would be a celebration of her sister’s marriage and maybe the death of a deep and heartfelt friendship. It might end up being a mixed up mess of both the happiest and worst day of her life.

* * * *

The night before the wedding arrived in a rush. Kate burst into the Quintal home, breathless with nerves. Weighed down with an overnight bag and a garment bag slung over her arm, Jen hurried to her side.

“Drop those bags. You shouldn’t be carrying those,” she chided. The overnight bag Kate had packed looked as though she was planning on staying a week, not just that one night.

“I’m here. I’m here for the hen’s night,” she said needlessly as she dumped both bags on the floor.

“The way you’ve packed, it looks like you’re moving home.” Jen scooped her up into a hug with a quick laugh as Kate looked down at her bags in dismay.

“I hope Bryce didn’t think that. You think maybe I should call him?” Kate asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

Jen shook her head with a grin. “I’m sure he’s fine. Nervous, huh?” The look in her sister’s eyes was a mix of excitement and panic, her eyes wider than a deer caught in headlights.

“Just a little,” Kate admitted with a shy smile. “It’s not every day you get married. You should see Bryce. He goes from hugging me until I feel like I’m going to spit out this kid early to pacing the room and muttering to himself. I don’t know whether he’s scared or just plain terrified.”

Felix walked over and grabbed Kate’s bags. “I’ll take these to my room, Kate. Jen and I have set you up in there for tonight.” He paused and kissed Kate on the cheek. “Just so you know, Bryce is really excited about the wedding. Speaking from the male standpoint, I think he’s just nervous for you—this is your day. For us, it’s just getting that ring on your finger and then heading to the bar to celebrate.” He grinned and gave Kate a wink before turning with an arm load of her luggage.

Rolling her eyes at Felix’s departing form, Jen turned back to Kate with a grin. “In the meantime, you’re stuck with me and the girls until you walk up that aisle, tomorrow. Lots of pampering and girl talk.”

Felix chuckled as he walked away. “Exactly why I’m getting the hell out of here,” he muttered under his breath.

Kate peered around Jen’s shoulder and yelled down the hall. “Just make sure Bryce doesn’t drink too much.” She paused. “And I don’t want to hear rumors about him being painted green or something and being tied to the flagpole at the square.”

Her eyebrows rose alarmingly as they heard Felix snort with laughter as he disappeared into his room. “Damn, and I thought we’d kept that idea quiet.”

Jen patted Kate’s arm reassuringly. “He’s kidding.” I hope.

Felix returned, pulling on a jacket. He opened the front door and then turned to Jen, his face stern. “There are nibbles in the oven that need to be taken out in twenty minutes—twenty minutes. If you don’t, they’ll dry out. Chips are on the counter. Just open the bags, and put them in a bowl. Dip, pâté, and other bits and pieces are in the fridge. Non-alcoholic stuff for Kate is chilling in the fridge, wine for the other girls. Don’t mix them up,” he ordered.

“Go, for heaven’s sake. I’m not an imbecile, Felix. I can handle a few drinks and some food,” Jen scoffed.

“Mmm.” With a raised brow, he gazed at her for a moment and then turned to Kate. “Remind her about the oven in twenty minutes, will you?”

Jen crossed her arms across her chest. “Relax, Felix. Go have fun.”

Susan clattered across the porch, a basket slung across one shoulder and a tray in her hand. Felix stepped out of the open doorway so she could squeeze past. “Off to Marty’s?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“Have fun. Hubby is just dropping the kids at his mother’s, and he should soon be there, too. Watch those whales’ teeth!” she called as he swung onto his quad bike.

Kate grimaced and levered herself into an overstuffed armchair. “I told him to watch out for Bryce, too. Last thing I need is a comatose groom tomorrow morning.”

Susan waved a hand as if swatting away Kate’s concern. She crossed the room to slide the tray onto the kitchen counter. “Boys will be boys. They’ll have a few beers and talk big about fishing and boats, play darts, and fall asleep with their hands in their pants on the couch.” She grinned sheepishly. “I know from experience,” she said as both Kate and Jen dissolved into laughter.

“What’s funny?” Brady asked as she stepped through the open front door. She too was laden down with an overnight bag and carrying even more food.

“We’re just talking about men,” Jen said, still giggling.

“Speaking of men…I just passed Felix in the road. He’s in for some fun at home with the boys.” Brady dropped her bag against the wall and placed a platter of crackers and dip on the coffee table before collapsing into a chair. “I just left them all with beers in their hands and their egos on the table. They’re fighting over who caught the biggest fish.” Her eyes widened as the other three women roared with laughter. “What? What did I say?”

* * * *

Jen moved glasses and plates around to add more of Felix’s delicious concoctions to the coffee table. Then, she grabbed her wine glass and plopped down on the couch. Kicking off her shoes, she tucked her feet underneath her legs and looked around at her friends, sighing happily.

“Just think, Kate. This time tomorrow, you’ll be an old married woman.” She laughed.

“Ditch the old part, Jen.” Kate replied with a grimace. A slow smile spread across her lips. “But, yeah…married,” Kate said, her voice tinged with an edge of wondrous awe.

“Nervous?” Brady asked.

“Jen asked me the same thing…kind of. More butterflies in the tummy than nerves. Excitement more than anything else. I know it all seems so quick, but it just feels right. It’s like I’m coming full circle—where I was always meant to be.”

Jen watched as Kate tipped her head and looked around at everyone as they nodded in agreement. She frowned, sitting in puzzled silence.

“What does ‘right’ feel like?” she asked with an embarrassed smile. “I know it sounds stupid, but you all look like Kate said something profound.” Curling back deeper into the couch, she dragged her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins. Putting her chin on her knees, she raised a brow. “How did you all know that you found the ‘one’?”

Susan, Brady, and Kate all looked at each other and smiled.

“Do you want the ‘how we got together” stories, Jen?” Susan asked.

Brady snorted. “Or the ‘how we put up with them now that we’ve got them’ stories?”

Jen laughed. “Both, I suppose.” She tipped her head toward Susan. “Let’s hear your story, Susie Q. How did you get stuck with your man?”

“Well, Sam and I have been married for over eight years now, and I still—if I’m totally honest with myself—wake up every morning and wonder at how lucky I am.” She paused and then pointed an accusing finger at Jen. “But, if you tell him I said that, I’ll have to kill you,” she said with a grin.

“We were childhood sweethearts, so we’ve really been together for twelve years, if you’re counting. The only time we were apart was when we both went off to school in New Zealand.” She sighed. “When we came back, we just seemed to fall back into each other. It never seemed ‘right’, as you put it. It just was…if you know what I mean. We were just meant to be, as if it was planned to happen, and we just went with it. We’ve got three kids and both have busy lives, but somehow, we just seem to make it work. I still feel the same way about him as I did when I was a teenager, so I suppose in the grand scheme of things, we’re just really lucky.”

“What about you, Brady?” Jen asked as Susan faded off into a happy silence.

“We’ve been together for a few years now, Marty and I,” she began.

“That’s right. I remember you telling me that you met on some rat eradication project.”

Brady nodded. “On Henderson Island.” She sighed. “It was beautiful. Even more isolated than here on Pitcairn—pure, untouched beauty, a coral-borne island pushed out of the sea in the middle of nowhere. Here I was, stuck with three scientists determined to kill rodents and save the bird population…and Marty.” She laughed. “This big, olive-skinned, and tattooed man with more jewelry around his neck and in his ears than I wore in a year. He had my attention from day one.”

“We spent three months there, me chasing rats and him chasing me—with what he thought was seduction…the big oaf.” She smiled fondly. “He ran the camp, fished for our dinner, and ultimately won me over…” She chuckled and took a sip of wine. “…and not with his flirtation skills, either. He got me with his ability to laugh in the face of any adversity, his constant good-natured banter and personality. I returned to New Zealand and tried to forget him. Tried being the operative word. All of a sudden, something in my life was wrong, something was missing. It’s like I’d gone to the island with two arms and legs and came back with my head cut off. So, when I came back three months later to collect results from our project…I realized what was missing. Him.”

Brady sighed and looked around. “So, instead of returning to New Zealand, I came to Pitcairn…and stayed. I never looked back.” She nodded toward Susan and Kate. “The marriage thing isn’t so important for us—not for me, anyway. I was married once before, and it was a total disaster.” She shrugged.

“My ex-husband and I married young—too young. I knew as I was walking down the aisle that I was doing the wrong thing. My father knew I was doing the wrong thing. As we stood before the church doors, he even suggested running in the wedding car.” Brady giggled. “With Marty, there is none of that fear. No second thoughts. That time apart was like having a tooth pulled—a permanent feeling of a big void. Being without him is like having a limb missing.”

Jen snorted. “Classy. Not having a man makes you feel armless? Great explanation.” She ducked as Brady threw her napkin at her and laughed.

Kate rolled her eyes at Jen and then nodded to Brady and Susan. “I think you two have put in a way I couldn’t.” She laughed out loud. “Although, the first couple of encounters with Bryce weren’t fantastic. I wanted to punch him, not kiss him.”

Jen grinned. “Ah, the infamous arrival, and you going ass over tit in the boat. Bryce was not a happy camper.” She snorted. “Though, it didn’t take you two long to start kissing up a storm.”

Kate shrugged sheepishly. “I guess not.” She pointed at the swell of her belly. “Proof’s in the pudding.”

Jen laughed delightedly at her sister. “You said it!”

Kate leaned forward, put her virgin cocktail on the table, and stared at her sister seriously. “Really, Jen. You will know when you’ve found that right person. I don’t think it’s a conscious decision you make on your own.” Kate made speech marks in the air with her fingers to illustrate. “You don’t think ‘I choose him’ and that’s it, that you’re with him. It’s more like your heart chooses for you. It’s like having a whole jigsaw but one piece is missing, and he comes along and passes you the last section.”

Jen grimaced. The girls had just described something that sounded difficult, painful, and just plain hard work. Brady laughed at Jen’s reaction. “You’re thinking about Felix, aren’t you?”

Jen glanced between Kate and Brady. “You know?”

Susan giggled. “What? About you accusing him to his face that he was gay, or that he is head-over-heels in love with you?”

Jen put her hands up to her face and groaned. “Damn the Pitcairn grapevine.”

“Didn’t really need the jungle drums, love. Just had to look at the man’s face every time he looked at you.” Brady chuckled.

“Then, why couldn’t I see it? I am so confused.” Jen moaned. “Felix hasn’t said or done anything different since he spoke to me, and I made a fool of myself. He’s not made a move on me, flirted—anything.” Jen sighed. Finding out that he wasn’t gay was one thing. She could deal with that. Everyone knowing that he’d had a crush on her was another.

What if I’m wrong? What if I’ve misunderstood him, again—is our pairing tomorrow a date or just a friend thing?

“Two weeks ago, Felix was just a friend. No…” Jen corrected. “He was more than that—my best friend. He used to be that hot guy that I could never have…and lately, I’ve been wondering what could happen with him if I let my guard down.” She looked guiltily at her friends. “Now, there’s even more dumped on top of that. There’s also the Tyler problem.”

Kate jerked upright in her chair, eyebrows disappearing into her hairline as she eyed Jen with alarm. “What Tyler problem?

She frowned at her sister. “Calm down. Not that kind of problem.” She sighed. “I wish it was. I could deal with that.” She shook her head and pushed her curls off her forehead. “I…I think I like him, too.” Jen pulled a face as the three women collapsed into laughter.

Kate wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. “Geez, Jen. When you have a problem, you make sure it’s a big one.”

* * * *

Felix cringed as he watched the whale’s tooth come out from under the bar and the tequila begin to flow. Marty was truly in fine form, tonight. The “Man Cave” was reverberating with the loud music channeled through speakers placed strategically around the room and echoing with the hoots and hollers of his friends as they gathered around the bar to celebrate Bryce’s last night as a free man. Not that Bryce looked like he was dreading the wedding, tomorrow. He looked calm, happy, and perfectly delighted at soon becoming a married man. What he did look apprehensive about was the amount of booze Marty had set up behind the bar. He’d gone all out.

Felix looked around the Man Cave and grinned at the usual, Friday night meeting spot for the locals packed with cigar-smoking men. Some waited their turn at the dart board, and a few were playing a noisy game of pool. As Marty approached Bryce and Felix, with a whale’s tooth each and a twinkle in his eye, Felix nudged Bryce and gave him a wink.

“I promised your missus you’d not have a hangover in the morning, mate.” He indicated toward the approaching man with his beer bottle. “Don’t get us both in the shit. I’m begging you, Bryce. You’ll just have Kate to placate. I’ll have both sisters breathing down my neck.”

Marty—already happily tipsy—passed Felix a tooth and then slapped Bryce on the back good-naturedly. Yelling out to Peter to turn down the music, he brandished the tooth filled with tequila to the crowd.

He cleared his throat as the music died to a whisper. “Time for speeches, while we’re all still sober enough to appreciate them,” he said with a laugh. “So, since I’m hosting this little bash, I’ll go first.” He cleared his throat. “We’re all here tonight to celebrate the last night of freedom for our mate, Bryce.” Waggling his eyebrows, he grinned at his friend. “Last chance to run, Bryce. Just make it good, ‘cause there’s nowhere to hide on this island of ours!”

Someone hiding in the back interrupted with a laugh. “Take my boat, Bryce. It’s got a full tank of gas!”

The crowd broke into a roar of delighted laughter. Shushing the crowd, Marty continued with a smile.

“Before she left, Brady threatened me with all sorts of stuff, including the removal of my manhood—”

The same wag at the back interrupted, again. “If she could find it!”

Marty snorted with laughter. “Peter, you know what they say. If you can’t walk the walk, don’t talk the talk!”

Whoops from the crowd drowned out Peter as he cackled at the comment.

“Anyway…before I was rudely interrupted…” The big man eyed the crowd with a grin, waiting for another “smart arse” comment from the group before turning to stare at Bryce fondly. “…I’ve promised not to get you too tanked tonight, but one won’t hurt. Everybody, please raise your glasses.”

As beer bottles and pint glasses were raised, Marty continued. “To Bryce. May married life treat you right, and the wife let you out on Friday nights!”

To loud cheers, Felix, Bryce, and Marty downed their shots. Bryce hugged his mate, making up for the embrace with lots of manly back slaps. Bryce whispered, “Thank you,” into the burly man’s ear.

Felix watched as Marty wiped a tear from his eye and shuffled his feet. “No problems, mate. Anything you ever need…” Unable to continue, Marty slapped Bryce one more time on the back and walked away, swiping at his eyes with his hands. Barreling through the crowd as they went back to their pool table and dart board, he roared loudly over the suddenly loud music. “Peter! Where the hell are you? Payback time!”

The two men grinned at Marty’s retreating figure as he hunted down the unfortunate Peter. Sipping at his beer to rid the last mouth-tingling taste of tequila, Felix followed Bryce out to the deck. Out of the noise and into the fresh air, Felix’s ears rang with the sound of silence. As the party raged on inside, they sat and looked out over the dark horizon of the sea, with millions of stars sparkling above in the darkened sky.

“No nerves for tomorrow?” Felix asked after a comfortable silence.

“Nope. Not about getting married. The getting up and talking in front of the whole community—even if it’s just speaking the words after the minister—yeah. Never was one for public speaking.” He grinned, his white teeth bright against his night shadowed skin. “I knew Kate was something special a long time ago.” He paused and tipped his bottle toward Felix. “Sorta like you and Jen.”

Felix snorted. “There is no me and Jen.”

He tipped his head back and gazed straight up to the starry sky. It never ceased to amaze him how clear the night skies were on Pitcairn. With no light or air pollution, the amount of stars, shooting stars, and satellites that could be seen was jaw-dropping. It was like night and day compared to what he’d see on a clear London night.

Kind of like his non-relationship with Jen. Anywhere else in the world, he would have approached a woman he’d liked and initiated something. Invited her to a movie or dinner, attempted a kiss…but on Pitcairn? He shook his head.

Jen was something different altogether. There was something about her that pulled you in and pushed you away. She was sexy as hell, but she had a virginal aura about her as well. She was contradiction on legs.

“So, what is going on with her?” Bryce asked.

“Well, she thought I was gay until a couple of weeks ago—so there’s that,” Felix said with a wry laugh. “She’s done everything possible to avoid me since then.” He shrugged with frustration.

“It seems to me that you guys need to talk.” Bryce leaned forward in his chair. “Nothing’s going to happen if you don’t clear the air. Put on your big girl panties and step up, mate. That’s my advice.” He slapped Felix on the shoulder with a grin. “Good luck though, dude. You’ll need it.”

Felix grimaced. He had the uncomfortable feeling that Bryce was very right.