SEVERAL HOURS LATER, Leroy hung up the phone. “No answer,” he said.
“Where the hell is he?” asked Declan.
“I don’t know.”
“He just walked off by himself?” asked Hannah.
“Yes, he did.” Declan walked to the window and put his hands in his pockets. Now that they knew where Sarah was, they’d called off the search, and the three of them were left to figure out what to do next.
“He needs to hibernate for a while. Give him time.” Leroy said it for his own benefit just as much as theirs.
“And she remembered nothing?” asked Hannah. “I don’t believe it. How is that possible?”
“Nothing other than our names,” said Leroy. “She didn’t know Sherlock at all.”
“My God. I can’t imagine what that did to him,” she said.
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t as bad as us having to tell him that Sarah loves Yates.” Declan kept staring out the window. “And watch as he figured out what that meant. I never want to feel that again.”
Hannah stared at Declan’s back and glanced at Leroy, who sat unmoving at the kitchen table. “So,” she asked, “how long do we wait before we go looking for him?”
“He’s a big boy,” said Leroy. “He’ll come back when he’s ready.”
Declan dropped his head. “There’s something else that’s bothering me.”
“What?” asked Leroy.
“Did you hear what Sarah said when she came into the room, before she knew we were there?”
“What did she say?” Leroy thought about it. “Something about the beach?”
“She said the beach would be the perfect place for the ceremony.”
“The ceremony?” asked Hannah.
“Yes.”
“What ceremony?” asked Hannah.
“Exactly.”
Leroy sucked in a breath. “You don’t think…”
Hannah came to the same conclusion. “She’s not going to…”
“Marry him?” asked Declan. “It’s the logical conclusion.”
“Dear God,” said Leroy. “Every time I think this can’t possibly get any worse, it does.”
“She wouldn’t,” said Hannah. “She’s only been gone for four days.”
“I can’t explain it,” said Declan, staring out the window, “but, yes. I think she just might.”
**
Ramsey heard his phone ring and forced his eyes open. He didn’t know where he was, but those blissful few moments of forgetfulness disappeared when his memory roared back and he realized he had not been dreaming. Sarah was gone, and worse, he wasn’t convinced he’d be able to get her back. Blinking his eyes against the soft sunlight that filtered into the room, he looked around and saw Sarah’s things.
He’d walked for hours the previous day, thinking of her and their time together, replaying the events in his mind leading up to this moment, until the moon had risen, and finally paying attention, he realized he was in Sarah’s neighborhood. Finding his way to her apartment, he jimmied her lock, entered, and had fallen asleep in her bed. He’d had no dinner, but he didn’t want to eat. His phone had rung several times, but it was always Declan or Leroy, and he had no interest in talking.
Eyeing the clock on the nightstand, he saw that it was eight o’clock in the morning. It surprised him that he’d managed to sleep. The phone continued to ring, and he wondered how he still had battery power. Picking up the phone, he noticed that he had only one bar left, but more importantly, he didn’t recognize the number on the display. Visions of Sarah calling him flashed in his head, and he answered it.
“Hello?” he said, clearing his throat.
“Mr. Ramsey?”
“Yes?” He sat up in bed. “Who is this?”
“It’s Julian. Perhaps you remember me from yesterday?”
A vision of the short, dark-haired man flashed in his head. “Yes. What do you want?” He couldn’t help but feel some measure of hope that maybe this man wanted to help.
“Mr. Yates asked me to call.”
The cold lump in his chest returned. “What does that bastard want?”
“He felt remiss that he had not invited you to the ceremony.”
“The ceremony? What are you talking about?”
“Miss Sarah and Mr. Yates are to be wed.”
Ramsey gripped the phone. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“This morning. It’s a lovely day for it.”
“This morning?”
“Yes, they’re having an early service out on the beach before they head out on the honeymoon.”
Ramsey couldn’t make himself think. “Service? Honeymoon?”
“Yes, sir. Mr. Yates thought you should know.”
A million questions shot through Ramsey’s head in a split second. “What time?”
“Pretty soon, actually. I think…”
Ramsey hung up before Julian could finish. He grabbed his jacket and ran out the door. Realizing he didn’t have a car, he cursed himself. He considered calling a cab, but he didn’t know if his phone’s battery would hold out that long and he didn’t have the luxury of waiting.
Remembering a hotel nearby, he ran for it, hoping he could find a cab there at this hour of the day. He raced down the block and turned the corner, and seeing the hotel across the street, he pushed himself faster. A yellow cab sat out front. A car horn blared at him as he ran blindly, ignoring the traffic, but he made it there safely and jumped into the back seat, breathing hard after his sprint.
“You the guy going to the airport?” asked the cabbie.
Ramsey tried to catch his breath. “Forget that. I need to you to get to an address as fast as possible.”
“Hey, I’m supposed to pick up some dude going to the airport.”
Ramsey leaned forward. “Screw the airport,” he said, pulling out some cash. “You get me to where I need to go, and fast, there’s a hundred-dollar tip for you.”
The cabbie looked at the cash Ramsey was holding and started up the car. Ramsey gave him the address and sat back in his seat, praying he would get there in time.
**
Sarah blinked her eyes in the sun. She’d had an anxious sleep the previous night, with visions of the strange man named Ramsey plaguing her dreams. Remembering only bits and pieces, she recalled him searching for her, saying her name over and over, and her frozen in place, unable to move. Not a surprising dream, she supposed, considering the circumstances, but what bothered her about it was that she felt fairly certain that if she’d been able to move, that she would have likely looked for him too, wanting to find him. She didn’t understand why she felt that way, because she didn’t want him anywhere near her.
“You look beautiful.”
The voice startled her. She focused, then saw Yates standing next to her. Glancing down at herself, she swayed in her simple white lace dress and smelled the bouquet of white and pink roses in her hand. She stood barefoot, her toes wiggling in the sand as the wind blew tendrils of her hair that had fallen around her face. “Do I?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Perusing him, she admired his white suit and shirt and the pink and white roses pinned to his lapel. He, too, stood barefoot in the sand, and in front of them stood a beautiful latticed archway, shrouded with intricately placed pink and white roses and long, white stretches of tulle blowing in the breeze.
He took her hand. “You ready?”
Giving his palm a squeeze, she said, “Yes.”
Izzy stood behind her, all too happy to be part of the ceremony, and as Yates turned and looked, Julian walked out onto the sand and went to stand behind Yates.
“Everything good?” asked Yates.
“Just fine, sir,” said Julian, smiling at his boss. His gaze moved to Sarah. “You look lovely, Miss Sarah.”
“Soon to be Mrs.,” said Yates.
“Thank you, Julian,” said Sarah as Yates held her hand and massaged her palm.
“Then let’s do this,” said Yates. He eyed the man standing beneath the archway, who was waiting for the go-ahead. Yates had found a local justice of the peace, who, with a little persuading and with an offer of a monetary reward well worth the man’s efforts, had agreed at late notice to come to the beach early and perform the ceremony. “We’re ready when you are, Judge Daniels.”
The judge began to speak, and the ceremony began. Handing her bouquet off to Izzy, Sarah took both of Yates’s hands in hers and recited her vows, then listened as Yates recited his. His gaze never leaving hers, he reached for the ring, which Julian offered, and holding her hand, he slid it on to her finger while repeating the judge’s words. Sarah did the same after taking the ring Izzy held out to her. And then, as quickly as it had started, the ceremony ended and Sarah heard the judge say, “You may kiss the bride.”
And just before their lips touched, Sarah shivered when, looking up at Yates, she thought she saw brown eyes instead of blue.