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“You ready?”
“Tell me where we going!” I demanded.
He shrugged. “I did tell you. On a date.”
I glared at him. “I hate that answer.”
“I know.”
“Is that why you keep using it?”
“Yep.”
He took my hand and pulled me outside before I could fuss.
There was no Demi, no black SUV, no yacht waiting somewhere to carry us off. Instead, a resort golf cart sat outside my villa. I stopped.
“You driving?”
He looked offended. “I know how to drive a golf cart, Topaz.”
“You barely know how to order coffee.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it, though?”
“Yes.”
I climbed onto the passenger side. “I need you to know that if you kill me in a golf-cart accident after I survived all the other reckless shit you’ve done this week, my family will haunt you.”
“Your cousin probably already got plans to kill me,” he reasoned.
I tilted my head. “Demon?”
“Yep.”
I buckled my seat belt. “Oh. Definitely.”
“Damn. Appreciate the reassurance.”
I gave him my sunniest smile. “You welcome, baby”
Saadiq drove us away from the villas, and I sat back to enjoy the ride. The sun was lower now, the scorching heat of the day beginning to ease. We passed the main resort, then followed a winding road bordered by palms and thick tropical greenery. Eventually, the landscaped property gave way to something more natural. I could smell the ocean even more strongly.
Saadiq turned onto a narrow private lane and stopped near a wooden walkway that disappeared between tall dunes.
“Come on.”
He reached for my hand again. I liked that he kept doing that, probably too much. I wasn’t about to worry about that, though. We followed the walkway until it opened onto the beach.
Then I stopped walking.
“Oh.”
The beach picnic nearly did me in.
It wasn’t overly elaborate. Not like the yacht or his villa the night before. A large cream canopy had been erected on a private stretch of sand, its gauzy sides tied back to let in the ocean breeze. Beneath it was a thick blanket covered with oversized pillows, a low wooden table, and two lanterns that I knew would glow beautifully once the sun disappeared. A chilled bottle of sparkling water rested in an ice bucket beside my favorite vodka, some lemons, and what I suspected was a bottle of simple syrup. Fresh flowers sat in a small vase.
