Read Online [Invitation to Eden 15.0] Return to Sender by Steena Holmes - Free Book Online Page A

slow to match Lauren’s. He asked her a few questions about her flight to the island and whether she’d done any exploring so far.
    “I thought maybe today, I would. There was a pamphlet in the room detailing today’s activities. Did you know there is a sunken ship somewhere close by?” Lauren said.
    “Do you snorkel?” He hoped she said no.
    “I love it. You?”
    As much as he hated to admit it, he shook his head and gazed out at the water. “I can’t swim.”
    He’d only admitted that to a few people. He loved the beach, the feel of the sand beneath his feet and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the coast during the weekend with Paul and playing a round of beach volleyball. But other than playing around in the water close to the shoreline in France, he never went any farther than his chest.
    Paul knew he couldn’t swim and made fun of him on a constant basis. Only Lexi knew why.
    He expected to see pity or sadness in Lauren’s gaze but what he didn’t expect was for her to reach out and touch him. She laid her hand on his arm and squeezed.
    “Then snorkling is out of the question.”
    He smiled down at her, thankful for her understanding. That’s when it hit him, a memory from when they’d first met. She’d wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and had tried to coax him into going up with her. When he’d finally confessed his fear of heights, going to the top of the tower wasn’t a goal for her anymore. Just like that. No pouting, no guilt trips. Just acceptance.
    Even then she’d been an angel.
    They rounded a corner and came upon what looked like a beach cafe, complete with outdoor tables and umbrellas. To the side was a lounge area with wicker furniture all situated so you could sit and watch the water.
    “Let’s stop here,” Lauren said. She headed to a table, sat down, leaned back and smiled with contentment. She looked happy, which made him happy. And sappy.
    He couldn’t believe how sappy he felt. Paul would rib him for sure.
    “Do you think they’ll have baguettes and hand-squeezed orange juice?” she asked him as he sat down beside her.
    “If the island is as magical as I’m told it is, they should.”
    “Should we test it?” Her eyes twinkled.
    “How?” He was game.
    “What’s something you’ve craved for breakfast but can never find?”
    Marc thought about that. Since his parents’ passing, he’d missed his mom’s shirred eggs. She would add homegrown herbs from her window box, some mushroom and ham and serve it for breakfast on the weekends.
    “It would be sweet if they had oeuf cocotte.” He wondered whether she would know what that meant.
    She cocked her head and stared up at him. “That means shirred egg, right?”
    “Oui. Très bon.”
    He felt as if he’d just won a lifetime of eggs from the way she smiled up at him.
    “The last time Jess came home from one of her trips to France, she only spoke French to us for a month.” She shook her head.
    “She did that because...”
    Lauren groaned. “She thought it would add a new component to our company if we could speak in different languages. As much as I hated her for it at the time, it’s worked to our advantage over and over. We now all take classes in different languages.”
    “How many languages can you speak?”
    “Not as many as you’d think. French and a bit of German. That’s it. I’m to start a new class next month to improve my German. It’s a nine-week course and I promised myself if I got an A, then I would plan a trip there.”
    “Impressive. German’s an easy language to learn. It’s been awhile since I was last there.”
    She narrowed her gaze at him. “Don’t tell me you’re fluent.”
    His reply was to shrug his shoulder.
    “Marc.” She sighed. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
    “I can’t speak Korean. Or Japanese. Or Chinese. Or snorkel.”
    “True. Okay, I can handle that. So you’re not perfect. Good to know.” Her cheeks blushed and she lowered her gaze to the