Read Online Trust in Us by Altonya Washington - Free Book Online Page B

enough to voice an opinion like that.”
    “Not even the bride? That’s strange considering she’s about to marry one of your best friends.”
    “Jay tends to live in his own world and has always had a problem with ridicule. Besides, he’s kind of kept us all in the dark about this.”
    “Ah...so he’d expect some kind of ridicule if he’d shared things with you guys about Orchid?”
    Gage made another stab at finishing his sangria. Silently, he complimented Alythia’s sharp mind while simultaneously condemning his loose tongue.
    “I promise that nothing you say here will go further than our table....” She smiled.
    “What do you want to know?” He set the cooler down.
    “I’d like to know what you think of my friends.”
    “And what’s that got to do with why they make you nervous?”
    “I’ll make it easy for you,” Aly countered, expertly sidestepping his question. “What do you think of them based on your impressions during the flight?”
    Gage rested an elbow on the table. Tapping fingers against his brow, he let her glimpse his weariness. He couldn’t see their conversation going anywhere but down. “I didn’t bring you out for this,” he said finally.
    Aly shook the fruit at the bottom of her glass and shrugged. “I’m sure you didn’t.”
    “That’s not fair, Alythia.”
    “I’m not accusing you.” She fixed him with a nonjudgmental look. “You’d be well within rights to expect I’d follow in my friends’ footsteps. I just think it’s best to get it out of the way and tell you you’re wasting your time with me if you expect that. I’m not made that way.”
    “Your dining requests are coming through just now.”
    The attentive server returned with the food update. Gage pushed back his chair and stood, drawing the waiter aside, where they conducted a brief and quiet chat.
    Alythia watched Gage push a few bills into the man’s shirt pocket, and then he was helping her from her chair and escorting her from the dining room.
    * * *
    Nerves mixed in with a considerable amount of regret, but Aly kept up with Gage’s long strides out of the restaurant. She could almost feel the waves of fury he radiated. He surely had every right to be pissed, she thought, recalling Orchid’s consistent accusations about her anal involvement in business. That was an inaccurate summation. She was anally involved in friendship drama, which always found a way to weave itself in and make her a complete basket case.
    Alythia decided not to waste time in trying to explain herself to him. She’d just accept the silent treatment on the way back to her suite. At least he wasn’t too angry to walk her back. Then they could forget their poor attempt at following their friends’ dance steps to the bedroom and get on with enjoying the rest of their vacations separately.
    It was then that Alythia discovered they weren’t headed back to the suites but out of the resort’s main hall entirely. Aly shivered as much from the chill of the evening air kissing her bare skin through the wrap as she did from the anticipation of what was to follow their sudden departure from the dining room. Curiosity had her close to bursting, but she pressed her lips together to silence any questions that might have tried to slip past.
    “Questions aren’t bad, but there are occasions when the timing is,” he said from where he stood behind her once they were on a deserted strip of the beach.
    Regardless of what was in store for the remainder of the evening, a portion of Alythia’s unease did begin to fade when the ocean’s quiet roar reached her ears. Awed, she moved as if tugged by some unseen force toward the sound of the water. The surf was just visible via the strong moonlight and a powerful glow radiated along the rear expanse of the resort to douse the beach with a mellow illumination.
    Once again the sea air that had calmed her upon arrival so many hours earlier had the same effect as she inhaled it then. Even the rush of