Ignite (Speed Series Book 1)(56)

Todd: Call me ASAP. It’s about tomorrow.

Fuck. What could have happened now?

“Waldo, Chris, I have to make a call to Todd.”

“Hell no, Emmit. It’s golf time, no work is allowed,” Chris said as he dropped his bag and got ready to swing his club.

I pushed out a frustrated breath and said, “It’s about tomorrow.”

Waldo and my brother both looked at me. I had told them both about the stunt Stephanie had pulled. Waldo didn’t agree with me when I said I thought it was best if Adaline didn’t find out.

As I hit Todd’s number, I took in a deep cleansing breath.

“Hello, Emmit?”

“Yeah, Todd it’s me.”

“I need you to come back to the resort as fast as you can.”

Closing my eyes, I shook my head. “Why?”

I could hear Todd letting a breath. Whatever it was, it had to have been big for him to not want to tell me.

“The wedding trellis on the beach was destroyed last night. I just got the message from the wedding planner. They said it could have been the storm last night caused bigger waves that came up further than they thought.”

I quickly let out the breath I had been holding in. “That’s it?”

Todd let out a nervous laugh. “What do you mean, that’s it? Emmit, that was a huge part of your wedding tomorrow evening.”

My hand pushed through my hair as I let out a relieved laugh. “Todd, I’d marry Adaline in an elevator. It’s fine. I’m positive Adaline isn’t going to be that worried if a storm took out the trellis. As long as there are no storms tomorrow afternoon, we are golden.”

“Are you sure Adaline is going to feel the same way? With the flowers and all that fabric she had made to put on it?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Shit. I guess it would mean more to her. Damn it. Can we not get another one in by the wedding tomorrow?”

“I’m working on it, but that one was custom-built and hand carved out of solid wood.”

“I didn’t think the storm was that bad last night. Are they sure it was the storm?”

“They are pretty sure. It was knocked down and a part of it was gone, so it had to have been washed back out to sea.”

“Damn it,” I said as I dropped my head down and tried to think of something else. “What about that trellis that leads into the yoga studio? Could we not move that down to the beach and use that?”

The phone muffled, and I was guessing Todd was asking. “I think that might work. Good thinking, Emmit.”

I glanced back over to the hole where Waldo and my brother had both tee’d off and started down the fairway. My brother suggested having Stephanie watched and last time Chris called in to check, all was good, so I knew this was nothing to be alarmed with. “Good. I’m glad we got that taken care of. I’ll let Adaline know what happened, so she isn’t thrown off by the change.”

“Perfect. Sorry to interrupt your day.”

Grabbing my bag, I quickly made my way over toward Waldo and Chris. “No worries. I’m just glad it wasn’t something far worse. Let’s say some prayers this is our last problem.”

Todd laughed and said, “Will do. Enjoy your day.”

Pushing my phone back into my pocket, I tried to push away the uneasy feeling I had wash over my body.





I’D WOKEN UP EARLY AND taken a walk along the beach. I secretly was hoping Emmit had done the same thing. Keeping with tradition, I stayed in Ashley’s room last night after the rehearsal dinner and the small little party we had afterwards. Emmit’s idea to use the trellis from the yoga study was a brilliant one. It wasn’t nearly as beautiful as the original one, but it would work perfectly.

The chill in the air caused me to wrap my arms around my body as I faced out over the ocean. The mornings were beautiful here. The sun rose on the other side of the island, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a beautiful sunrise on this side.

A young couple ran by as they wished me a good morning. Returning the gesture, I turned and looked back at the path that led to Emmit and mine’s beach cottage.

I wondered if Emmit was still sleeping? Maybe he ended up staying up late like I did. Not being able to sleep from nerves had me up until almost two in the morning.

Smiling, I let a naughty thought cross my mind. I quickly took off down the path that led to the man I loved. Hopefully he would still be asleep and I could sneak right in and sink down on him. What a wonderful way to wake my future husband up on our wedding day.

As I approached the cottage, a sinking feeling moved through my chest. I turned and looked behind me, making sure no one was following me. Making my way up the steps, I pushed the door open and peeked inside.

Empty.

I took a step into the room and called out, “Emmit? Baby, are you here?”

The bed had been slept in, so I knew Emmit had to have come back here last night. Spinning on my heels, I started back for the beach when I slammed into a broad chest. Hands grabbed onto my upper arms as I let out a small scream.

“Jesus, Addie! What in the hell are you doing here?”

I must have closed my eyes when I ran into Emmit. Opening my eyes slowly, I peeked up at him through my eyelashes. “Hey,” I whispered.

His face relaxed as he cupped my face with his hands. “Hey, pumpkin. Is everything okay? You scared the piss out of me by being here.”