Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(29)

They had gone for round two and round three before Lily had to call it quits. She was starving and was sure if they went on any longer she wouldn’t be able to walk in the morning. She couldn’t stop smiling as Finn made them all cold chicken sandwiches.

“This is turning out to be a much better vacation than the last time I was on Safari Island,” she said.

“It could be like this all the time,” Max said. “You don’t have a job now. Why go back to the States?”

“What would I do here?”

He shrugged. “Get a job and live with us. Addison did it.”

“I’m not Addison,” Lily said.

“But you’re our mate,” Finn told her. “If you don’t want to stay here, we’ll come and live with you.”

Lily held up her hands. “Whoa! Let’s not just throw the M-word around. We’re having a good time. No need to get all serious.”

“But you are our mate,” Max said. “We know it. You have to feel it too. I’ve never loved anyone I barely knew before. That has to mean something.”

“You love me?” Lily squeaked.

It was one thing to think it. Hearing it out loud was sobering. She wasn’t sure she could say it back. She had felt a connection to the twins all day, and the last few hours had been earth-shattering. But she wasn’t sure if that meant she loved them. It was possible, but she didn’t want to rush it. At least not without a little time to think away from the twins.

“I love you too,” Finn said. “I think you know what’s going on here. You don’t have to be scared. Max is right: you are our mate. Did you know we were fighting before you got here?”

“Addison told me that.”

Max nodded. “We were. But as soon as we got near you, it was all gone. I don’t even know why we were mad at each other anymore.”

Finn smiled and put his hand on Max’s shoulder. “Me either. That’s all because of you, Lily.”

She swallowed hard. “I don’t know. I think I need to sleep on it. I don’t want to say something before I’m ready.”

“That’s fine.” Max kissed her on the cheek. “Take all the time you want.”

Lily smiled weakly. She was suddenly feeling two really was better than one. The twins were so sweet and it felt so right. Could it be love?

She would sleep on it and decide after the rehearsal dinner. A little time wouldn’t hurt anyone.





Six


“You think she’ll stay?” Max asked Finn for the third time that night.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see,” Finn said.

Max wanted to be chill about it all, but he couldn’t think of anything besides their mate. They’d had a great night together and she seemed to be into them. She had to feel the same bond that he felt after they’d made love.

“Maybe we should have marked her,” he said.

“We have to ask her first. I don’t want to mark someone who doesn’t belong to us.”

“But maybe it would have helped ease her mind. I heard it’s really helpful to human mates.”

Finn pulled on his blazer. “Maybe, but I’m not going to do that. We can wait. It’s only a few more hours.”

Max nodded and followed Finn outside.

The rehearsal dinner was taking place on the yacht used for island tours. They were riding out to the yacht with a big crowd. It was a noisy bus ride over, but Max barely heard any of it. He wasn’t going to be able to get a moment’s peace until he marked his mate and knew she was his forever.

When he saw Lily waiting with the group at the pier, his heart leaped. He rushed over to kiss her hello.

“Hey.” She rubbed his arm. “You look nice.”

Finn kissed her too. “You look great too.”

She was wearing a short purple dress with a flared skirt that showed off her great legs. She spun around once. “What, this old thing? Wait until you see my maid of honor’s dress.”

“Oh, shoot. I gotta find the boss man.” Max looked around for Gummy. He had only been invited to the rehearsal dinner since he was Gummy’s assistant. It wasn’t a hard job at all. Ward had arranged it so Max had the next few days off his job at the airport. He felt bad for his co-workers who were going to pick up the slack, but he didn’t mind the break. Being Gummy’s assistant was pretty easy. He’d spent the day making coffee and checking the marble and feather arrangements for the reception tables.

He spotted Gummy talking to the chef and went over. “Hey, boss. Need me to do anything?”

Gummy put his finger next to his mouth. “Let me think. I guess you can go and make sure the table is decorated properly and the place settings are in the right places.”

Max nodded. He went onto the ship and was surprised to see photographers milling around snapping shots. He’d thought they were only going to take pictures of the wedding.

He tried to stay out of the shots as he checked the room. There were a few seating mistakes but mostly, it all looked great. The giant peacock feathers in the flower arrangements were beautiful. They were discarded choices from the reception that Gummy had decided couldn’t be used. Max had liked them, but he saw why Addison wouldn’t. It would make conversation difficult at the reception venue.