Page 40 of Made For You
“Xavier,” I introduce myself.
“You know my brother Cooper,” Vivienne says. “That’s my sister-in-law, Erika.” She points at the woman who sits on her boat. “My brother Chase, who is a snitch.” She points at him, and he glares at her. “And his wife, Julia.” I nod and then look at the woman who sits next to her. “That’s her twin sister, Jillian, who is married to Michael. You might know him and my cousin Dylan and his wife and my cousin, Alex.” I look at her.
“We played against each other a couple of times,” I state.
“I’m Uncle Max,” Max says, coming to me. “We met a couple of times.” I nod at him. “Nice to see you.”
“Okay, now that all that is out of the way,” Vivienne says, “what are you guys doing here?”
“Emergency phone chain,” everyone says at the same time. I don’t even know what to say.
“I’m fine,” she assures them. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“We did,” Matthew scolds, turning his phone to her, “one hundred and fifty-six times.”
“Your father was calling a helicopter to take him out,” Max adds, shaking his head.
“You were the one who gave me the idea,” Matthew defends.
“It took all of you to come out and make sure I was okay?” Vivienne folds her arms. “You flew all the way in from Dallas?”
“Hey, kids-free weekend,” Alex explains. “Now, how do we fire this boat up and take her out?”
“Um,” Vivienne deflects.
“If you guys want to go out on the water, we can take my boat out. It’s bigger and can fit everyone,” I invite.
“Yes,” Michael says, clapping his hands. “Not going to say he has a nicer boat, but damn.” I roll my lips when Vivienne glares at him.
“We just need to get some food,” I finally suggest, and Julia steps up.
“There are fifteen bags here filled with food.” My eyes go over and look at the whole back of her boat, and it’s full.
“We each brought stuff,” Jillian offers.
“Well, then let’s go,” I urge and look over at Vivienne. “If it’s okay with you?”
“It’s fine with her,” Cooper says. “Can I go on your boat?” I just nod my head.
“How big is this boat?” Max asks as he steps on the back deck.
“Four bedrooms, three bathrooms,” Vivienne answers.
“It sleeps twenty,” I finally say, and they all gasp.
“Now, this is what I call a boat,” Franny declares, coming on the boat. It takes thirty minutes before everyone loads back up. I have time to take Beatrice for a walk, and Vivienne changes. When I get back, the girls have made themselves at home upstairs while the guys sit on the back deck.
“This is the boat I want.” Franny looks over at Wilson from the top, and he just shakes his head.
“What can we do to help?” Matthew asks, and I look over at Vivienne, who nods as she goes to untie the ropes.
“We got it,” I say, walking to the captain’s chair. All the men follow me, and I laugh. “You know what? Why don’t we leave from upstairs? It’s a better view.”
The men make their way upstairs as I wait for Vivienne. When she jumps back into the boat, she kisses my lips. “I’m sorry for whatever is going to happen,” she mumbles, walking up the stairs toward everyone. I follow her up as the guys stand near the captain’s chair while the ladies just lounge.
I start the boat and make my way out toward the ocean; I’m waiting for someone to ask me a question. I take them for a tour of the island, pointing out things. The girls now have made their way down to the sun pads in the front, where we had sex last night.
Every single time one of them says something, I’m expecting it to be about the game. I’m expecting her father to ask me what happened. I’m expecting Wilson to bring it up. I literally have my heart beating a mile a minute for a good straight hour.