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“I’ll call when we land in Charleston,” Rhett promised. “Maybe we can get togetherfor dinner.”

“Why don’t you come to the Inn tomorrow?” Trina offered. “I’ll reserve a table for the four of us.”

“Sounds great,” Forrest said.

“And you’ll have to come for brunch,” Darlene added. “The family will want to welcome you and hear the whole story.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rhett said.

Brunch would be a gauntlet. “I can’t wait,” Trina gave them her brightest smile. “We’ll bring wedding gifts for everyone.”

“That’s not how it works,” Forrest reminded her.

She shook her head. “Favors, I mean.” She laughed at herself. “The kind of thing we would have had at a formal wedding.”

“That’s very thoughtful,” Darlene replied. “Let me know if you need any help. We look forward to seeing you both tomorrow.”

She waited until the camera went blank and Rhett exited entirely from the app before she relaxed. “I was sweating buckets. Were you?”

“For a minute. But it went well. They’re happy for us.” He helped her to her feet. “When do you want to tell your folks?”

“Never?” Her laughter cracked. “I’m taking a page from your book,” she decided. “I’ll call Nonna as soon as we get back and she can help me with any of Mom’s drama.”

On the drive to the airport, she hoped to return to Key West soon. This entire trip had been too brief, even if it was by design. If anything about this situation remained false, it certainly wasn’t the contentment she felt here.

Chapter Eighteen

They wereat cruising altitude before Rhett realized he felt as if he was really going home. Not just back to his hometown, but home. How quickly Key West turned into work and Trina became home. It was the strangest and most wonderful thing to feel so deeply for her in a different way.

He was considering the best way to win over her parents. He had eloped with their precious daughter—their only daughter—who they’d hoped to marry to a good Italian boy. He might not have the right solution just yet, but he wouldn’t let her deal with it alone.

Whatever happened, they were a united front from this point forward.

He peeked at her now over the edge of his laptop. She’d been quiet since their call with his mom and dad. Introspective. Maybe she was tired too.

As a few more romantic ideas popped into his head, he fired off a couple emails to make sure she had a warm welcome. They didn’t need another party, but he wanted fresh flowers for the suite and maybe a casual get together with his sister and a few friends at the Pelican would set the right tone.

“What kind of wedding favors are you thinking of?” he asked. If she meant to give them out at brunch on Sunday, they needed something easy and fast. “And how can I help?”

She smiled and sat up a bit straighter in her seat. “Maria and I are on it,” she said, holding up her work phone.

“Is Gallo giving her more trouble today?”

“Not right now,” she reported. “He left right after breakfast. Anything interesting from the team following him?”

“Pretty much the same as yesterday. No golf so far,” he added.

He decided to change the subject. “You know Harper is going to hassle me non-stop about being in love with you forever.”

She stared at him. “That makes zero sense. What are you talking about?”

“She’ll twist this around that all the times I complained about you were my attempts to deny an attraction. Marrying you will convince her she’s right.” He closed the laptop. “She’ll be insufferable. You’ll have to protect me.”

“Hm.”

“Your mind is a thousand miles away.”

“I suppose.” She shifted in her seat. “It’s all so different.” She pointed to him and back to herself. “For the good. I am happy we did this.”