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I blush, not used to a man complimenting me.

Hagan’s clearly amused. “He has. Everyone knew it back in college.”

“I guess I said that a little too loud.” Adalee squeezes my arm. “Incoming.”

Corbin and Oakley push through the rotating door. I take a deep breath, and John pumps my hand, silently assuring me that Corbin will be fine. Instead of trying to hide it, I press to my toes, kissing John on the cheek. He needs to know I’m not going to hide our relationship from my brother or our friends.

Oakley loses Corbin’s hand, rushing toward me. She attacks me, nearly knocking me over. “I’m so happy. He’s perfect.”

“What can I say?” John grins with his palms up.

My brow arches. “Maybe that you bribed her.”

“I’ll never tell,” he says cheekily.

Corbin folds his arms over his waist, tucking his lips against each other. His gaze bounces between John and me. “If you hurt her, you won’t just be losing her; you’ll lose me too.” He steps into John’s personal space. “Tell me you understand.”

“Got it.” John doesn’t flinch as Corbin continues to stare a hole through his head.

“Let’s go. I’m driving our Jeep,” Oakley says with the same excitement as Dane and Lettie’s toddler.

Luck rained on me when Oakley and Corbin got married, however unconventional it might have been. She’s the embodiment of my Mamaw—a free spirit with a huge heart. I’ve always wished I could be more like Mamaw. Unfortunately, I inherited Dad’s obsessive-compulsive disorder. I’ve managed to make it a positive. My work is always stellar, never leaving an “I” not dotted, or a “T” not crossed.

John releases my hand and places it on my back. “Do you want to ride with your brother and Oakley, or do you want to get a vehicle for ourselves?”

“Let’s ride with them.”

He seems surprised, but I step up into the van with John’s fingers skimming the bare skin on my back. When I picked out this halter top this morning, it was intentional, knowing he couldn’t keep hishands off me—a foreign feeling to me. Only on rare occasions did Dennis touch me in a possessive way. He always said of other couples displaying affection, “They’re so fake. Or he’s feeling guilty.”

Scooting into a seat across from Harper and Logan, both smile. Everyone is happy for us, and no one is shocked.

Soon, we’re off roading in Jeeps across the island. Oakley gets in trouble over the walkie talkies for not observing the speed limit, so Corbin drives the rest of the way, and the others pass us up. She screams into the air, “Go faster. Have you never watchedTalladega Nights?”

“Of course, I have. John, remember when we watched it before the Frozen Four?” His words get lost in the whipping wind.

John says, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

I peer up at John, admiring his smile, his jaw line, the manicured scruff on his face. He’s simply the perfect man. His nose is just the right size. His teeth are straight, and those eyes are deep hazel, maybe a little more brown than green.

His statement tumbles around in my mind. “I always thought that too, but I recognize that I learn something when I fail.”

“When have you ever failed at anything? You won national championships as a cheerleader, went to Worlds, and won that too. You’ve built a large client base because you can protect your clients’ assets and get the most for them at the same time.” He runs his hand over my thigh as he gives me a lazy grin.

“Never failed? I’m divorced.”

“You didn’t fail. You married the wrong man. There’s a difference, Sunshine.”

Oakley’s head spins faster than a cat in a cartoon. “Awww, he has a nickname for you. It’s true…”

She stops before she says the L word, probably because my eyes widen, and I clench my lips together. Corbin looks in the rear-view mirror and shakes his head. Since I don’t put up with his shit, I say, “Sunshine is better than Little Thief.”

“Hey, I love it when Corbin calls me his little thief.”

The discussion ends when we hit a pothole, and my body flies into the air. On instinct, John throws his arm in front of me. He’s so protective. Even when we were in college, he watched out for me at parties before we would sneak off. He would hold my drink if I had to use the restroom, or I wanted to dance.

The line of Jeeps turns left into a dirt road with bits of gravel hitting the metal before we come to a stop. We meet up with the others and circle around the guide. He takes us to the locker room where we can store our belongings.

Next, he gives us our snorkeling equipment and safety instructions.