Page 319 of Blackwood

Ellie’s wheezing before he even finishes. “Oh my God, the jet skis.”

“The ones you two stole,” Cade says, jabbing his fork in mine and Cal’s direction.

“We borrowed them,” I say sweetly. “For a sunrise joyride.”

“You crashed into a wedding,” Cade deadpans.

“It was a small wedding,” Cal says, shrugging.

“A destination wedding,” Ellie snorts. “You soaked the little ring bearer.”

“He forgave me,” I wave a hand. “I think.”

Roman raises an eyebrow, watching me with dry amusement. “You stole jet skis?”

“Allegedly.” I flash him a grin. “We were never charged.”

Lex huffs across the table. He hasn’t touched his steak in minutes.

Clay leans back with a sigh. “All I remember is getting a call from resort security saying my son and Bella were racing jet skis through a wedding ceremony.”

“You stormed down the beach in linen pants and no shoes,” Savannah laughs. “Yelling something about diplomatic immunity.”

“I was trying to save the brand,” Clay says, dry as ever. Then he looks at me. “You looked me dead in the eye and asked if dessert was worth an international scandal.”

“It was,” I say without missing a beat.

Ellie gasps. “You still had seaweed in your braid when we got back to the cabana.”

“And you made me promise not to tell your brother,” Cal adds.

Cade rolls his eyes. “You two gave the hotel staff a panic attack.”

“We returned the jet skis,” I argue.

“They were beached,” Cade fires back. “With coral damage.”

“We left a note,” Cal says, like that makes it any better.

“A note that said, ‘our bad, love you, mean it,’” Cade mutters.

Daniel chuckles quietly from his end of the table. “Sounds like a very thorough legal defense.”

Roman’s mouth twitches. “Did you at least win the race?”

“I did,” I say smugly.

“She cheated,” Cal says.

Savannah shakes her head and takes a sip of wine. “No one else would’ve dared pull that stunt and still gotten dessert.”

“You mean the coconut tart?” I ask. “I’d commit crimes for that tart.”

“You did commit crimes for that tart,” Cade says flatly.

“That’s love,” I say, tipping my glass to him.

Everyone’s laughing again—Cal’s head tilted back, Ellie wiping her eyes, Savannah glowing with amusement, and Clay shaking his head like he still can’t believe he funded the whole vacation.