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“So you and your friends have an even bigger goal? How many of you are there?” he asked. “Seems like you’ve got quite an entourage.”

I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or Teddy. “Just the four of us,” I answered.

“How long have you been searching for treasure together?” he asked.

Teddy ruffled my hair, grinning. “Since the day we met. Actually, if I’m being totally honest, if it weren’t for our shared interest in Blackbeard, we probably wouldn’t be friends. Do you know the first time I met Stella, she robbed me?”

“It wasn’t a robbery,” I shot back, smoothing down my hair.

“You took my wallet! And our cooler.”

“I was hungry. You’re the one who was just speaking to the importance of basic human needs.”

“We both know I was talking about other appetites, Stell. Anyway, you were like a tiny blond pirate. Looting up and down the beach in a bikini.”

“Maybe you should’ve just pressed charges,” I said, shrugging. We’d been over this story a million times.

“Yeah, well, I was seventeen. I probably thought you were hot.” Teddy shrugged and took a drink.

“Probably?” Huck asked.

“I’m bored,” Teddy announced. “Let’s get some shots. It’s not every day that my two oldest friends meet randomly thousands of miles from home. It’s an occasion that should be marked with overindulgence.”

He ordered a round and knocked his back before Huck and I even had a chance to pick ours up. Then he got another. “Sully,” he said, “Stella has something she wants to ask you.”

Huck looked intrigued and I turned to face Teddy wide-eyed. What are you doing? I mouthed.

Teddy leaned in close and rested on my shoulder. “Aren’t you going to ask for your epilogue? Casablanca .” His breath was warm on my neck. The scent of alcohol stung my nostrils.

I picked up one of the shots and gulped it down.

The liquid seared my throat. It was true, I was desperate for that epilogue.

I’d pictured a thousand different ways that I could ask, but after Huck’s confession about being shredded by critics and doubting himself, I had no intention of putting him on the spot.

“First of all, you know you want that epilogue just as badly as I do. You love those books as much as me.”

“Do it for both of us, then.” Teddy handed me a fresh shot. “Another dose of liquid courage, my dear?”

I wrinkled my nose.

“Take your medicine,” Teddy said. His features had already softened a little; there was a distance in his eyes like he was here but not completely.

I was used to this when Teddy was tipsy.

He downed the rest of his beer. We’d come to have a good time, I told myself.

What was more fun than meeting your favorite author, discovering he’s friends with your best friend, and getting a little bit drunk in Iceland?

Nothing…except all of that plus being one step closer to the treasure of a lifetime.

It did call for celebration. Not all of Teddy’s notions were bad, often they led to an awesome time.

I lifted the shot glass to my lips and drank.

“Good. Now quit being a baby and ask him.” He grinned. I knew he wasn’t going to let this lie.

“Ask me what?” Huck asked. “Why do I feel like you two are up to something?”

I stood, frozen between them. The room was cool, but the alcohol and the excitement kept me warm.

My pulse thrummed. I panicked and took another shot.

“Boxers or briefs?” I asked, wincing at the burn of the alcohol.

“You have seen his underwear after all.” A new song started, right on cue.

It had a good beat. One I knew. I reached down and grabbed both their hands.

“Let’s dance,” I called, my voice loud over the music, knowing full well that Teddy could never resist an opportunity to cut loose on the dance floor.

The lights were low; bright-colored spotlights zinged around the room.

They swept over Teddy, his sharp jaw, his wild hair, and then Huck, illuminating his pale eyes, just for an instant, and we danced.

Zoe and Gus joined us. We all rocked and twisted to the music; we should’ve probably been embarrassed by our moves or lack thereof, but we were too busy enjoying the bass beat reverberating through our bodies.

Teddy kept us supplied with drinks and laughs and new friends as he showcased a multitude of embarrassing moves and the dance floor grew crowded.

A familiar song came on, one that all of us loved to sing to as obnoxiously as possible when we were out on the boat, and I looked around to get their attention, but Zoe and Gus were busy grinding up against each other like a music video and Teddy was making out with one of the Australians who ogled him earlier.

A strange surge of loneliness overwhelmed me in the crowd.

I probably shouldn’t have drunk so much; I stopped moving.

“Great song,” Huck shouted. He held up two tiny bottles of Coke and stepped over. “Looks like our mutual friend is enjoying himself.”

I took one of the bottles. “You know Ted.”

“That I do. He’s always prioritized fun. And what about you? Are you having a good time?”

The Coke sizzled sweetly on my tongue and the loneliness subsided. I nodded. The music shifted to something slower, something decidedly sexy. Around us, people coupled up. I took another sip of my drink.

Huck leaned toward me. “You wouldn’t want to dance with me, would you, Stella?”

I gave him a smile and his hand drifted to the small of my back. We took a few measures to learn how to move with each other. He was a good dancer. I liked peering up at him, his scent, the way his grip tightened and pulled me closer. I pressed my hips to him.

We danced together for a long time. It got late. The music ended, and the dance floor cleared. I turned to him, breathless.

“I needed this,” he said, before I could say anything.

He took my hand and even though it had only been a few hours, most of which we’d spent intoxicated, not able to hear each other over the music, I wondered if this could mean me.

And the wild thing was, I wanted it to, not in some huge way—we’d only met, I knew that—but it wasn’t small, certainly not inconsequential.

Normally, I would’ve already been thinking that whatever this chemistry was between us might be really fun to explore for a night or two before I slipped out for an early, emotionally risk-free exit.

This was different. I’d known Huck Sullivan through his books for years.

I couldn’t help but feel the passage of every hour I spent in those pages with the characters he’d created and think that meant something. He was still holding on to my hand.

“I’m serious,” he said, reaching up with his free hand to tuck a damp tendril of my hair behind my ear. “This is the best night I’ve had in a very long time.”

I felt the same, that’s why I didn’t want it to end.

Maybe it didn’t have to. It occurred to me then that if Huck needed inspiration, then it was fortunate that we found each other here.

He’d helped me figure out where to look next…

I could definitely give him better material than some dancing in a bar.

I leaned close to him. “If you thought this was good, wait until you see what I’ve got in store for you next.”