Page 82 of Paradise & Vodka

"I have to go back to Fiji."

"Why?" I breathed.

She paused for a moment. "To identify Doug's body."

I stopped stirring the pieces of chicken I was sautéing. "For real?"

"Yep. I got a call this afternoon from someone in Fiji. They think one of the bodies at the airport is his."

"Do you think it's him?"

"I haven't heard from him, and I don't think they'd call me to come identify his body if they weren't certain."

I started to move the chicken around in the pan again to prevent burning. "When do you leave?"

"In the morning. I booked my flight before calling you."

"You're going alone?"

"Yeah. Corinne just got home, and I don't think she wants to go back." I'd forgotten that the wedding party had been left behind and had to wait to go home when flights were available. Plus, she lived in Alabama.

"I don't blame her."

"And I don't think you'd want to meet me there."

I shook my head. "I can't get off work, and yeah, I don't think I ever want to go back."

"Understandable. I'm going alone for one night to play the grieving widow."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

I pulled the pan off the burner. "Grieving."

"In front of people. I had to come up with a story that we weren't supposed to go on our honeymoon right away, and he and his parents had already planned to leave without me because I wanted to spend an extra day with you and Mom and Dad."

"You know," I sighed, "if it was a real marriage or whatever, then you might have ended up dead too."

"You think so?"

I grabbed lettuce from my fridge to make a salad to go with my chicken. "I'm assuming they went to the airport to get away from the tsunami, so you would have been with him and died too."

Everleigh was silent for a few moments. "You're right."

"What's going to happen with the inheritance and Dad's medical bills?"

"I've been waiting to find out where Doug is before I look into that."

"And if it is his body?"

"I'm not sure."

I blew out a breath. "I hope you still get it, or we're going to have to come up with another plan."

"Well, as far as everyone knows, the marriage was real."

"True."