Page 137 of Pervade Montego Bay

The cardinal flew off toward land.

A sense of peace flooded over me—the ocean had always been a place where I’d found balance.

Breathing in the salty, refreshing sea air, I marveled at how far we’d all come. Our relationship easily made me feel complete. It would be something I would always fight for because we were so remarkable together.

We were a family.

There, at the end of a long pier, stood Louis, his grand home behind him. He’d been waiting for us. He waved, and within minutes he’d climbed aboard with us—showing off his talent for sailing as he took over steering us out to sea.

We anchored just off Doctor’s Cave.

I’d wanted to bring Emily back here, hopefully have her see the place in a better light.

We opened the picnic basket and rummaged around inside for the stuffed olives, crackers, and cheese, all of us washing them down with a glass of chilled champagne.

Louis raised his glass in a toast. “To my three best friends!”

I toasted Louis with my flute held high. “To Louis. One of the most remarkable men of the twenty-first century.”

“I’m really rather happy,” he said.

“I promise to do everything I can to improve on that,” I offered brightly.

Wistfully, he looked around, taking in the company and the vast expanse of sea. “All this and heaven, too.”

“There’s something we want to share with you,” I told him, swapping a meaningful smile with Xavier and Emily.

“I figured it out already.” He held his glass up proudly. “You do realize the number three has mystical connotations? It’s a holy number.”

That made me smile. It didn’t really surprise me that he’d suspected all along what we were to each other.

I’d never felt more ready to face this brilliant future…together.

Emily

One Week Later

Irolled over onto my side and reached out…

Xavier and James had already risen from bed. I let out a sigh of disappointment—there would be no morning snuggling.

I stretched luxuriously, reluctant to get out of bed.

Moments later, my eyes flew open as a sudden realization hit me… The clues to the mystery had been here all along in James’ house, hidden in plain view. Xavier had given it away as a joke and I’d taken it as such. But now all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. If my hunch was right, the answers were within my grasp.

I sprang out of bed and quickly pulled on my jeans and a T-shirt, slipping my feet into sandals.

Then I hurried downstairs and burst into the kitchen.

I stood staring at the pantry door, wondering if I’d lost my mind with this crazy notion. Could it be true?

I pulled the door open and stepped inside the spacious room, which was filled to the brim with an abundance and variety of food. It was just as cold in here as I remembered. I shook off the chill and looked around, spotting several luxury products imported from England—including a packet of Cadbury cakes.

I’ll have one of those later.

Moving closer to the back wall, I ran my hand along the shelf there, my fingers knocking against a tin and cracking a knuckle. I brought my bruised finger to my mouth to soothe the ache. I turned to leave, feeling ridiculous.

Wait, that tin hadn’t moved.