"So what are you going to say to Donovan when you see him this afternoon?" Owen asked, cutting into my thoughts.
Callie was throwing a good-bye luncheon for us at the Sea Breeze before we headed back to Ashland. I knew as well as Owen did that Donovan would be there. I hadn't seen the detective much these past few days, but I'd told Owen how Donovan had reached out to me when he'd seen me outside Dekes's burning mansion. Needless to say, Owen hadn't liked that one little bit.
"I don't think there's anything to say," I replied. "Donovan made his choice back in Ashland, and I made mine the other night. Actually, I made it a long time ago, even if I didn't know it yet."
"Really? What choice would that be?" Owen asked.
I tapped my index finger on his nose. "Why, you, silly."
"Oh. That."
I rolled my eyes and punched him in the shoulder. Owen just laughed, his deep, rumbling chuckles washing over me like the waves crashing into the shore.
"Well, I still think that I should kick Donovan's ass for hurting you. Hell, just on general principles," Owen said. "The man's an idiot."
"Oh, quit being such a guy. I am perfectly capable of defending my honor and whatnot. Besides, kicking Donovan's ass might be satisfying, but in the end it's not worth the effort of washing the blood out of my clothes."
"But I thought you womenfolk liked it when your guy acts all rough and tough and alpha male. When we take charge of things."
"Maybe," I admitted. "It depends on what you think you're taking charge of."
Owen drew me into his arms, and his hands started sliding down my body once more in slow, deliberate, delicious way. I drew in a breath and arched my back, leaning into him.
"Just maybe?" he whispered, his violet eyes shimmering with heat.
"Definitely," I whispered back, before pulling his lips down to mine once more.
Owen and I made love again and then lounged on the beach for most of the morning before putting our clothes back on and heading to the beach house. We took a shower, threw on some fresh clothes, and packed up our belongings. Jo-Jo, Sophia, Finn, and Bria came back from their various excursions and did the same, chattering on about all the things they'd done and seen. Then we all headed over to the Sea Breeze for our last vacation hurrah.
Callie had decided to close down the restaurant for the afternoon to give us a private good-bye luncheon - and what a luncheon it was. Grilled chicken smothered with a sweet mango salsa, sticky cilantro rice mixed with chunks of pineapple, smoky mesquite-marinated steaks, lobster tails dripping with butter, blackened shrimp, fresh-baked bread, baskets of deep-fried hush puppies, crispy sweet potato fries, gallons of pomegranate lemonade, even a couple of key lime pies for dessert. Callie had pulled out all the stops, and we all dug into the scrumptious meal, sitting at a series of tables that had been pushed together in the center of the restaurant.
"I couldn't have made it better myself," I told Callie after I'd stuffed myself with two pieces of pie.
Callie smiled. I hadn't spent as much time with her as Bria had these past few days, but we'd gotten to know each other a little better. I'd told her all about the Pork Pit and the food I cooked up there, and she told me how her family had started the Sea Breeze decades ago. I wouldn't say that Callie and I were friends now, but we weren't enemies either. I'd even apologized to her for the bitchy way I'd acted the first time we'd met. It was important to me to be friendly with Callie for Bria's sake, and I found that I wasn't jealous of their close relationship anymore. We were both part of Bria's life, and we each had our place in my sister's heart. What exactly those places were was up to Bria to decide, and I was going to respect her wishes - whatever they might be.
"So do you have any idea what you're going to do now?" Bria asked her friend.
Callie's smile widened. "Just keep on keeping on right here at the restaurant. You don't know what a relief it is, not to have to worry about Dekes or his men bothering me anymore."
She didn't have to say the words - I could see the difference in her for myself. The worried purple smudges were gone from under her eyes, and her whole body was utterly relaxed. Her gray-green eyes were that much brighter in her pretty face, and there was a lightness in her step that hadn't been there before. A weight had definitely been lifted off Callie's shoulders, and seeing how relaxed and happy she was made me glad that I'd been able to help her.
"In fact," Callie added, "I'm thinking about expanding the Sea Breeze with the help of my new business partners."
Callie looked down the table where Vanessa and Victoria were sitting next to Finn. As was usual whenever he was around anyone with money, my foster brother was telling them all about the wonderful things he could do with the cash that the sisters had made hocking the treasure he'd swiped from the mansion before the fire. Victoria's eyes glazed over as Finn started talking about tax shelters, but Vanessa had a shrewd, calculating expression on her face. I thought that the Fire elemental was going to be a force to be reckoned with in Blue Marsh someday very soon.
Callie, Vanessa, and Victoria had become fast friends, bonded together by what they'd suffered because of the vampire. The sisters had been staying at the beach house with the rest of us these past few days. I'd thought that they would leave Blue Marsh immediately, but apparently, despite the bad memories, they liked it here and felt it would be a good place to settle down. Besides, someone had to stay around to oversee Dekes's many business interests on the island. The vampire had died without leaving a will, so everything he owned now belonged to his wife, Vanessa. Vamps. They all thought they were going to live forever.
Vanessa had already hit the ground running. Finn had helped her get started, and she'd already scrapped the casino project and planned to return all of the property that Dekes had bought to their rightful owners - with a little something extra for their time, trouble, and suffering at the vampire's hands. It would be a lot of work, erasing Dekes and his legacy from the island, but I thought Vanessa was up to the task.
"I'm glad you're going to be here for a long time to come," Bria said, squeezing Callie's hand. "And the restaurant too. Blue Marsh wouldn't be the same without either one."
Her friend squeezed back. "Me too. And it's all thanks to you."
Bria shook her head. "Thank Gin. Not me."
"I already have," Callie said. "Many times. I even offered to pay her what I could for doing her . . . ah . . ."
Her voice trailed off, and she winced. Callie still wasn't completely comfortable with the knowledge that I was an assassin, but I couldn't blame her for that. I was just glad she'd accepted me as much as she had for Bria's sake. I didn't want things to be awkward between the two of them - not because of me.