Page 109 of Finding Elodie
Kai and his mother, Perry and Kahoni and their families, Scott’s team, of course, and Scott had even found Manuel and flown him out as well. She hadn’t seen him since she’d left the Asaka Express. She wore a replica of the first dress she had on when she’d gone out to dinner with Scott, after they’d accidentally run into each other again.
Scott had gone crazy and bought as many duplicates of the dress as he could find. Not only that, but he’d bought them in different sizes, saying he wanted her to be able to wear the dress no matter if she gained or lost weight in the future. It was a beautiful gesture, and she loved him all the more for it.
The dark purple dress with white and hot pink petals was as far from a wedding gown as she could get, but she wouldn’t have wanted to wear anything else. Scott had on a pair of black board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt that matched her dress almost perfectly. They both had leis around their necks, as did all the guests. The mood onboard was jovial and relaxed, and Elodie loved that she was sharing her special day with her new friends.
“Happy?” Scott asked as he hugged her body from behind. Elodie never felt safer than when she was in his arms. Being in the ocean would never be her thing, not anymore, but since she was now married to a man who practically had gills, she’d need to get comfortable being around and on the water.
“Very,” she told him.
They stood there, listening to the party going on behind them and enjoying the view as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
Then Elodie gasped as she saw two dolphins frolicking in the bow waves. “Look!” she told Scott.
“I see them. Did you know dolphins swimming by a boat are a sign of good luck?” he asked.
“When I was out there, a shark started swimming around. I was so scared, but then a pod of dolphins surrounded me, keeping me safe. And toward the end, right before you found me? There were two that stayed right by my side. I could even touch them, they came so close. Do you think they’re the same ones?” Elodie knew the chance of that was slim to none, but she could dream.
“I don’t know, but dolphins are smart. Many people think they’re even smarter than humans. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d known exactly what they were doing when they helped you. And that they know you’re here now.”
Elodie sighed in contentment and watched the pair of dolphins playing in the water. Then she turned and looked up at her husband. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” he replied. He leaned down and kissed her long, slow, and deep. It had taken a while for Elodie’s libido to return after her ordeal, but lately she’d been even hornier than she’d been before everything had happened.
“The only bad thing about a reception on a boat is that we can’t sneak out early,” she said between kisses.
Scott smiled against her lips. “Who thought of this idea anyway?” he complained.
“Um…you did.”
And he had. Scott had practically planned their entire wedding himself. She’d been in charge of the menu, but otherwise, he’d done everything else.
“I’ll make up for it when we get to the hotel.”
He’d even rented the honeymoon suite at the Halekulani Resort, complete with a home theater and plunge pool in the bathroom of their suite. It was over the top and totally unnecessary, but Elodie couldn’t wait to experience it.
“I’m gonna hold you to that,” she said with a smile.
“Hey, you guys gonna come and shove cake in each other’s faces so we can eat it yet or what?” Aleck called out from nearby.
Elodie smiled.
“We’re comin’, jeez, keep your pants on,” Scott grumbled.
“That was gonna be my line,” Aleck joked before disappearing.
“Such a fucking smart aleck,” Scott griped, but he smiled as he said it.
She laughed. “I like your team. All of them. I’m glad you guys have each other’s backs.”
“We do,” Scott agreed. “Come on, let’s get this cake thing done, then the first dance, then I’ll bribe the captain to take us back early.”
Elodie knew she should argue, tell her husband that she wanted their guests to be able to stay and party late into the night, but she wanted to be alone with Scott. She couldn’t wait to start the rest of their life together.
* * *
“Shit,” Mustang swore again as they waited for their commander to arrive to the emergency meeting he’d called.
“Sorry, man,” Midas told him. “Sucks that you’re still officially on your honeymoon and we get called up for a mission.”
