52

An hour and some meaningless conversations later, we arrived at the docks leading to the island where two men and two boats were waiting for us. Cole and I quickly entered one while his men got into the other, each captain making small introductions of themselves before they began to drive us to the island. As the second boat came up slowly behind us, I turned to him. "Cole, why do you still need your men here?"

He looked at me for a moment and then put a hand over his eyes as he tried to look into the distance as the silhouette of a small land came into view. "I don't, actually. But they need to know this place, so later on, I'll send them back," he explained and put an arm over my shoulder again. By this time, it was a gesture I had already become used to, even though my heart still fluttered whenever he did it.

Soon the resort came into view and my mouth dropped open in amazement. Palm trees were lined up from the entrance of the island down to a point I could not see. Just like ev