He Took Her To The Island We Planned To Marry Chapter 01

He Took Her To The Island We Planned To Marry Chapter 01

After Rowan Calder spent a month away on a business trip with his young coordinator, he finally realized I hadn’t contacted him once.

We had been together for eight years.

In those eight years, I had pushed for marriage more times than I could count.

Every time he dodged me, I always found some way to chase him down.

But this time, my calls wouldn’t go through.

My texts bounced back with Message Failed to Deliver.

Just as he was getting irritated, his phone rang.

“Rowan, are you seriously this messed up? You got married today and didn’t tell any of us?”

Behind the voice came the sound of waves and saxophone music.

“If I hadn’t seen Seraphine’s tagged location on Instagram, I wouldn’t even know there was a wedding happening today. What, afraid we’d drink you broke?”

Rowan frowned, his grip tightening around the phone.

“What are you talking about? What wedding?”

“Oh, keep acting clueless.” His friend laughed on the other end. “Your girl looked unreal in that wedding dress. And you actually looked decent in a suit. I sent you screenshots. Anyway, I’ll see you soon. Three drinks minimum for hiding this from us.”

The call ended.

Rowan opened the images.

Tagged location: Evershore Island.

He probably thought I was just putting on another show to make him jealous.

Until he suddenly remembered the day, one month ago, when our company drew the winner for a couples’ resort getaway.

The host held up the microphone and teased, “So, Dr. Calder, who are you taking?”

Every eye in the room turned toward me.

My heart pounded as I smiled at him.

But Rowan looked past all of them and answered with easy warmth.

“Give it to Brielle. She’s been working late a lot lately.”

Brielle Sutton’s face flushed bright red.

The room went silent for half a second before someone quickly called out, “Dr. Calder really takes care of his team,” and the atmosphere recovered.

Odessa leaned close to my ear, her voice almost shaking with anger.

“Didn’t we agree we’d get married on the island together this year? He forgot even after a setup this obvious?”

I forced a small smile and pushed the sting in my eyes back down.

“Don’t worry. The plan’s still on.”

I would go to the island.

I would wear the dress.

If Rowan didn’t want to come, then he didn’t have to.

***

Rowan stepped down from the stage with his usual calm confidence.

When he passed Brielle’s seat, he stopped like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He handed her the envelope with the resort voucher inside, his smile faintly indulgent.

“Take it.”

Brielle’s eyes lit up.

Surprised and thrilled, she pressed her lips together and accepted the envelope with both hands.

As if it weren’t a travel voucher, but some heavy, priceless honor.

The next second, she stood up openly, her voice bright, cheerful, and loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Thank you, Chief! You always think of me first. I swear I owe you my life.”

Then she actually gave Rowan a playful little bow.

When she straightened, she paused and glanced at him with a coy, almost childish look.

“But… I don’t really have anyone to go with. Maybe you could be nice all the way through and come with me?”

The air froze for one second.

Then several soft, suggestive laughs broke out around us.

Beside me, Odessa shot to her feet, ready to charge over and argue.

I grabbed her wrist and forced her back into her seat, squeezing out a deliberately relaxed smile.

“You run this company. Why are you still so impulsive? Rowan won’t say yes.”

The moment I finished speaking, Rowan’s amused voice rang out.

“That depends on your performance.”

“Yes, sir!”

Brielle snapped into an exaggerated salute, making everyone laugh.

Rowan couldn’t help smiling, too. He patted her shoulder, then walked toward me.

“What the hell was that?” Odessa hissed beside my ear, barely held in place by my grip. “Is she playing innocent because she’s young, or is she doing it on purpose?”

“The four of us have been together for eight years. We agreed in college that we’d have a double beach wedding on the island.”

“Gideon and I already set everything up. Did Rowan seriously not get it, or did he forget?”

“Today’s giveaway was prepared for him. Why else would we invite him? And he had the nerve to bring his coordinator.”

The more Odessa spoke, the angrier she became, her chest rising and falling.

I covered the back of her hand with my palm and patted it lightly.

“That’s fine. Don’t get worked up.”

She didn’t say anything else. The tears in her eyes refused to fade, and she turned away in anger.

Rowan sat down beside me.

Rowan slid back into the seat beside me. His gaze flicked between Odessa and me, like he could sense the shift in the atmosphere, before a faint smile crossed his face.

It was still that familiar, gentle smile that made it hard for anyone to stay mad at him.

He took my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, lowering his voice.

“The beach isn’t that fun anyway. It’s crowded. When I take vacation at the end of the year, I’ll bring you to Silver Bay.”

I gently pulled my hand back without looking at him.

“No need. Just do what you need to do.”

He paused, then smiled faintly and withdrew his hand.

On my left, Odessa still refused to give up. She pulled out her phone, typed quickly, then leaned close to me.

“Gideon’s giving a speech later. I’ll have him help push him one more time.”

I gave her a grateful smile.

I didn’t stop her.