He Took Her To The Island We Planned To Marry Chapter 03

He Took Her To The Island We Planned To Marry Chapter 03

When I got home, I started packing.

There honestly wasn’t much to take. I just folded clothes mechanically and placed them into the suitcase one by one.

Until my fingers brushed against a velvet box hidden in the very back of the closet.

I froze.

Inside lay a silver bracelet with a tiny, uneven little starfish charm.

Rowan had given it to me junior year, the day he confessed.

Back then, he’d been so nervous he was sweating through his shirt and stumbling over every other word.

When he shoved the box into my hands, he’d said:

“Seraphine, I can’t take you to the ocean yet… so for now, let me give you a little piece of it first.”

“Soon, I promise. I’ll take you to see the real one.”

I still remembered the way he looked at me then.

Like the entire sea was shining in his eyes.

I rubbed my thumb over the starfish charm. The metal had already started to tarnish, cold against my fingertips.

At the very bottom of the drawer was another thing I hadn’t touched in years.

A photograph.

The four of us stood in front of an old stone cathedral we’d visited during a college trip.

Odessa and Gideon were laughing without a care in the world. Rowan had one arm around my shoulders while I leaned into his chest.

We had looked so young back then.

So certain life would stay beautiful forever.

I remembered sunlight pouring through the cathedral’s stained glass windows, scattering colors across all of us.

Gideon had stared up at the ceiling dramatically and sighed.

“This place is incredible. When I get married someday, I’m doing it somewhere like this.”

But I’d frowned immediately.

“It’s too heavy,” I muttered softly. “Too suffocating.”

“If I ever get married, I want it by the ocean.”

“Blue sky. White clouds. Waves in the background.”

“That’s enough for me.”

Back then, Rowan had pinched my cheek gently and smiled.

“Fine. Whatever you want.”

“Then someday, the four of us can have a double wedding on an island.”

“You and me. Gideon and Odessa.”

“How’s that sound?”

“Deal!”

“Pinky promise!”

Four hooked pinkies.

One stupid promise we all believed would last forever.

Looking back now, it almost felt ridiculous.

I had dreamed about the ocean countless times, but I’d never gone once.

Because stubbornly, stupidly, I wanted the first time I saw the sea to be with him.

Wearing a white wedding dress.

Walking into the second half of my life beside Rowan Calder.

And now he was casually telling me beaches were crowded and overrated.

The sound of keys turning in the lock pulled me back to reality.

Rowan was home.

I quickly wiped my eyes, shoved the bracelet and photo back into the drawer, and walked out to the living room.

By the time he walked into the living room, I was already sitting on the couch flipping through bridal boutique catalogs.

“What happened with Brielle today was unexpected,” he spoke casually.

“There was an emergency surgery this afternoon. She assisted me for almost six hours straight.”

“And something happened with her family. She didn’t want to go home and deal with it, so I brought her along to relax a little.”

His explanation was perfectly reasonable.

Careful. Logical. Impossible to argue with.

I nodded calmly.

“I understand.”

Rowan seemed relieved by my reaction.

Satisfied, he turned and headed toward the bathroom for a shower.

A few seconds later, my phone rang.

It was the bridal boutique consultant.

“Hi, Ms. Vale. The gowns you and Mrs. Hart selected yesterday have arrived in your requested sizes.”

“We were wondering when you’d like to come in for your fitting.”

Then she paused politely before asking, “Will Mr. Calder be joining you?”