Eden by Jamie McGuire Read Free Book Online

realized she’d been in Gabriel’s presence just
moments before.
    “ What is it?” she said,
half curious, half amused.
    “ Nothing,” I smiled. “I’m
just glad you’re here.”
    “ Not as much as I,” she
winked.
    Jared and I traded glances, wondering
if she’d just given us a clue.
    “ Cynthia!” Beth called.
“Stand beside Nina and I’ll take a picture of the couple with their
mothers.”
    Cynthia fidgeted with her hair, and
then took her place beside me, poised and proper. I hooked my arm
around her waist, and she stiffened when I pulled her
closer.
    “ Smile!” Beth said,
snapping a picture.
    A few of the locals gathered on the
street, their warm, smiling faces interlacing with the familiar
faces our friends and family. They began clapping and singing, and
then one of the grandmothers waved us with her hands, encouraging
us to walk. Jared tugged on my hand, and we walked to the street. I
laughed with surprise and excitement when I realized they were
following us, their hands clapping to the beat of their happy song.
Our guests’ white faces were littered among the brown, sun-kissed
skin of the townspeople. They followed us to a makeshift downtown,
where a small group of men played music.
    “ You did this?” I asked
Jared.
    He smiled, amazed. “No. This one I
didn’t do.”
    We laughed together, amazed at the
random celebration that grew around us. Jared pulled me to the
center of the street, where we danced to the strumming guitars and
hand-tapped percussion. Chad and Beth joined us, as did Luke and
Maryse. Bex pulled his mother into the dirt street as well. If I
didn’t know better, I would have felt badly for Cynthia, but I knew
she preferred to stand away from the nonsense. Perfectly
still.
    The afternoon sun was warm, and my
wedding dress wasn’t built to breathe in the Caribbean humidity.
Jared sensed my dilemma and nodded, providing me a seat in the
shade. An elderly woman brought me a fan with a smile of
understanding. The band played on, and the townsfolk and our guests
danced into the evening, long after the makeshift street lamps and
hanging lights turned on to flicker and twinkle against the
night.
    “ How do you feel?” Jared
asked, handing me another glass of water.
    “ Good,” I smiled, taking a
sip. “I feel good.”
    “ Feel like dancing?” he
said. Jared gestured to the band, and it slowed the
beat.
    I eagerly let my husband take me by
the hand to the middle of the celebration. I wrapped my arms around
his neck and pressed my cheek against his chest. His heavenly scent
took me away from trials and the war we would create to stay alive.
It was then that I realized his skin wasn’t the feverish
temperature it usually was.
    “ What is it?” Jared
asked.
    “ You don’t feel as
hot.”
    “ It’s probably because
you’re overheating in that dress. I should have arranged for
something you could change into.”
    “ I’m fine.” I smiled.
“Quit fussing.”
    Jared rested his jaw against my hair,
and we moved slowly to the music. A slight breeze moved through the
trees that lined the small cobblestone street in the center of the
town. I sunk into Jared’s chest and let his arms totally engulf me.
I had never been in more danger, and yet I had never felt so safe.
The tribulations that we would face upon our return to Providence
suddenly seemed so small in comparison to that moment.
    I looked up to Jared, and noticed his
content smile. “Was it exactly what you hoped it would
be?”
    “ Something like that,” he
cooed. “Everything and more.”
    My head felt heavy, and I rested it
against my husband’s shoulder. My eyes swept across the landscape,
seeing Beth and Chad dancing. They weren’t talking, but smiling as
they shared a sweet moment. It reminded me of the first time Jared
and I had experienced Little Corn, and it was heartwarming to see
the island make Beth and Chad feel the same way.
    As the sun set, the villagers lit the
primitive lamps that bordered the