The Truth About Ever After by Rachel Schurig Read Free Book Online Page A

of the
resort. We didn’t have to wait long; soon Jeff and his girlfriend Mandy were
hurrying toward us from the elevator, apologizing for being late.
    I
felt my excitement grow another notch as the eight of us settled into the van.
I knew from my phone calls with the concierge that we had a short
fifteen-minute drive to the dock, where we would board the speedboat that would
take us out to the private beach and snorkel site. I couldn’t wait!
    “Kiki,
I just love your sundress,” Mandy said from the seat behind me, leaning forward
so that her face was practically right next to mine. I didn’t know Mandy all
that well, as she was a rather new addition to Jeff’s dating rotation. She
seemed nice enough, but something about her made me uncomfortable. Maybe it was
the way she was always complimenting my clothes or shoes or jewelry. She seemed
overly interested in things . Sure
enough…
    “Is
that Donna Karan?” she asked, smiling at me in a way that didn’t quite meet her
eyes.
    “Nope,”
I said. “Target. Last season.”
    I
saw Annie grin at me from the corner of my eye.
    “Oh,”
Mandy said, sounding somewhat put-off. “Well, it’s super cute.”
    “Thanks,”
I said, before pointedly turning my attention to the window and the view of the
town beyond.
    I
had always loved travel, long before my parents could afford to take us to
exotic locales such as this. Even when our trips only took us as far as the
other side of the state, I absolutely loved seeing the way other people lived,
the shops they had, the kind of houses they lived in, the different ways they
expressed style. The Bahamas were no different, and I was
soon fascinated by the sight of the brightly colored clapboard houses .
    The
drive to the dock was almost too fast. I had just started to really enjoy
myself when we turned off the main road to park beside the dock. I made a
mental note to myself to plan a sight-seeing tour
later in the week.
    “Here
we go,” I said excitedly, clapping my hands. From the parking lot I could see
the speedboat that would take us to our destination, bobbing gently in the
water beside the dock.
    The
eight of us hopped out of the van and headed down to the dock. I made sure to
thank and tip the driver before I left, earning me a wink from Eric. Down on
the dock we were welcomed by a young man, probably in
his early twenties, standing with another small group of tourists.
    “Welcome
to the Ripper ,” he called out, waving
us over. He had that lovely lilting Bahamian accent. On our first night in town
Matt had told me that he bet they exaggerated to make the tourists happy, but I
refused to be swayed by his cynicism.
    “Everyone
ready for the ride of your lives?” he asked. The people in the other group
cheered and I couldn’t help but join in.
    The
driver explained to us what would happen on the boat, going through the safety
procedures. The Ripper was more than
just a form of transportation—it had been billed as one of the best
thrill rides on the islands. I felt a little nervous as the driver, Carl, came around to check on our restraints and collect our
belongings, explaining that anything loose needed to be stowed up front.
    “Okay,”
Billy called out, as Carl started the engine and began to maneuver us away from
the dock. “Carl here is gonna get us going. Once
we’re out of the harbor area here he’ll be able to kick up the speed a bit. And
once we reached the protected bay on the far side of the island, we’ll do some
spins. Everybody ready?”
    This
time I wasn’t the only one in our group cheering in response. Even Annie was
yelling and raising her hands in the rock and roll signal.
    Once
we were free of the harbor, Carl started to pick up speed. I laughed with glee
as we sped out across the water, the land rushing past us in a blur. “This is
awesome!” Eric called next to me; I could barely hear him over the rush of the
wind. Spray was kicking up from the water, tickling my face and my thighs.