Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

***THEO***

T heo hadn't been sure what to expect when they arrived back in the village, couldn't even be sure how long they'd been gone, but his heart sank when he saw a group of people gathered around Max. He was shouting out instructions to people about where to search for them. His face was full of frustration and worry, making him feel a little guilty, but he reminded himself that the situation had been out of his control. It took Max a second to see them standing in the back of the crowd. He froze, then slowly got to his feet, his face full of disbelief.

Everyone turned to look at them. A stunned silence quickly turned into shouts of excitement, and they were rushed by the crowd. "Okay, everyone, give them some space," Max shouted, and the crowd backed away from them, making room for him. "Where the hell have you been?"

Theo looked over at Eden. "It's kind of a long story," he said, looking back over at Max. "Maybe we could sit down somewhere not quite so crowded and tell you about it."

Max studied them for a second, then let out a long sigh. "You've been gone for three days. This had better be good," he said, then turned to the crowd. "Thank you, everyone, for your dedication to the search over the last few days. I want you to take the rest of the day off and relax."

That seemed to satisfy the searchers, and they wandered off in small groups, talking among themselves about where they'd been. However, no one stopped to question them. He could tell by the look on Max's face that he wasn't happy, but didn't have a chance to start explaining before a man he'd never met before came rushing up, a look of excitement on his face.

"Where did they turn up?" he asked, studying them. "You're in pretty good shape for two people who have been missing for three days."

He looked over at Max, who sighed. "Theo, this is Mateo. He works for the government, and his job is to make sure we don't damage the island by being here."

"It's a bit more than that, but we'll leave it at that for now," Mateo said, then took a couple steps toward Eden and pointed to her necklace. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, someone gave it to me," she said. "A very dear friend."

"I find that hard to believe," Mateo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm an expert in the native jewelry of the area and that looks to be at least three hundred years old. I'd like to know where you found it young lady. That piece should be in a museum, not hanging around your neck."

Eden's eyes widened, and she wrapped her hand around the amulet. "I didn't find it anywhere. Someone gave it to me just like I said," she defended herself. "I'm sorry, but it belongs to me. If you knew what we've just been through, you wouldn't even question me."

"Good point. Maybe it's time you told us where you've been for the last three days," Max said. "We've combed this island over and over, but there was never any sign of you, and now you just stroll back into the village like you spent an afternoon at the beach."

Theo looked over at Eden, then back at Max "We'll tell you all about it, but I'm warning you right no;, you're not going to believe us," he said. "This is going to take a while. We should find someplace to sit down where we won't be interrupted, and some breakfast would be nice; we haven't eaten yet today."

"We can go back to my cabin, but this had better be good," Max said. "You've disrupted the entire island and cost me a pretty penny in overtime. You're just lucky you showed up when you did, Mateo was about to call in the government."

After Max ordered food to be delivered to his cabin, they followed him out of the village, stealing glances at each other, and he wished they'd talked more about what they were going to say. He hadn't counted on Mateo being there when they talked to Max, but he knew that Eden would never reveal his secret to a stranger. They'd just have to gloss over how he'd saved her from the storm.

When they were seated on Max's deck, full plates of food in front of them, he looked over at Eden one more time, then began to explain. "The day Eden and I went missing, we went for a long walk on the beach," he said. "Before we turned to go back, we decided to rest in the shade for a few minutes. We were talking about how nice it would be to be stranded alone together on a deserted island with only a few natives to help us survive."

He looked over at Eden. "We fell asleep. I haven't slept that deeply in a long time," she said. "When we woke up, all of this was gone, like it had never been here. Then we met the natives, and they took us to their village. A man who called himself Peter explained to us, in English, that we weren't the first visitors to show up on the island, and the entire village welcomed us with a big feast."

"We thought everything was going to be okay, although we still couldn't figure out why we were there, then things took a bad turn," he said, taking over for Eden. "One of the men in the village decided that he wanted Eden, and when he wouldn't take no for an answer, I was forced to step in."

"While Theo was defending me, a group of women kidnapped me, knocked me out, and pushed me out to sea on a tiny raft just as a storm was brewing," Eden explained. "Theo was able to get to me in time, but I nearly drowned. My friend who gave me this necklace showed us a cave so we could take shelter from the storm. We spent last night there, and this morning we were home."

There was complete silence around the table. He looked over at Eden, then shrugged his shoulders and started eating, deciding they'd said enough. She looked over at Max and Mateo, who were both staring at them like they'd lost their minds. Then, she picked up her fork and dug into the mountain of food in front of her.

***Eden***

Eden wasn't sure how long the silence lasted, but she was halfway done with her food before Mateo burst into laughter, surprising her and making her drop her fork onto her plate with a loud clatter. Theo set the bite he'd been lifting to his mouth back down, looked over at her, then back at Mateo, who was still clearly enjoying himself. When he finally calmed down a little, he turned to Max, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"I warned you about the island. This time you got lucky, but it might not work out so well the next time," he said. "Mysterious and strange things will keep happening if you don't leave now."

"You believe them?" Max asked. "You've got to be kidding me. This is just some……joke or something, and you're using it to try and run me off. It won't work. I'm going to make this resort a success, whether you like it or not."

Theo shook his head. "Max, this isn't a joke. Everything we told you happened," he said. "I know what you're thinking, so don't even say it. Eden and I can't both be crazy; you of all people should know that there's more to the world than meets the eye."

Max slumped back in his chair. "Well, then let me ask you this," he said. "Why you, why Eden? What was the purpose of sending you back or whatever you claim happened to you?"

"Well, I can't be completely certain, but considering certain circumstances, my guess is that the island was pushing us together," Theo said, then looked over at her. "I was too stubborn to see what was right in front of my face."

"And I needed to learn what love really means," she said, her eyes locked on his. "Now that we've both figured it out, here we are."

"It's the Heart of the Ocean," Mateo said, shaking his head. "It will only get stronger now that you've fed it on your love, but I am happy for both of you."

"I think you've all lost your minds, and I'm not going to listen to another minute of this," Max said, standing up. "I don't know what you're all up to, but you have no proof any of this happened, and until you can give me some, I won't believe a word you say."

"Sit back down, my friend, I may have the proof you're looking for," Mateo said, then waited until Max reluctantly took his seat again. "I came to the village this morning to tell you that I found a raft in one of the lagoons on the other side of the island, and not any ordinary raft, either. This one was made from local wood harvested from the island and crude rope woven from the vines that grow everywhere around here. It's not in very good shape, like it might have gone through a terrible storm. I couldn't understand where such a thing might have come from, but……"

Max was silent for a few heartbeats, then he got to his feet again. "I want to see this raft," he said. "It's probably just something one of the guests made."

Mateo blew out a frustrated breath. "Have it your way, my friend," he said, getting to his feet. "But you're tempting fate; not something I'd recommend doing."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Max demanded. "There's no such thing as fate. Man determines his own destiny."

Mateo looked over at them. "He won't listen to me," he said. "I've tried to warn him over and over."

"He's a stubborn man," Theo said, shaking his head. "But he'll figure it out eventually. I have a feeling the island will see to that."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Max growled. "Now let's go, I want to see this raft."

"Personally, I don't ever want to see that raft again," Eden said with a shiver. "I'd much rather go back to my cabin and take a shower with some nice hot water and then take a nap in a nice soft bed."

"I think I'll join Eden, if you don't mind," Theo said, helping Eden to her feet. "You two can sort it out without us."

"Thank you for breakfast, I'm sorry if we upset you," she said. "I know how important this resort is to you, and for what it's worth, this has been the best vacation I've ever been on. I'm not sure there's anything that could top it, so don't feel bad, it's not as big of a disaster as you think it is."

"You know where to find us when you're ready to admit we're telling the truth," Theo said, taking her hand. "In the meantime, we're going to take a nice long nap. Hopefully, we'll see you for dinner tonight."

They headed back toward the village, and she realized they hadn't talked about what came next. "What do we do now?" she asked, looking over at him.

"One of us has to move," he said, grinning at her. "I'm not spending another night without you."

She stopped and looked over at him. "I just realized that I don't even know where you live," she said. "Please tell me that you don't live with your parents in a great big mansion."

Theo started laughing. "Sweetheart, I wasn't talking that far in the future," he said, then became serious. "I have my own apartment in New York. I haven't lived with my parents since I left for college, but they do have a ridiculously big house- up state."

A blush crept up her cheeks. "Sorry, I guess I jumped ahead," she said, looking down at the ground. "You just meant while we're here."

Theo reached down and tipped her chin up. "No, I meant forever," he said. "But we have plenty of time to figure out where we want to live, all summer if we want."