A couple of people I didn’t know were carting our suitcases down the stairs. Simone followed them so that she was standing about in the hallway, and so did Cara and Sammy, who had apparently not actually gone out to the swimming pool yet. The girls ran over to hug me one final time.
“What happened to the swim?” I asked.
“Simone says it’s time for you to leave on your honeymoon. We didn’t want you to go without wishing you well,” Sammy said, hugging me tightly. Cara moved in next, adding her, “We love you, girl.” Then, surprisingly, Judy, who I hadn’t realized had stuck around, and Simone came rushing over to give us their hugs of farewell.
It was a little sad saying goodbye to all of the women I’d grown to appreciate and been befriended by, and of course, I had a lot of gushing thank yous to flood them with. But then, Timothy took my hand, corralled my shoulders, and half pushed, half guided me toward the door.
“But our suitcases,” I said, trying to turn about to see if the four cases were still standing where they’d been a moment before.
“That will be taken care of my dear. All you have to do is climb into the limo,” Simone told me, smiling that strange smile of hers, the one that never showed any teeth.
I tossed kisses and hand waves at the people I was leaving, the ones still standing behind my closest friends. Andrew and Lillea had once again joined the group. “Have a good time, you two,” Andrew shouted, and Lillea added her blessings to the good wishes. “I’ll take you shark diving when you come home,” she called out merrily.
The black limo was sitting at the front of the house, ready for us. Grumpy Ricardo was driving. I was glad he wasn’t one of the guards coming with us. Bob, Terry, Ben, and the new guy, Daniel, sat down on the seats opposite us. The limo was that big. No crowding at all.
I was introduced to Daniel first thing after we’d all accommodated legs and arms and where everyone was supposed to sit. Throughout that, I felt Bob’s smiles, and also, the new guy’s attentive observations. I was pretty sure he was human, while I already knew that Ben was Fae, and Bobby and Terry were werewolves. I still wanted to dig for more info on that subject. What was it like to change body types? Were the movies about werewolves true? Did the men have to change every full moon? What would happen on the ship if . . .
“Relax, darling,” Timothy laughed, letting me know that my emotions were running wild. “Werewolves are no longer forced to change shape at a certain time. They maintain their humanoid shape unless they choose to run in the forest or for some other reason, like defending those they are protecting.”
I gasped. Timothy had just mentioned Bob and Terry’s nature in front of the new guy, Daniel. And Ricardo up in the front seat had probably heard. What would those two guys think about this whole conversation?