“Thank you, William. Maybe you two are next.”

William turned and gazed at Jenna, who appeared flummoxed. “Maybe we are.”

I leaned forward and returned William’s kiss on the cheek, and the two of them headed up to the deck to sit beside Alex at the poolside. The darkened stairway was now free and clear and led straight down to the walkway in front of my room.

I sent Adam a few texts, letting him know what I was planning. He didn’t immediately reply, which led me to believe that the guys had him tied up. I was determined that if I had to make like a ninja and kidnap him from his bachelor gathering, I’d do it to get him alone for thirty measly minutes.

Those best laid plans, however, were blown out of the water when I encountered Heath. He wasn’t far from the darkened stairway, lying alone on a lounge chair and staring up at the stars with a half-empty bottle of beer in his hand.

I walked over to check on him.

Without looking at me, he said, “You should make a run for it now, so you can hook up with him before midnight.”

“How did you know we were trying to hook up?” I sat beside him on the lounge.

“Because it’s your wedding and you haven’t seen each other in almost two weeks? Two plus two is always four, doll.”

I reached out a hand and smoothed his rumpled hair. He closed his eyes and turned his head toward me. Pulling my hand away, I put it on his chest. “If I could make any wish at all right now, I’d wish for a way to mend your broken heart.”

His free hand went on top of mine, and he smiled sadly. “Time will do the magic you seek. It always does.”

I blinked back the sudden urge to shed tears. “Heath, you deserve to be happy.”

He shrugged. “We don’t always get what we deserve. If we did, Miley Cyrus would be arrested for her crimes against fashion. But…it does my heart good to see that you are getting what you deserve. May he always make you as happy as he does today.”

I bent down on the lounge, giving him a big hug and laying my head on his chest. “Who’d have thought we’d end up on such adventures, huh? To think it all started with me roping you into helping me with that crazy virginity auction.”

“It’s been a wild ride,” he agreed.

“Thank you for being the bestest friend a girl could have.”

“Dollface, for you, I couldn’t have been anything less.” He stroked my hair, and we stayed like that for a long time.

But before I could make my getaway to the stairs, the girls found me, wanting more drinks, more chat, more prying of the details of tomorrow’s ceremony. It took me an hour to beg off. By that time, it was simply too late in the evening to find Adam. In any case, they all walked me to the door of my room as if we were enacting some ancient bridal ritual. “We posted Heath as a lookout to make sure the groom isn’t lurking around the corner. Don’t want any bad luck,” Kat said.

“I think she’s safe to see him before midnight. We have forty-five minutes till then. But she should definitely not see him after that until the ceremony tomorrow. That’s some seriously bad juju.” Alex nodded.

“Not even a goodnight kiss?” I pouted. Eighteen hours. I only had eighteen hours left as a single person, and the one person I wanted to see and spend time with most was being barred from kissing me goodnight.

“No,” insisted Kat. “Keep that man far away. You’ll have plenty of time together soon. You don’t want to screw it all up with bad luck. Okay, girls, line up and give the bride your advice and best wishes.”

And as if they were forming a line waiting for the hopscotch court in grade school, all the women complied. I stood before the door to my room, and one by one, they approached with their kernels of wisdom.

April stumbled up on her heels and took both my hands in hers, looking into my eyes solemnly. “My advice is…always use lube if he wants to go in the back door,” she slurred, punctuating with a hiccup.

My jaw dropped before I started laughing hysterically. I muttered that someone had better make sure she returned safely to her room, because she was tanked. Lucky Jordan. At least someone would be getting some hot monkey sex tonight, provided she didn’t pass out.

Jenna came next, kissing my cheek and murmuring, “Rumi said that lovers don’t finally find one another. They are in each other all along. You and Adam have been eternally circling one another and have finally drawn into each other’s orbits.” She placed her hands on my cheeks. “May that gravity hold you together forever.”

I thanked her with a hug, vowing to aim my bouquet at her tomorrow.

Next was Katya’s turn. She gave me a bear hug before whispering in my ear, “May all your pain be champagne and all your tears be tears of joy.”

I frowned at her. “You stole that from a greeting card, didn’t you?”

“Totally.” She nodded.

Alex stepped up last and dramatically threw her arms around my neck. She spoke to me in melodically lilting Spanish. “Que seas bendecido con la fuerza, la compasión, la fe, y sobre todo el amor profundo que dura.” She smiled. “It’s a Mexican wedding prayer.”

I returned the smile and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, guapa.”

I waved my key card in front of the lock, and the light went green. The girls turned to leave as soon as I opened the door and stepped inside.

“Goodnight,” I called down the hallway to them. Glancing down at my phone to check for any replies to my “goodnight” text to Adam, I was disappointed when I saw none. Maybe he would swing by and say goodnight in person after all? It was only eleven-thirty.

But there definitely would be no “one for the road” illicit hookup. My easy-access lacy panties had been for naught.

Damn. I still had a raging case of the hornies.

Sighing, I crossed the room toward the bed in order to flip on the bedside lamp. It was a temporary disappointment, really. In less than twenty-four hours, we’d hopefully be retiring to our honeymoon suite to kick off our own private sex-fest as man and wife. Could. Not. Wait. Hopefully the honeymoon afterward involved going somewhere with no cell phones, no computers and no—

Before I could reach the bed, movement in the dark near the bathroom almost stopped my heart. What the—fuck?

“Hello? Who’s there?” I called, taking a step toward the door. The shadow moved, again—very quickly. I only knew a few people who moved that fast.