A Summer in Paradise by Tianna Xander Page A

that she could
still change her mind. Even her plane ticket was open-ended, but
she didn’t tell Gem that either. Pearl couldn’t afford to have her
sister try to talk her into staying. She had to leave before Duncan
and Jarrod managed to find her.
    “ Then let me take you to the
airport.” She threw a glance over her shoulder. “You wouldn’t mind
following in our car so I can ride with Pearl, would you,
Merrick?”
    “ Of course not, my Gem,” he
replied as he stepped up behind Gemma, wrapped his arms around her
middle to cradle her belly with his big hands.
    Pearl looked away. She
couldn’t bear to watch. Her sister was so lucky and didn’t even
know it. Pearl wanted that kind of relationship for herself and
didn’t want to see the kind of love and understanding she would
miss. Even if she had Jarrod’s baby, she would never
experience that kind of love.
    Suck it up, Pearl. You’ll be
lucky enough to get a baby out of this.
    “ Well, actually, I left my
things in storage. Well, my things are in Jackson. I need to
arrange for shipping.” Pearl rested her hand over her stomach as
the strange heat she experienced the night before
returned.
    It wasn’t as bad as it had been, but it
was still there. I hitched a ride here to see you. I had planned to
stay for a little while, but…something came up.”
    That was an understatement.
    Gemma clapped her hands, obviously
pleased. “That’s even better. Jackson is so much further than the
airport. We can ask Davie to watch the lodge while we’re gone. The
lawn can wait another day or so. We’ll be able to do a lot of
catching up and we won’t have to do it in two cars.” She grinned.
“We can catch up in the backseat while the guys drive.”
    Pearl opened and closed her mouth a few
times then smiled when she realized she didn’t have anything to
say, other than, “That sounds great, Gem.” What else could she
say?
    She couldn’t refuse without
hurting Gem’s feelings and that was the last thing she wanted to do.
    Forty-five minutes, a shower and the
promise of a hot breakfast later, the four of them were on their
way.
    After about twenty minutes,
Merrick steered their SUV into the restaurant parking lot. It
looked rather new. The sign out front read Almost Paradise , which made a lot of
sense, considering it was situated on the outskirts of
town.
    “ Would you mind sharing a
meal with me, Pearl?” Gemma asked as they studied the
menu.
    “ Are you kidding? I’m
starved. I’ll probably be able to eat all of mine and then some!”
The words had barely left her mouth when Pearl realized why Gemma
was offering and she felt bad.
    “ Hey, look,” she added as
she reached over and covered Gemma’s hand with her own, “If it’s
the money, I can pay.”
    Gem actually laughed at that
and shook her head. “It’s not that, believe me.” She glanced at her
husbands who nodded and said, “They’re loaded. As a matter of fact,
we could buy this
place. It’s just that,” she paused and leaned over to whisper,
“It’s geared for shifters and the portion sizes are huge. I don’t
think you’re going to be able to eat it all. I can’t and…” she
paused as though thinking over her next words. “They brought me
over into the shifter world at our mating ceremony.”
    Pearl’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a
shifter?” They could do that? She thought about the night before
when Jarrod and Duncan bit her. Was she a shifter now? If that were
the case, Glenn had better watch his ass if he ever found her
again. She’d go all feral on him and give him something to think
about.
    “ How is it done?”
    Gemma leaned closer. “They bit me
during the mating ceremony then had me bite them in return. It tied
me to them.” She shrugged. “You’d think it would hurt, but…” Gemma
blushed and left it at that.
    Disappointment rushed through her.
She’d hoped she would be a shifter now that they’d bitten her. If
they had, she wouldn’t have to worry about