Caribbean Crush (Under the Caribbean Sun) Read Online Free Page A

it, right?”
    Both his brothers pinned him with the same annoyed glare. Johannes spoke first. “Why would you want to watch Saskia dance?”
    Antonnis held up his hands. “I don’t care what the brat does. I’m just thinking a stag party is supposed to be more than drinking with Papa and Dutch. There should be something untoward. Poker maybe?”
    “We’d have to go back to the house for that,” Dutch cut in. “Anguilla is more interested in dominos.”
    “This is a happening place,” Falco deadpanned.
    The older men erupted in laughter, slapping one another on the back in camaraderie. “Sebastian and I should head home, let the youth have their fun while we retire.”
    His father kept laughing, wiping at his eyes. Antonnis couldn’t recall seeing the man this joyful or relaxed. Theirs was a story of sadness and loss, of working hard to fill the gaping hole left from his mother’s death. While at home, his father usually seemed happy enough, but this was a side of the man he didn’t recognize.
    Sebastian pushed a hand through his silver hair. “Or maybe we’ll sail, chase the sunrise and congratulate ourselves on a match well made.”
    “Careful, Papa,” Harm said with a wink. “Hannes hasn’t realized you and Dutch planned this entire marriage.”
    Dutch dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll see to having the grandbabies we both want. Our children are far too old.”
    “Old enough to try and out drink us.” Sebastian held up his empty glass.
    “Sorry lot. They’ll never learn.” Dutch rose from the table and his best friend did the same. He pointed at Harm. “See that he’s at the church and sober.”
    Harm laughed. “I could say the same about both of you.”
    The older men made their way to the bar and Antonnis leaned toward his brothers. “Seriously. Where are the girls right now?”

Chapter Four
    Kristin took her place beside Antonnis, grinning at how uncomfortable he looked. She’d set out to ignore him all day, and it was having the desired effect. She wasn’t trying to be rude, just to level the playing field since he’d undone her resolve with a kiss last night. She didn’t want any flirting getting in the way of Saskia’s wedding.
    “I don’t know where you live,” he whispered without moving his lips.
    “With Janny,” she whispered back, and then tilted her head toward her best friend and the man who stood ahead of them. “Is Falco a common name in the Netherlands?”
    “Common enough,” he answered, linking their arms for the trip down the aisle.
    “It’s his real name?” She kept her voice low, wanting to keep him talking about anything but their relationship.
    “Of course it is.” He tilted his head closer. “I need your cell number.”
    “So you can lose it? You’re not the best at returning phone calls.” The music began, the romantic hum of a string quartet floating from the front of the old church all the way back to the foyer they waited in.
    “Just give me the digits. I’ll remember them.”
    She arched a brow, wishing she didn’t get such a thrill from the desperate look in his light-blue eyes. “I’m not a call-me-maybe girl. I don’t give out my number to just anyone.”
    He all but growled her name, and Janny twisted around, pinning them with a look that reminded them they were about to walk down the aisle. Witness a wedding. And that she had no business winding him up when she wasn’t going to play with him.
    “We need to leave the past where it belongs,” she whispered as the double doors opened and flooded the foyer with gazes eager to glimpse the bride.
    “I don’t want to.” He squared his shoulders and rose to his full height, taking her with him as they strode toward the altar.
    She pasted on a smile, letting the faces of her friends and neighbors serve as a reminder that she had something to protect. Her heart. Her reputation. And the desire to teach Antonnis Prinsen that he