Worlds Collide

Our Own Personal Paradise

🌴TWO WEEKS LATER🌴

Karli's POV:

Sitting at the water's edge with my toes in the surf, I reflected on the past few weeks as I watched Brantley standing on the pier attempting to catch tonight's dinner. Not that he needed to since the cabin was well stocked with anything and everything that either of us could want. And if it wasn't here, Brantley's head of security was willing to hop on a flight from the mainland to deliver whatever it was. As it was, PJ made the trek at least once a week to deliver gas for the generator and deliver anything that either of us could want or need.

While this new life was one that was taking some get used to, I knew in my heart that I had made the best decision for me and my child by coming her, by trusting Brantley with all of my heart to love me and protect me. And that's exactly what he had done, even down to killing the biggest spider I had ever seen the minute I'd walked into the remote beach cabin. Brantley had laughed because the spider had been tiny but to me -someone who had severe arachnophobia- it had been big enough to bite my whole face off.

There was no denying that over the past two weeks, my life had been flip turned upside down but Brantley and I were making the most of it. There was something to be said about waking up every day with the man you love, on a remote island, your troubles seemingly forgotten. Why I hadn't ever dreamt of something like this happening to me I don't know but now that it has, I would be perfectly fine living the rest of my life like this. The only thing that would make it better would be for Jax, Tara, and the boys to be here. But even though the invitation for them to join us was still open, Jax had decided to start making happy memories with his family, starting with a trip to Disney World, something that I remember JT promising that he was going to do for Jax and I just before he was killed.

Leaning back on my hands, I dug my toes into the sand, loving the feel if the sea against my skin as I continued to reflect on the past couple of weeks. It had taken some time to get used to the fact that this far from the mainland, there was no cell service meaning we had to rely on satellite phones. The first few days, it had been absolute torture to not have my phone with me at all times, checking my social media accounts whenever boredom struck. But now, I can see just how just how tethered to the device I'd become. Learning to live a life that didn't revolve around the little screen I carried around with me everywhere had been much needed. It had reminded me that there are much more important things than staying connected to those you care about through a screen.

But that hadn't been the only thing that I'd had to get used to. It had taken some time to get used to the hum of the generator as it powered the lights in the house after the sun had set over the Atlantic. I sounds crazy to say this because you would think the loud rumble and gasoline fumes emitted from the engine would get annoying after a while but to me, it was just enough of what I was used to to make me feel as if I was back at home. The gasoline fumes reminded of me spending time in the garage with the guys as they worked on cars. The hum of the generator reminded me of the hum of the air compressor when it would kick on to power the guys' tools.

But the one thing that made all of this the best thing I could have ever done is the scenery. All of my life, I'd sworn that watching the sun set over the Pacific was one of the seven wonders of the world. But now, sitting on my own personal island where I got to see the sun both rise and set every day, I knew that I had been kidding myself. This- being here- was one of the seven wonders of the world in my book, even if no one else thought so. It was an added bonus that I got to witness those sunrises and sunsets with the man who set my soul on fire.

Speaking of the man himself, I watched as he snatched on his pole, telling me that he had a nibble. Even from a distance, I could see the muscles in his arms and back flexing as he reeled his catch in. His body was another thing that I was going to add to my personal seven wonders of the world list. Since stepping foot on the island, Brantley hasn't put a shirt on. And for that, I was not mad at all. It gave me the chance to ogle him whenever I wanted; something that I took advantage of more times out of the day that I cared to admit. Then again, if you were graced with the view of him shirtless with his swim trunks hanging low on his hips, wouldn't you ogle too? Yes! Yes you would...