And she had no idea why. She turned around to ask him just that, but before she could, he said, ‘So. Is Nicolàs someone special to you?’ ‘No! W...ll, yes, he is. Like Marie-Josée said, our families are very close and related in some crazy way that barely counts anymore.’ ‘Does he always hold you on his lap, whisper in your ear and give you kisses?’ His tone of voice had lost all traces of cordiality. ‘Actually, yes he does and he has for as long as I can remember,’ French’s own voice was laced. In a few moments, he came and held both my hands and pulled them above my head.Reddy tied both my hands on the headboard of the bed.“Ohh fuck,” I whispered as I tried to imagine the sight that Reddy was having.I was lying naked on the bed except for my thong. I was blindfolded, and my hands were tied above my head. What excited me more was that my dumb husband was sleeping just beside me. He had no idea what was going to happen.I held my legs together as I tried to imagine Reddy’s next move,. Their hopes of some “fresh meat”to liven up the day would be limited to burgers at thebar, it appeared. We dropped the boat in the river at2:00 and our adventure was on. About 30 seconds afterthe boat got wet, the first round of beer hit our lipsand the day had officially begun. We all have knowneach other for a long time, so the atmosphere was verylight and easy-going. The guys see Annette as a buddy more than a potentialconquest, so there was none of the sexual politics thatcan. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" I stammered and backed up on the bed, Meli still cowering behind me."You get the HELL away from my little sister!" Matt raged."Whoa, what? Sister? What?" I jerked around wide-eyed and stared at Meli. Only then did I look at her neck, and everything clicked for me: the necklace. She and Matt had identical puka shell necklaces. Come to think of it, Matt and Meli had similar tans and facial structures, with an exotic mixed Asian heritage. "You're his sister?" I gasped in.