“—you’ll recall that parental relationships are, like, a huge thing.”
I hadn’t read any Freud, either, to be honest.
I went on, undaunted. “And so the perfect storm of all thatexcitement mixed with all that abandonment on the exact same day made an emotional lightning flash that bound me to Finn Turner and Finn Turner only—forever.”
Ashley had explained it much better.
But Cooper didn’t buy any of it. He said, and I quote, “That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s science,” I insisted.
“It’s bullshit,” Cooper said.
And so we just kept arguing.
We argued about it all the way through the line.
And then we argued up the gangway.
And then we argued as we journeyed into the bowels of the ship to look for the cabin I’d be sharing with Cousin Harmony.
We argued so hard, I barely noticed the boarding process.
We argued so hard, I forgot to keep looking for Finn.
But here’s what I do remember: I remember arriving at my cabin and finding a party-store flowered lei hanging on the door handle. I remember moving it aside to use my key and then pushing open the door. And then I remember my eyes gettingblastedwith the sight of Cousin Harmony and some random dude—tangled up like octopi on the tiny built-in desk in our windowless room… making out.
WANNA KNOW HOWmy entire body reacted to that?
With a heartyHell, no.
I leapt back out of the room on pure instinct—turning as I yanked the door closed behind me and landing chest-to-chest against both Cooperandhis tweed vest.
Sorry—gabardine.
The impact slammed Cooper back against the hallway wall behind us—and then me into him. For a second, we were pressed against each other like that, face-to-face, while our brains tried to catch up.
“What just happened?” Cooper finally asked as I pushed myself back onto my own two feet.
“Harmony was in there,” I said, still a little breathless.
“Okay,” Cooper said, likeNot that shocking.
“In there,” I amended, “and hooking up with some guy.”
Now thatwasa little shocking. “Already?” Cooper said, checking his watch. “We just boarded.”
“Maybe they met in the check-in line.”
“What do you mean by ‘hooking up’?”
“What do you think I mean?”
“Were they naked?”
“I’ve already blocked it out, so we’ll never know.”
At that, the door to our cabin opened, and Harmony stepped out—her clothing ill-buttoned and a bright welt of a hickey blooming on her neck. She had dark hair, a heart-shaped face, cat-eye eyeliner, and Elizabeth Taylor vibes.
