My face apparently agrees, because it gets even warmer. “It’s nothing, sweetheart.”
“Please, enlighten me.” She pins me with those gleaming eyes that won’t let go until I give her something. So I give her something.
“Don’t judge me, please.”
That’s all it takes for her to lean in closer, grinning as she folds her hands under her chin.
“Okay. You have to understand this has never, ever happened to me before, but…” I let out a sigh, already regretting this big time. “I think I’m developing feelings for a resort guest.”
I close my eyes to avoid her reaction.
I hear her gasp. “Oh my god, Yosh. That’s so scandalous.”
I rub my eyes, thinking about all the ways Tom McKenna has shaken the ground under my feet these past few days. Another very scandalous detail is that Tom is her ex’s best friend, and I can’t tell her that.
“I know it’s wrong, but… oh god. This guy pisses me off so much. He pushes me, gets under my skin. He makes me want to throw things. And he knows exactly what he’s doing when he smirks at me, snaring me with those irresistible blue eyes.”
“Sounds like a walking red flag to me.”
“Yeah, I know, right? But he’s insanely hot, intriguing, and—”
“I’m talking about you, sweetie. You’re the red flag.”
I shoot her a look.
As much as I want to deny it, I can’t. I’m not allowed to let this feeling in my stomach take over. But being called a walking redflag by my best friend? That’s a first. Then again, in retrospect, maybe it isn’t.
“Besides, what happened to that dive buddy of yours?”
Another look from me.
“Sorry,” she snorts, “that joke was too easy.”
“I kind of ended things with him the day before yesterday.”
“Why? Because of your patient?”
“What? God, no. He started asking me over more often than the occasional twice a week. Then he suggested we go to that new restaurant near Playa Tortuga, wanted me to try the lionfish he catches for them. That’s going way too fast for me.”
“Dude. The man wants to feed you his hunt. I would’ve fainted on the spot.”
“I get the whole primeval-man-attraction thing, but no.”
Apparently being hunted gets me hard.
She hums. “And how long did you guys…?”
“Almost two years, I think. On and off, nothing exclusive. I mean, we both saw other guys.”
“And you call two years ‘too fast’?”
I shrug. “We agreed on friends with benefits, he broke the deal by wanting more. And I didn’t want to give him false hope, so…”
“How noble of you.”
“You keep firing shots at me, huh? You know what? Maybe I will stay in Arcadia. At least the only ones attacking me over there are the mosquitoes.”
She bursts out laughing. “I’m sorry. It’s the wine. I swear.”
