I pass a popsicle store, which shares space with a yoga studio. Both are new, and I smile. I adore the quirkiness of my new home. See? I'm already feeling better, now that I'm not holed up in my place alone.
Forget Remy. If he can't see that I'd be an amazing girlfriend, pfft. His loss.
I careen into the parking lot of Ice Ice Baby, then brake and slow when I spot a palm tree. Coffee sounds better than a beer right now. Guess I could lock my bike here, since I don't see any racks. It's on the far end of a parking lot, but it seems like the safest place for my wheels.
As I'm taking the lock out of the basket at the front of the bike, I hear male laughter wafting through the air. I look up to the cafe's small deck. There's a woman with red hair at a table, sipping a coffee.
And across from her is Remy. I let out a little gasp. He's angled so that his back is to me, so he can't see me. But he's tipping his head back and laughing uproariously in that deep, rich tone of his. As if the woman has just told the funniest joke in the world.
I know this tone, because he's laughed at my jokes like that.
Oh. Ohhh. I'd turned him down earlier today. And he...
My heart leaps into my throat.
His snarky comments from the other day about his brothers' weddings run through my mind.
He's here with another woman. Maybe on a date. Looks like a date. She's incredibly cute. I'm frozen to the ground as I stare at them.
The Playboy of Paradise Springs has already moved on.
I throw the bike lock back in the basket and hop on, pedaling furiously away from the cafe. The breeze sends my tears streaking across my face.
SIXTEEN
Remy
"Damien's on the phone!" Nat yells.
Skipping over to the table where I'm sitting with Sadie, my sister waves her oversized iPhone in the air. I reach for it and peer at the screen.
"Bro, where are you?" I yell, holding up my coffee. I don't mind being a bit loud because we're the only ones sitting on the little deck at the cafe. "I didn't think you'd call today, since you're on a fire and all."
"Base camp, finally," he says. "Got a couple hours of cell before we head back out."
"Wow, you look rough, brother. You okay?"
"Yeah, hold on. What the hell, how do I work this. There we go," my brother mutters.
The video jumps and shakes, then switches from his bearded, ugly mug to a panorama of pine-covered ridges, with a thin column of smoke rising in the far distance.
"Wow. Beautiful country," Natalia says. "Brutal, though."
The video pans for a few seconds, capturing rows of yellow Nomex shirts hanging on a line to dry. Then it jumps and shifts again to my twin.
"We've been on the line for two weeks. Got pulled back to base for forty-eight hours. It's been so effing good to sleep on a cot instead of in the dirt. And to FaceTime Kate." There's a glint in my brother's eyes when he says her name.
"Good for you, man, you deserve it." I tip my coffee to the screen. The phone is precariously perched against a plastic holder advertising today's flavors.
"Where are you all?" Damien asks, scratching his furry jaw. It looks like he hasn't shaved since he left — his beard's that long.
"Ice Ice Baby. I'm with Nat, and we ran into Sadie. Getting coffee."
Sadie pops into view behind my left shoulder. "Hey dude! Can't talk long, I'm off to go slay Nat's score at pinball."
We all laugh, and Damien shakes his head. "Geez, I miss that. Have a coffee for me. I can't wait until I get home."
"About that. This was supposed to be the last rotation, right?" Nat asks, a line of concern grooved between her brows.
