Page 26 of Just My Luck

Buzzy shook her head sadly. “You work too much. It’s not natural. You never used to be like this. Remember when we used to surf until after sunset, then go eat French fries and ice cream until we threw up?”

Zara laughed. “The good old days.”

“I’m serious, girl. You gotta have some fun.”

“I always have fun. You know me.”

Buzzy lifted an eyebrow and looked askance at her Royal Leilani uniform and the plumeria pinned in her hair.

“Aww, are you worried about me?” She reached across the desk and pinched her cheek like an elderly auntie. “That’s adorable.”

Buzzy swatted her hand away as they both laughed.

“Everything is under control,” she told her friend firmly. “I’m making money, I’ve got a plan, the kids are alive. Things could be so much worse!”

“I know you’re like the biggest optimist in the world, and I love that about you. I do. But⁠—”

Zara stopped her right there. “No buts. It’s all going to work out. It always does. You know my motto. Sing while you wait for the wave, then ride it with a smile.”

“That motto is way too long. They’re supposed to be short and sweet.”

“I’ll workshop it.” She gave her friend a winning smile. It was sweet of her to be so worried, and Zara appreciated it. But she didn’t have the option of ditching everything to go play, the way she’d always done in the past. “Go on, enjoy your lunch. And whatever comes after.” She winked at her.

As Buzzy turned away, she remembered one other thing.

“I haven’t forgotten my bill at the Urgent Care. I’m getting paid this week and I should have enough left over to pay another chunk of it.” That bill had been weighing on her. Every time Zara had a little extra cash, she threw it that direction. But then Eddie would have another accident of some sort and there they’d go again. He was supposed to be covered under Aloha Care, but her father had screwed up the paperwork. Fixing it would be a full-time job in and of itself.

Buzzy waved her hand. “It’s all taken care of.”

Zara reached over the desk to keep her from leaving. “Wait. What do you mean, taken care of? Did the Aloha Care go through?”

“No. I don’t know who paid it. All I know is when I went to input Eddie’s stitches, your bill read as a zero balance. I asked Mindy what happened and she said some guy called in with a credit card number.”

“Who?”

“You want me to check?”

“Of course I want you to check! I pay my own bills. I don’t want to owe some anonymous stranger for something.”

“But if he’s anonymous, what does it matter?” Buzzy tilted her head, her hoop earrings getting tangled in her thick waves of hair.

“It’s the principle! Also…how would they even know—” She stopped abruptly. “Was it Jim, the gardener? The one who brought Eddie in?”

“You mean Mr. Tall Dark and Serious? He looked pretty scruffy, but I liked his eyes. They were kind of…intense in a hot way. Do you think he has that kind of cash?”

No. Of course he didn’t. That would make no sense at all. Why would he be sleeping in the storage closet at the resort if he did?

“Besides, why would he call in later instead of paying on the spot, if he was going to?” Zara dismissed the idea. “If you can find out who did that, I’d appreciate it. I’ll pay them back.”

“Sure.” Buzzy shrugged and waved at her date. “I better go. Stay dry. You got your roof fixed, right?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, which was a relief. Zara had fixed the roof herself, and it had yet to be put to a real test. No leaks so far; she was keeping her fingers crossed.

The rain outside slowed to a gentle mist. She gazed out at the lush, landscaped grounds, feeling deep appreciation that if she had to work at a little kiosk desk, at least it had a view.

She dialed the phone number from which Jim had called her from the Urgent Care yesterday. After a few rings, it simply went dead. No voicemail, not even the automated message about a mailbox that hadn’t been set up yet.

As she helped customers book dinner reservations and spots on manta ray viewing boats, she tried to isolate the uneasy feeling she was experiencing. She was worried about Jim, she decided. The poor man probably didn’t have a place to stay now that he’d been fired. She should have insisted he crash on the couch last night. Instead, she’d let him run off into the rain to catch an Uber.