Page 59 of Here We Go Again

I pull up the text thread I have with my mom. “Hector Villanova,” I read, then look back at Becca.

She barks out a laugh. “Shut up.”

“What?”

“Your mom told you she was flying to Florida to meet Hector Villanova in person, and that didn’t raise any red flags for you?”

“Should it have?” I ask.

She presses her lips together like she’s fighting a smile. “Go google him.”

She watches over my shoulder as I connect to the plane’s free wi-fi, then type the name into my browser.

As soon as I hit search, my phone is flooded with images of a very attractive, very famous actor starring in HBO’s latest medical drama.

“Well, at least we know for sure now,” I say. “We are definitely being set up.”

She lets out a disbelieving laugh and lifts her hands to the sides of her head. “I genuinely can’t believe them. They’re so freaking sneaky.”

I close out my phone and drop it onto my lap. They are sneaky, but I can’t feel anything but gratitude. I’ve been hoping for a second chance with Becca, and our mothers just handed me one.

Then again, I only want that second chance if Becca wants the same thing. The fact that we were both manipulated into being here definitely makes it harder to know.

“Look,” I say. “I know this isn’t the week you planned for. If it’s weird for you, I can stay long enough to make sure Hector really is just a figment of my mother’s imagination, then I can fly back to Atlanta. Let you have the vacation you came for.”

“You can’t do that,” she quickly says. “Your mom would be so disappointed.”

“I mean, if this is all a ploy, she has it coming.”

“Except why should my mom get time with me when she’s likely just as much at fault?”

“So we stand them both up?” I tease. “Catch another flight to Miami and go on our own vacation?”

“I think they’d probably still call that a win,” Becca says.

I chuckle. “Yeah, that’s true.”

She leans down and slips her phone into her bag.

“So … do we just go?” she asks.

“It is a week at the beach,” I say. “And we’re both adults. Our mothers can’t make us do anything we don’t want to do.”

“That’s true,” she agrees. “But probably we should still…” Her words trail off, and I get the sense that she’s nervous.

“We should still what?”

“We should be on the same page, right?”

“The same page?”

“I just think, if we look at our lives,” she says, words tumbling out fast. “I just broke up with Rory, what, like, three weeks ago? Plus, your season is about to start, and you’ve got your recovery to focus on. Then there’s the fact that I’m leaving Atlanta at the beginning of October. That’s just over a month away. Even if our mothers think this is a good idea, you and me…” She motions between us. “Something happening between us. I just don’t think it’s very practical.”

I nod along as she talks, doing my best to keep my face neutral even if I hate what she’s saying. Not that she’s wrong about any of the logistical pieces of our lives. And her recent breakup is worth considering. It’s the reason I haven’t asked her out yet.

But I’m not about to let logistics stand in the way when she’s finally back in my life.

“Right,” I say. “Totally see your point.”