Page 67 of Here We Go Again

Mom laughs. “She really is. This was all her idea.” She hugs me one more time. “You should be mad … but you aren’t?” she asks.

The hope and vulnerability in her voice make it clear she’s been worried. And rightly so. She took a gamble, considering she and I still haven’t had a real conversation about Theo. It was definitely a risk—one that was probably far outside her comfort zone.

“Not mad,” I say, and she exhales, her shoulders relaxing.

“We should talk later,” Mom says, and I nod.

“Yeah, we definitely need to.”

Behind me, Theo finally reaches the top of the porch steps, our bags in hand. He puts them down and pulls his mom into an enormous hug. Then he greets my mom, making room for Kim to step over and offer me a hug.

“It’s so good to see you, Rebecca. I hope you can forgive us for tricking you both.”

“I’m just excited to meet Hector Villanova,” I say, keeping my face serious, my tone perfectly even.

Kim’s eyes widen as she looks from me over to Theo. “Oh. Right. Well, that, um, well I suppose I could⁠—”

“Busted,” Theo says, shaking his head like he’s disappointed, and his mom bursts out laughing.

“I’m so sorry I lied!” she says. “I was watching TV right before I called you, and when you asked me the guy’s name, it just popped out!”

“You’re lucky I don’t watch much TV,” Theo says. “I might have caught on sooner. It was Becca who figured it out as soon as I mentioned his name on the plane.”

“You must have thought I was so terrible,” Kim says to me. “I promise, every decision we made, we made with love.”

Funny how we’re ignoring the fact that those decisions made with love have everything to do with our mothers wanting me and Theo to be together.

They didn’t just invite us on vacation. They invited us to an episode of Love Island where we’re the only contestants.

“Can I show you the house?” Mom says. “It’s a little old and a lot quirky, but it’s right on the beach, and there’s a pool out back, so I think we’ll enjoy being here.”

Mom gives us a quick tour, and Theo carries our bags upstairs where there are two bedrooms and a bathroom he and I will share. Once he drops off my stuff, he offers me a warm smile, then heads back downstairs, finally leaving me alone with my mom.

I sink onto the bed, suddenly weary from all the traveling.

“You promise you aren’t mad?” she asks, her voice low. “You can be honest now that Kim isn’t listening. I promise I can take it.”

I huff out a disbelieving laugh. “I can’t believe you did this, genuinely, but yeah. I promise. I’m glad I’m here.”

“Are you sure? I know I brought you here under false pretenses. But if this isn’t what you want, we can leave right now and get our own place. Have a vacation with just the two of us like you expected.”

“No, I don’t want to do that,” I say. “We’re already here. Plus, Theo and I talked, and we think it’ll be fine. Maybe even fun.”

“You talked?” Mom asks.

“We did. And we’re on the same page about not wanting any kind of relationship right now. I’m glad we’re here because it feels good to put the past behind us and be friends. But that’s all.”

Mom’s shoulders drop. “Well, I suppose that’s better than enemies. But are you sure? That picture of the two of you—it looks like you’re more than friends.”

“That was…” I pause, not sure how to quantify that moment. It was thrilling and fun and totally unexpected. But it also felt like an echo of the dynamic we’d had when we were together, like we were slipping back into old habits. Which makes me think I can’t truly trust my feelings about it. “It was just a blip,” I say. “It didn’t mean anything.”

Mom narrows her eyes like she doesn’t quite believe me.

“But maybe it could mean something,” she says. “The two of you clearly still have chemistry. I don’t want you to be so pragmatic that you miss out on something⁠—”

“Mom, I get it,” I say, cutting her off. “I listened to your voice message.”

She presses her lips together. “I just want to see you with your sparkle back,” she says. “That’s all I want.”