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Chapter 4
I was lost in thought for a few moments. Yasmine and Marco were broken up, and Yasmine thought Marco and I had a future together.
The thought of being with Marco made me giddy with excitement. I’d been waiting for this for so long.
Yasmine cleared her throat.
Snapping back to reality, I realized that I’d been less than a gracious hostess and asked, “Can I offer you coffee or water or anything?”
She shook her head, pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket and glancing at the screen. “I can’t stay. I have to be to work in thirty. Let me tell you the rest, and I’ll get out of your hair. You can give me your answer to my proposition later.”
I could not imagine what she was going to suggest.
She set her phone on the cushion beside her and continued, “The reason we have to tread carefully regarding telling our families is because when Marco proposed two months ago, it solidified our union in a new way. It made it real for our families. There was a lot of joyous celebration. Parties were thrown for us. It basically made the contract real.” She arranged her long, dark hair behind her ears. “After the proposal, we knew we’d made a mistake. Up until that point, we’d been living in a sort of pretend euphoria. High on the idea of love, but not really experiencing it between the two of us. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve gone through it.” She waved a hand in front of her. “Which you won’t, so you’ll have to take my word for it. But within a week or two, after everything had sunk in, we were both feeling some heavy regret. People who grow up in America idealize love. Finding that one person who is your perfect match seems like everyone’s quest from birth. And if I’m being truthful, I mourned that neither of us was going to get that. I think he did, too.” She ran a hand through her hair. I could tell this part was more emotional for her, so I waited patiently for her to finish. “But we both felt stuck and committed to what we had decided. Then, a month or so after our engagement, he entered into the business agreement with you, and you two started spending a lot of time together. I immediately saw a change in him. He was full of joy and more content than he’d been in a long time. I saw passion in him I hadn’t seen before. I was truly happy for him. I knew at this point that we would be parting ways, which honestly, we would’ve ended up doing at some point even if you hadn’t come along. It just happened sooner because you were in the picture. For me, seeing that change in Marco was a necessary catalyst. Knowing for certain that we could both marry for love was cathartic, even though I knew in here”—she tapped the side of her head—“I had to feel it here”—she placed a palm over her heart.
What she was saying was moving me in a way I hadn’t anticipated. I didn’t want to settle for anything less than a love match either. She deserved a happy ending just as much as I did. And Marco. And everyone else.
“Now I know, without a doubt, I will marry for love and have a richer experience for it.” Her smile held a hint of sadness. “The only problem is both of our families are heavily invested in our union. These marriage contracts, even a modern one, carries weight.” She recentered a beautiful gold necklace on her neck. It was a small disk with the imprint of the sun. “There’s bound to be some offense and hard feelings, especially if Marco moves on quickly with someone else.” She paused, cocking her head, her dark hair flowing over her shoulder as she flashed a wry smile. “Then I discovered some interesting news that I’m completely excited about. It could change things moving forward.”
I literally couldn’t wait to hear what it was. I was on board to facilitate whatever she needed. Helping her sounded to me like it would be a very win-win situation.
“This news pertains to my ex-boyfriend, Matt Gallagher. I never, ever thought I’d get a second chance with him, but one of my close friends thinks he might still be interested in me.” Her phone beeped, and she picked it up, quickly checking the screen before setting it down again. “We met in college and fell madly in love, but we broke up a little over two years ago because my life had begun to spin out of control. It was a messy breakup.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I told her.
“It’s okay. I’ve made peace with it as best I can. At the time, I’d felt like I had no other choice. My parents hadn’t exactly approved of the relationship either, which made it complicated. Not having their approval wasn’t insurmountable, because at the end of the day, I know they want me to be happy more than anything, but it caused a lot of friction and stress. Ultimately, I couldn’t handle living in that heightened state, so I called it quits. In doing so, I’m pretty sure I made the biggest mistake of my entire life, because I lost the man I truly loved.”
“That sounds devastating.”
“It was extremely painful. I’m pretty sure I left my heart with him that day. He was an incredible man—is incredible. We were planning a life together, and I called it off.” She idly stroked the throw pillow next to her, her red nails fiddling with the corner. “I love my family, as I’ve stated already. They are generous souls who would do anything for me. At the time, I chose to make their lives, as well as mine, easier in a time of turmoil. I thought it was the right choice. Turns out I was wrong.”
“That was nice of you. I’m not sure if I could do the same.”
She shrugged. “I have a healthy respect for my parents, but that’s not the only reason I did it. Matt and I had graduated from Boston University a year or so prior, and he was contemplating a move to the West Coast to work at a very reputable security firm. I wasn’t ready to leave my friends and family. It caused friction between us, which, now that I look back on it, was likely just growing pains. During that time, my parents decided that they no longer wanted to live in the US and were in the process of making a big move back to Morocco. My father is a talented engineer and had come over on a work visa many years ago. He’d been working at the same company for thirty years, but they missed their family back home and wanted to spend their retirement in Morocco. So they decided to sell everything and move. It all happened at once, proceeding very quickly, and was very stressful.”
“It sounds like it. I’m sorry they’re living so far away.”
“I am, too. I miss them a lot. They’ve been gone for over a year now. They, of course, wanted me to join them, but I’m an American. I was born here. My life is here. I’ve been to Morocco many times, and I absolutely love the culture and the people, it’s vibrant and beautiful, but it’s never felt like my home. As their parting wish, they encouraged me to accept the arrangement with Marco. They wanted to make sure I’d be taken care of when they were gone so they wouldn’t have to worry as much, even though sometimes I believe that worrying is their favorite pastime.” She grinned. “I’d broken up with Matt six months prior, and even though I was tentative about starting a new relationship, I felt ready to head down this new path.” Her phone beeped again. She picked it up, made a face, and stood, immediately shrugging her coat on. “Oh no. I’m sorry. I have to go. My meeting just got moved up, and I’m going to be late. I guess I didn’t realize how much I had to say or how long it would take. Can we meet for drinks later so I can tell you the rest? Time is literally of the essence.”
“Sure,” I said, walking her to the door. “Let me give you my phone number.”
She handed me her phone, and I entered my number as we walked.
“Before you leave,” I said, “what’s your proposition? I’m sort of dying to hear it. And, just so you know, I’m totally willing to help. Whatever it takes. I’m a sucker for happy endings, especially when they might include my own.”
“I appreciate that.” She smiled as she belted her coat. “Basically, I’m going on a little road trip tomorrow morning and could use the company.”
“You want me to join you on a road trip?” Not what I was expecting, but certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.
“I do. It’s kind of a wacky idea, but I need a partner in crime. All my good friends live on the East Coast, and I can’t exactly ask Marco to join me, as it pertains to Matt, and that would be weird. I haven’t told anybody at my job about my marriage arrangement and subsequent breakup with Marco, so it would be a little awkward to ask one of them to come with me. The problem is, I have to do it this weekend, or the window of opportunity might close for good. Matt is changing jobs next week, and getting him the note in person is important—if not critical. I’ll pay for all the gas, and I have the accommodations lined up, thanks to a brilliant friend of mine. It should take two days at the most to get down there and back. Hopefully, a very quick trip.”
“Where are we going?” At this point, I was pretty much all in.
“Montecito, California.”
“What’s in Montecito?”
“Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.”
