AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s about six forty-five,” Matt replied. “Oh, and by the way, there’s another dude sitting in the holding area, waiting for you guys.”
“Another dude?” I asked.
“For us?” Poppy asked. “Are you sure?”
“Maybe he brought burgers?” Annabel said. “Or perhaps a couple dozen Egg McMuffins? I’m so hungry. I’m pretty sure we ate at that diner forty-seven years ago.”
“No food. But I believe he’s here for you guys,” Matt said. “He arrived an hour or so ago and asked about you, but they wouldn’t give him any information. From what I’ve been told, he’s just been patiently waiting.”
My heart began to beat.
Yasmine and I exchanged glances. “It’s probably Marco.” She inclined her head in my direction. “You texted him our location, right?”
“I did.” It wouldn’t be hard for Marco to figure out where we were. It would be right there on his phone.
“Who’s Marco?” Matt asked.
Yasmine and Matt had a lot to discuss, and none of us was going to spoil anything for her. A significant amount of time had passed since Yasmine and Matt had been together.
“Oh, he’s my boyfriend,” I replied nonchalantly.
It felt exhilarating to say that out loud, even if wasn’t all the way true.
“And also my fiancé,” Yasmine said.
“Your fiancé?” Matt’s brows furrowed.
“Pretty much an ex-fiancé, but for breaking the news to their families,” Annabel offered. “And it’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds.” This information was likely all in Yasmine’s letter, but Matt didn’t even have that in hand yet. “Yasmine and Marco were set up by their families, but they didn’t make a love match. Instead, Marco fell for Eve”—she gestured at me—“and Yasmine realized that she was still in love with you”—she gestured at Matt—“so here we are.”
Matt seemed stunned by the frank explanation.
Yasmine appeared pale.
“You guys have so much to catch up on!” Poppy cried, her voice nice and light while she ushered us forward with her arms spread wide, as we’d all kind of stalled in the hallway. “We’re so excited that you two are going to get a chance to talk after all this time. But let’s get our stuff first and, you know, settle up with the police, or whatever we’re supposed to do here.”
We followed the officer into a large room with a desk. She handed us the envelopes with our things in them. I hurried to get my phone out and was relieved to see it still had a charge.
There were several texts and missed calls from Marco, the last text being:
i’m on my way.
I couldn’t believe he was actually here.
That meant he’d taken an early morning flight from Seattle to LA or Santa Barbara.
They officially released us, and we filed out into the main room.
Marco stood from where he’d been waiting in a chair near the door. I wasn’t quite sure what to do or how to react. I felt like running and jumping into his arms, but I resisted. He looked tired, but totally adorable. He was dressed in a black button-up and dark jeans. It had to be completely weird for him to see his fiancée, her ex-boyfriend, and me all together.
Before either of us could decide how to proceed, a woman with long, wavy, blonde hair stood. She looked like California had literally given birth to her.
“Yasmine?” she asked, coming forward.
“Kelly?” Yasmine replied.
“Yes. It’s me.” She hurried over and gave Yasmine a quick hug. “I’m so, so sorry! This is all my fault. I should’ve given you better instructions. It turned out to be such a mess.”
“It’s not your fault,” Yasmine assured her.
