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“You made a pizza bet we’d get back together. Are you conceding that I’m right and it’s really over between me and Leah?” Dakota desperately didn’t want to be right. He wanted to be with Leah. Right now. Tomorrow. Forever.
“I’m still holding out hope,” Noah said, “but in the meantime, I think you need something more than coffee to lift your unliftable mood.” He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and slid the phone across the table. “Today’s destination.”
“Waiheke Island.” Dakota scrolled through the pictures, but he already knew what was there. “Vineyards.”
“We’ve been going at a crazy pace since we got here, which is our usual pace every day. I say we take it down a notch today, drown your woman woes in wine, then we’ll be ready for the North IslandLord of the Ringslocations tour tomorrow.” One of the best things about Noah was his passion for sci-fi and fantasy—a passion that matched Dakota’s.
“You know,” Dakota slid the phone back to Noah, “I may have lost the woman I love, but you’re the best buddy a guy could have.”
Noah looked away. “Aw, shucks, man. You made me blush.”
Dakota laughed. The first real laugh he’d had post-Leah. “I’m serious, Noah. You’re trying so hard to make me enjoy myself.”
“You’re not making it easy either.”
“I know. I know.” He held up his coffee and tapped it against Noah’s. “I hereby promise to have fun.”
“That’s what we’re here for, man.”
They each took a sip of their coffees then Dakota said, “Don’t you have some woman woes to drown in wine also?”
“Probably.” Noah studied his hands wrapped around his coffee cup.
“I think when we get back to Vermont, you should ask Krista out.” Maybe Dakota couldn’t have the woman he wanted, but possibly Noah could. His two best friends would make a great pair… if they could stop trading barbs for two seconds.
Noah’s head bobbed as he drummed his fingers against his coffee cup. “You’re right. I should. I’d better buy some wine at the vineyard then. It’ll give me an excuse to invite her over. ‘Hey, Krista, you have to try this fancy New Zealand wine and maybe make out with me.’ Think that’ll work?”
“Sounds like a good plan.” Dakota wished he had some plan to get Leah back. Maybe some wine would help him formulate something brilliant. “You guys have never had the chance to be together without me or someone else around. It’ll change the dynamic and you’ll be able to get a sense of whether or not she’s open to more with you.”
“You’re very sage all of a sudden.”
“Heartbreak will do that to a guy.”
Noah picked up his napkin and held it out to Dakota. “You’re not going to cry, are you?”
“No, but I might make you cry if you continue to be an ass.”
“You just said I was the best buddy a guy could have.”
“Things change.” Dakota knew that all too well. One minute a man could have everything he never knew he wanted.
The next minute, it could all be gone.
Noah’s phone vibrated on the table and he picked it up while Dakota finished the last of his coffee to keep from releasing a heavy, dejected sigh.
“Okay then,” Noah said, a grin on his face after reading a text.
Dakota gestured to the phone. “Who’s that?”
“Umm…” Noah fired off a reply, his thumbs moving like lightning as his smile grew wider. “Just Nana. She’s having a blast on her cruise.”
“Nana texts? Since when?” As long as he’d known her, she’d always called him on the phone or, on some occasions, written him a letter by hand.
Noah paused for a minute, his mouth slightly open. “One of her friends knows how to text. Helped her out.” He tossed back the rest of his coffee and stood. “Let’s get to Waiheke Island.”
“Why are we in a rush all of a sudden?” Dakota asked, getting up to follow his friend. “I thought we were taking it down a notch.”
“We are, we are,” Noah said over his shoulder. “I figured there’s no sense in taking it down a notch in traveling to our taking-it-down-a-notch destination, you know?”
