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“Lighten up, bro. We can’t all be as perfect as you.”
“Anyway, I’m calling to tell you I’m not going to be back tonight like I originally thought.”
“Oh good. More days sitting in the ivory tower for me.”
I sighed. “I’ll have Gwen reschedule everything for the next few days, so you won’t have to cover much.”
“Even better. I make a much better figurehead than actual boss. It’s probably because my head is so pretty.”
“Or because your head is empty… Anyway, Gram has a hearing in a few days, and I want to stick around and make sure everything goes okay. She refuses to let me hire a lawyer, so someone has to keep her from telling the judge to go screw himself. Plus, I thought maybe I could talk some sense into her while I’m here.”
“And see her travel buddy in a bikini.”
Better yet, suck her face…I kept that to myself. “Goodbye, Jake.”
“Later, pumpkin.”
After I hung up, I shot off a few emails and went in search of some breakfast. The hotel restaurant was empty, except for one table where a certain gorgeous blonde wearing a sheer headscarf was sitting alone. As I approached, I realized she had on a matching sheer beach coverup with a bathing suit top underneath.Maybe four days won’t be so bad after all.
Reaching the table, I looked around for her partner in crime.
“Is my grandmother here?”
“No. She’s been sleeping in a little. Her lower back is bothering her. I think it’s kidney pain. It started a few days ago. She called her doctor, and he said it’s to be expected and prescribed something that seems to help. But it also makes her tired, so she started taking them at night.”
I pointed to the empty seat across from her. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Help yourself. I’m going to beach yoga at eight fifteen, but I have a few minutes to keep you company.”
The waitress walked over, so I ordered a coffee in exchange for a menu. “Your fiancé didn’t stay?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Ex-fiancé, and no. Though he did suggest I should let him share my room for a night for his troubles. When I said no, we had a fight, andIsuggested he catch a flight home.”
“You argued? Does that mean you wound up sucking face?”
Nora laughed. “No. But that’s funny.”
“See? I’m not always a jerk.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Just most of the time.”
Her ex had given me a pretty stern warning to keep my distance, so I was curious what she had to say about him.
“So why is there an ex in front of fiancé, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I don’t mind. I guess the main reason is that he was overbearing and possessive. Richard had a long-term girlfriend who cheated on him and got pregnant by the other man. It made him certain all women were the same. I travel a lot for work, and at first he would call me a few times a day to check where I was. Eventually he stopped doing it, and I thought he’d finally started to trust me. Then I found an Apple AirTag hidden in the lining of my purse. I checked his phone, and he’d been tracking me.”
“Shit.”
“He blamed it on me, said I’d forced him to stoop to that level because I didn’t spend enough time reassuring him I wasn’t cheating.” She shrugged. “The way I see it, if you need reassurance from someone who has never done anything to make you doubt them, it’s your issue, not mine.”
She had a good point.
The waitress came back and took my order. When she left, Nora forked a piece of cantaloupe and pointed it at me. “What about your love life? Any luck trolling the supermarket aisles these days?”
“I’ve been a little busy chasing my grandmother and her beautiful, yet mildly infuriating friend, all over the country.”
“Just mildly infuriating? I’ll have to try harder.”
