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Ari circled a finger in Sydney’s direction, her and Mo’s accents flipping on like a switch the minute the plane landed at Kingsford Smith Airport. “Sweetheart, you haven’t answered the question.”
Larke raised a hand. “I might be able to help. You see, this morning, me and Dez went searching for Joel. With Monroe with my parents, we were trying to see if he wanted to join us for an early workout. However, we spotted a mysterious Sydney-looking figure emerging from Joel’s room wearing a man’s T-shirt.”
Ayesha downed more cider.
Tayler’s fingers slipped between hers.
“Did you spend the night inJoel’sroom?” Mo asked.
Sydney sighed.
Then, lowering her head, she nodded.
Mo and Ari scooted their chairs closer to Sydney. Ayesha looked out at the harbor, but looking toward the harbor meant looking in the same direction where the guys stood.
Joel sipped his drink and looked off to the side. Then, as he returned to what appeared to be an animated debate or discussion between Julien and Dez, he searched the table until his eyes landed on her.
“Explain,” Ari said. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
“Nothing happened,” Sydney insisted. “I swear. We slept, and this morning, we talked before I went back to my room.”
“About what?” Larke asked.
“Stuff. The wedding. Our wedding.”
Ayesha, exhaling like she hadn’t taken a breath in minutes, tore her gaze from Joel’s. “And he still doesn’t know about Kofi, right?” she asked.
“Neither Kofi nor the incident, which is the part I’m struggling with right now because, honestly,” Sydney glanced at Joel, who’d gotten himself caught up in the debate, “I miss him. I miss him like crazy.”
Ayesha drained her glass.
Tayler squeezed their joined hands.
“But,” Sydney slapped her palms on the tabletop, “one thing at a time. I think I’m going to ask him out.”
“Like on a date?” Tayler asked.
Sydney nodded. “Yeah. I want to try again, but I want to start from the beginning.”
Ayesha punched down whatever feelings thought they were going to leave her body at a time like this. This wasn’t something that should have unnerved her. At the end of the day, she wasn’t part of the equation.
She’d never been.
Joel reminded her of Curtis, but he wasn’t Curtis. Eventually, her foolish mind would grasp that. Curtis was gone. She was alone, and honestly, it was easier that way.
“Can I play devil’s advocate?” Ari asked. “If you two get back together, will you tell him about the Kofi situation? What if he finds out? I know I’m married to the master of information discovery, but, Eesh,” Ari turned her way, “wouldn’t it be easier to hash that out so they don’t have somethingelsehanging over their rekindled relationship?”
Ayesha went to take a sip of her drink, saw her glass was empty, and swallowed a groan. “Um…uh…well, yes. Under these circumstances, with the back and forth and the rockiness of everything, being upfront with each other will make for a stronger relation,” she coughed, “ship.”
“You okay?” Tayler asked, rubbing her back.
“Yeah.”
“Eesh.” Tayler angled her head to peer directly into her face. “Are you okay?”
No.
She nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”
