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The restof dinner passes without any more drama, so I slip away before dessert, and do the rounds with the wedding team, double-checking every last detail for the ceremony tomorrow. There are still a dozen ways this wedding could blow up in all our faces, but it won’t be because the roses are wilting, or we don’t have enough pastel embossed confetti to scatter down the aisle as our happy couple stroll into their future together.
I hope.
“Remember the fans, and the bug spray, and the extra hats in case anyone forgot theirs,” I mutter into my voice memo app, as I leave wedding HQ. It’s late now, but I can hear the party still in full swing by the pool, music drifting on the midnight breeze. I’m hoping it’s the bridesmaids raging, and that Robert turned in for an early night – and that he’snotcozied up to Karina somewhere, reminiscing about the best days of their lives. Because if he decides that he’d rather?—
I round a corner, and let out a yelp of surprise. Anna is in the shadows with some guy, backed up against a tree with his tongue in her mouth and his hands?—
Doingthings.
“Oh my God!” Anna realizes I’m here, and yanks away, grabbing frantically at her clothes. “I didn’t—We’re not?—”
“No, it’s my fault!” I blurt, covering my eyes. “I’m sorry!”
“OhGod,” Anna wails again, as the guy buttons some things, and zips others. He beats a hasty retreat past me, and I realize he’s one of the resort bartenders. A cute one.
Now it all makes sense.
“It’s OK,” I reassure Anna, now my initial shock is past. “I didn’t see anything.”
Much.
“You must think I’m so unprofessional, doing this on the job.” Anna looks mortified, still yanking at her shirt. “Doing… him.”
“If you are, what am I?” I say wryly, because I’ve been doing all ofthatwith Josh since Night One.
And right over there, on this path, too.
“Relax, really,” I insist. “We all need to blow off some steam, and this job doesn’t own you 24/7. Although, I’ve been wondering where you were all week,” I add with a smirk. “Mystery solved.”
“I haven’t been slacking off,” Anna says anxiously. “I promise. I make sure everything is running to plan before I go meet Louis, and I always answer my cell if you call, and?—”
“Breathe,” I tell her gently. “It’s fine. I’m glad you’ve been having fun.”
Anna pauses for breath. “It is fun,” she admits. “It’s just a vacation thing, he’s a total slacker and he’d drive me crazy if we were ever in the same place for more than an hour, but for now?” she grins. “He’s exactly what I need.”
I smile back. “Then don’t let me keep you. You’re officially off the clock tonight.”
“Thank you! I’ll see you in the morning!” Anna beams, grabs at the underwear I didn’t even realize were crumpled on the ground, and then takes off after the bartender. “Wait up!” she calls. He slows, slinging his arm around her shoulder and kissing her before they continue down the path.
Ah, young lust…
I feel a pang. Being with Josh this week made me feel that reckless, like I was twenty-five again, but now that Lottie’s here, I can already hear the voice of responsibility whispering in my ear. About stability, and consequences, and what happens once the vacation is over, and we’re back in our regular lives again doing grocery runs and finishing homework and chores?
Where would Josh fit, then?
I sigh, heading back to my room. It’s easy to be wild and spontaneous when you’re not accountable to anyone except yourself, but I haven’t been that free for almost fifteen years, since the day I saw the pregnancy test line turn blue.
And it’s never just about what I want anymore.
My bungalow is dark,and Josh is on his porch when I reach the clearing; reading some legal-looking papers with his feet up on the railing, and a beer at his side.
“Hey there,” he says, smiling when he sees me. He puts his work aside, and comes to meet me, looking deliciously undone with his shirt unbuttoned and the bowtie hanging loose around his neck. “Everything set for tomorrow?”
“If the groom doesn’t decide to call the whole thing off – or walk down the aisle with Karina, instead,” I add darkly. “What were you thinking, Josh?”
“I said I’m sorry,” he winces. “I didn’t plan for this to happen.”
“But you did,” I argue, feeling a sharp slice of irritation. “This was exactly what you wanted: for Robert to see his old flame again, call it all off, and leave Avery in the dust. So much for our deal,” I add.
