“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.” She found her underwear.
“Just like that?”
Her strapless bra was near her dress, thankfully. Even though it was unlikely that anyone would see her as she snuck out, Jana didn’t want to be in public wearing this dress with no bra.
Holding her clothes close to her chest while clutching the sheet in an attempt to stay covered, she headed to the bathroom.
“Jana, wait,” he said. He’d sat up. He wasn’t covered at all. Which made sense because the only sheet on the bed was currently wrapped around Jana like a kanga. But still. She didn’t know where to look when he spoke to her. “Should we…debrief?” he asked. “About last night?”
She raised a brow. “Um, I think you’re already ‘debriefed.’”
He laughed, looking down at his naked body.
She pointed to the bathroom. “I’m going to go in there to put my dress on. Then I will come out here, where hopefully you will have at leastrebriefed. Then I’m going to my own room, and ideally not wake my roommate. I’m going to shower, then get dressed so I can be in the dining room on time for breakfast.”
“And we will never speak of this again?” he asked, resigned.
She shook her head. “Wewilltalk, just not now.” She couldn’t sweep this under the rug. Her life was too enmeshed with his. But she needed to think first. “I need time. Can you give me some space for now?”
He nodded. She couldn’t read his expression again, but that was probably because he was naked, so her eyes kept traveling downward. She waved awkwardly and stepped into the bathroom.
When she came out, Anil was thankfully in briefs again. Nothing else, but at least he’d taken that hint. Jana headed straight for the door. “Okay, I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said. Very awkwardly.
“Yep. See you then!” He sounded just as awkward. She left the room.
Yuriko was thankfully still sleeping when Jana quietly snuck into the room. Not bothering to find clean clothes, she stepped straight into the bathroom and took another shower, happy to wash Anil Malek off of her.
What. The hell. Had she done?
As she scrubbed her hair, she thought about how on earth they could possibly move on from this. Clearly, Jana had to go back to avoiding the man. Going to Starbucks when he came to pick up or drop off Imani. Making sure all her communications with him were distant and through the app only. She most definitely was not going to go to Disney World with him. Nope. He said he’d come if this trip brought them closer. Well…the trip definitely brought them closer. But that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Because that—having sex with Anil—had been a mistake. It was an enjoyable mistake (slight understatement—it had been freaking mind-blowing), and it certainly scratched an itch that she maybe didn’t know was irritating her so much, but it had not been ahealthydecision. There was already too much…stuff between them, and they had no choice but to be in each other’s lives. Now there was even more for Jana to overcome.
After her shower, Jana put on one of the plush white hotel robes. When she opened the bathroom door, she was met with not just Yuriko, but the entire Bridal Brigade. All in robes like the one Jana was wearing. Except Yuriko, who was in her bed in her satin floral pajamas. Nicole and Asha were both on the bed with her, propped up on Yuriko’s headboard. Kamila and Shelina were on Jana’s unused bed.
“Um,” Jana said awkwardly, taking the towel turban off her head. “What’s going on?”
“Emergency Bridal Brigade meeting,” Kamila said. “Sit.” She scooted closer to her sister and patted the space next to her on the queen-size bed. Jana wasn’t sure she wanted to know what the purpose of this meeting was.
The moment she sat, there was a knock on the door. Jana looked at Kamila. Was the Groom’s Platoon joining them for this meeting? In other words, was Anil at the door now? Shelina got up to answer it.
“We ordered a continental breakfast,” Asha explained.
That was thoughtful. And helpful, because she didn’t want to see Anil in the dining room.
After a waiter wheeled in a tray with a carafe as well as some pastries and fruit, Shelina started pouring coffee and serving the brigade. The fact that no one had said why they were here yet gave Jana a good idea what the purpose of this impromptu meeting was, but she waited until someone else divulged—just in case she was wrong.
She really hoped she was wrong.
“So…”Kamila said, stirring the sugar into her coffee and looking at Jana. “Here’s the thing. I know today isofficiallythe last day that the hashtag Bridal Brigade is a thing, and we will disband this afternoon, but as of now, you all are still my bridesmaids. And as a group, we all agreed that we are entitled to know about any major changes in anyone’s lives. If for no other reason than so we can support our sisters in the brigade, but also so we can avoid any awkward comments and moments when we’re in larger company.”
Yep. Jana was right about why they were here. This was an interrogation.
Jana looked at Yuriko. “Youtoldthem I didn’t come back to the room?”
Yuriko nodded. “If you’d asked me to cover for you, I would have kept your secret. But for all I knew, you’d been eaten by lions.”
