“We’re driving on the road to Hana,” Sheri says. “Want to come with us?”
They wave me in and I notice they’re having breakfast.
“You look like you want to talk,” Joy says. “I’ll pour you a cup of tea. What’s up?”
I gratefully take the tea and sit in the offered chair. Because the cabin is so tiny, the three of us are huddled around the table.
“I don’t know what Jordan is up to,” I blurt out after taking a sip of tea. “We’re having a great time, but he’s too perfect.”
“You two are still on your honeymoon,” Sheri says. “Of course, you’re still in love, all starry-eyed and cinnamon-rolled.”
“Nothing wrong with a perfect husband,” Joy says, biting into a Danish. “Are you afraid of the honeymoon ending?”
I inhale the warm steam of the tea and nod. “These last few days have been the best in my life, but once we return to Los Angeles, I’m afraid I’ll never see Jordan again.”
Their eyebrows take flight like seagulls spooked by a jumping shark.
“You’re getting a divorce? Why?” Joy asks. “Was he not good in bed?”
“Such a shame,” Sheri adds. “So handsome and hunky, but a disappointment between the sheets.”
“Can you not satisfy yourself some other way?” Joy frowns while fiddling with the cross she wears as a necklace.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm,” Sheri hums. “There’s always a snake in paradise, or in this case, a lack of one.”
“No, no, no, that’s not it at all.” I set the teacup on the saucer. “This entire trip is a sham. I’m not married to Jordan Reed. My real groom dumped me, and my best friend invited me on the cruise to cheer me up. At the last minute, she sent her cousin, Jordan, to take her place, and he’s been pretending to be my husband to help me save face.”
Both Joy and Sheri’s eyes widen, and their jaws drop, along with Joy’s Danish and Sheri’s cinnamon roll.
“Oh, you poor thing.” Joy recovers first. “You’ve been living a lie.”
Sheri pats my back, rubbing it gently. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry. What do you want now?”
I bite my lips and shrug. Useless tears well in my eyes, and I hate feeling sorry for myself.
My brain shivers with a nagging thought.
I want Jordan.
But it can’t be. I’m fooling myself.
I still want him.
“I know rebound relationships are risky,” I begin. “I’m not even sure Jordan’s in a relationship with me. He might be getting paid to make me happy, but he’s just so perfect.”
Joy’s large eyes blink in sympathy. “If you want him, you’re going to have to be honest and put yourself out there.”
“No, no, no,” Sheri says. “That’s not going to work. You don’t even know if he’s sincere. I say put him to a test.”
“What kind of test?” I’m plumb out of ideas. While teasing Jordan is fun, and playing pranks on him gives me a perverse satisfaction, he hasn’t been pushed off balance ever since we made that deal to be important to each other.
Not even when his hair was stuck together by the glue I put in his hair gel. The punk laughed it off and told everyone he spiked his hair on purpose.
“You must flirt with another man,” Sheri says. “Or leave the ship. If he doesn’t care, he’ll forget about you and you haven’t lost anything.”
“I still think you need to risk it all and put your cards on the table.” Joy taps the table with her fingernail extensions. “Tell him how you feel. It’s the only way.”
“To get shot down?” Sheri wags her head. “Women should have an air of mystique. Who gets more respect? Cats or dogs?”
