“Then why the fuck is my dumbshit of a sister scheming to setmeup with her?” I shout. “I’m not gonna horn in on fucking Reed Rivers.”
“No, no. I meant Reedwantsto hook up with The Mighty T-Rod—not that he’s ever gonna get to do it.” Henn laughs. “T-Rod’s like a sister to Josh. No manwhores allowed, especially not the biggest manwhore we know. Reed’s a great guy—the absolute best—but when it comes to women, trust me, he’s a menace.”
“How old is T-Rod?”
“A few years younger than Josh, I think. Twenty-six or twenty-seven, maybe? She started with him right out of college. She’s a real straight arrow, which is why she’s the perfect person to keep Josh in line. But that’s why he’s always felt really protective of her. You should have seen Josh after T-Rod’s last boyfriend played her. Josh pretty much wanted to hire a hitman to kill the guy.”
“Interesting,” I say. “I’ll keep an eye out for her in Hawaii. But, obviously, no matter what Kat thinks, I shouldn’t touch T-Rod with a ten-foot pole. No sense pissing Josh off, right?”
“Yeah, probably for the best—unless you’re planning to marry her.”
“Nope. I’m done looking for true love, son. Next week in paradise, it’s gonna be mai tais and no-strings fuckery with cocktail waitresses for me. I give up.”
“Don’t give up. Now you’re making me sad.”
“Sorry. I give up.”
“If you say so. But, hey, if you happen to get some newfangled idea about how to find your Cinderella between now and then, don’t hesitate to give me a call and I’ll jump on it for ya, okay, Captain Ahab?”
“Thanks, Henn Star. But, nope. I’m officially done with the Search for Samantha. I’m officially done with love. It’s all pointless.”
“Shit, man. I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, there are worse things than a guy deciding to have a whole bunch of meaningless sex.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I laugh. “I’ll see you in a week, Henn Star. I’ll buy you a drink in Maui.”
“Josh isn’t letting anyone pay for a single thing all week long.”
“I know. That’s why I said it.”
Henn laughs. “I’ll see you soon, Captain. Aloha.”
I hang up the phone, lie back onto my bed, and stare blankly at the ceiling, wracking my brain for something,anything, I might be missing—some search I could possibly ask Henn to run as a last-ditch effort to find Samantha. When my mind draws a complete blank, I sigh, turn to my laptop, and press the “replay video” button on that fucking Enrique Iglesias song, swearing to myself this will be the very last time.
18
Tessa
Ikick the bottom of my (super cute) wedge sandal against the door of Josh and Kat’s bungalow, my arms otherwise engaged with a large cardboard box. I look at my watch. Two o’clock on the button. Damn, I’m good.
A warm, plumeria-scented breeze wafts over me, rustling my sundress. I close my eyes and take a long sniff of the fragrant air, allowing myself the small luxury of reveling in paradise for a blissful half-second.
I open my eyes.
Break over.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Exactly two months ago, I received a text from Josh, informing me that Kat had said yes to his marriage proposal (no surprise there) and instructing me to “pull together” a “weeklong-destination-wedding-shindig” in Hawaii (the particular Hawaiian island and resort to be determined by me, based on logistical concerns) for two hundred of Josh’s and Kat’s closest friends and family.
Of course, nothing in Josh’s text would have elevated my heart rate in the slightest were it not for the kicker at the end: Joshwanted all this wonderfulness to occurin exactly two months.
And, now, here I stand, two months after receiving that crazy-ass text from Josh, and, it seems, I’ve managed to pull off the impossible, exactly as requested. But that doesn’t mean I’ve retained a shred of my sanity during the process.
Oh my gosh, when this week’s over and Mr. and Mrs. Joshua William Faraday have ridden off into the sunset, this lifelong good girl is gonna finally go rogue. Yep, the minute my work obligations are done, I’ve decided I’m gonna do something I’ve never done before: namely, I’m gonna scour the resort grounds for that yummy tattooed bartender I flirted with for an hour late last night after arriving here—a hottie who made it abundantly clear he’d be more than willing to screw me during my stay. And I’m gonna have myself some no-strings vacation-sex with a complete stranger. Oh my gawd, I can hardly wait. It’ll be my first sexual contact with an actual human in about a year, and, man, oh, man, I’m beyond aching for it.
