“Remember, you said you were worried that, after a year of saying no to guys, my friend might finally say yes, out of the blue, before you’d had a chance to talk with her? Well, I guess you’ve got ESP or something because it seems that’s exactly what’s happened.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, her text was a bit vague, but I know her really well, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure she’s planning to get back together with her ex-boyfriend.”
My heart lurches into my throat. “What? You mean the soccer player?”
“Yeah. Stu.”
I’m suddenly panicked. “Why do you think that? Did she tell you that?”
Colby’s eyes widen as he watches me.
“No, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. She said she hooked up with a ‘blast from her past’ who’s an ‘asshole.’ She just flew to Hawaii last night for a wedding and the only blast-from-her-past-asshole who couldpossiblybe at that particular wedding would be her ex-boyfriend. And if she had sex with her ex-boyfriend, which is the only logical asshole-blast-from-her-past it could have been, then that can only mean they’re getting back together because my friend wouldneverin a million years have casual sex,ever.” She makes a sound I’d characterize as an audible shrug. “Hence, I truly think she’s getting back together with Stu.”
It’s taking every bit of my self-restraint not to burst out laughing. “Why would Stu be at the wedding in Hawaii?” I ask.
Colby looks at me quizzically, like he’s dying for a hint of what’s happening on this call, but I simply wink at him, telling him everything’s fine.
“He used to be friends with the groom—this guy named Josh,” Charlotte says. “To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought Josh would have invited Stu to his wedding after the way Stu treated my friend—I thought Josh had cut him off completely. But there’s no one else in her life who could possibly fit the description of being a ‘blast from her past’ and an ‘asshole.’”
“Well,Ifit that description,” I say, a smirk dancing on my lips.
I can hear Charlotte’s eye-roll across the phone line. “I meant there’s no one else who fits that descriptionandwho could be in attendance at Josh’s wedding.”
Okay, I’ve had my fun. “Charlotte, it’s me. I’m the blast-from-her-past-asshole. I’m here in Hawaii with your bestie. Oh, and when I say ‘your bestie,’ let me be clear I’m not talking about a flight attendant named Samantha; I’m talking aboutTheresa Rodriguez, the personal assistant to my future brother-in-law, Joshua William Faraday.”
There’s dead silence on the line.
“I’m Kat Morgan’s brother,” I say, chuckling. “RyanMorgan. And, surprise! I had sex with Theresa, oh, about three hours ago—right after I’d arrived here and walked into the hotel to find ‘Samantha’ standing in the lobby.”
“Oh my God.”
“Crazy, right?” I ask.
“Insane. How the hell did you get Tessa to have sex with you so damned fast? You told her about your crazy Search for Samantha and self-imposed celibacy?”
“No. Strangely enough, I haven’t told her anything about the past three months. That’s exactly why I’m calling you: to tell you I’m not gonna tell her that stuff yet, and I’d very much appreciate you not telling her, either.”
I tell Charlotte everything about my thought process and, when I’m done, Charlotte makes a noncommittal sound.
“You can’t keep all that from her,” she says. “She deserves to know.”
“Of course, she does. And I promise I’ll tell her everything before we leave Maui. But do I need to tell her all of ittoday? Cut me some slack. I’ve been searching for a flight attendant named Samantha for three months. Let me get my bearings before I have to bare my soul like that to some woman I just found out is named Theresa.”
Charlotte doesn’t reply.
“Charlotte, everything I felt when I met ‘Samantha’ in that bar, I’m feeling it again with Tessa, only even more so—and she’s obviously feeling it, too, or she wouldn’t have said yes. Just let us get to know each other this week without all the insanity getting in the way.”
“You’ll do it this week, before you leave Maui?”
“I promise.”
Charlotte exhales. “Okay, I won’t say a word this week. I don’t know why I trust you, but I do.”
“Thanks, Charlotte.” I give a thumbs-up sign to Colby and he fist-bumps me.
“But I have three conditions to my silence,” Charlotte says, “and you have to swear on a stack of bibles you’ll honor them.”
