Badly.
Not for closure.
Not for a vacation fling.
Foreverything.
Time to go.
I can’t do this.
I want her too much.
I can’t want Laney this much while knowing that even stepping-out-of-her-box Laney wouldn’t appreciate finding out she’s flirting with an adult entertainment star.
That’s too far.
While chatter starts up again about who brought the present and if it’s funny or tasteless and who still wants to play and who loves tacos, I angle back until I’m at the edge of the lanai.
And then I disappear.
If I don’t—if I wait for Laney—I’ll do far worse.
And on a day when I already feel like I’m on the verge of losing my sister, my heart isn’t up for the pain of having one more dream dashed.
22
Laney
Theo’s missing.
Again.
And this time, I’m not slipping out of the party to look for him because I promised Emma I’d make sure he didn’t cause problems for Chandler.
This time, I’m slipping out of the party because I’m worried about him.
If everything Emma touches turns to gold—and it truly does—then everything Theo touches apparently turns to dust.
And that’s not fair.
Not when he’s trying as hard as I am to help Emma have the wedding of her dreams.
Don’t tell me he’s not.
I have zero doubt if I’d told Chandler that I had to substitute in a gift at the end of the scavenger hunt, he would’ve laughed.
It’s like hewantsto be mad at Theo.
And that’s irritating theshitout of me.
I check the beach first. No sign of Theo. Our bungalow is next. Also not there.
Not even with the kittens and their mama.
The rental Jeep is still in the parking lot, so if he went somewhere, it’s on foot.
He could’ve gone any direction, and he could be anywhere.
