“Because they think we’re dating.”
“What?”
Maybe I shouldn’t have ripped the Band-Aid off like that.
“There’s no way they think that,” said Macey, pacing in small circles. “Why would they?”
I pulled up the email on my phone and held it out. She clamped a hand over her mouth as she read it, but I could have sworn I heard a muffledsonofabitchescape through her fingers.
After a few frenzied breaths, Macey dropped her hand. “We have to set the record straight.”
“No, we don’t,” I said. “It would make both of us look bad if we showed up to an all-inclusive resort’s press event only to sayjust kidding, we’re not actually a couple.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you saying? We should let them think we’re dating?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
She blinked, utterly appalled. “No way.”
I smirked. “So you want to be the one to explain to the PR team that we scammed them into giving us a free vacation?”
“But we didn’t scam them. It’s just an innocent misunderstanding!” Macey let out a strangled noise. She jabbed a finger toward me. “How are we supposed to sell this?”
“They already believe it,” I said. “We just have to do enough to make them continue believing it.”
She stared blankly back at me. God, she was acting like I’d suggested we take up synchronized swimming. Surely getting along with me for a few days couldn’t be that hard, could it?
“Fine,” she grumbled. “Fine, we’ll figure it out.”
My suitcase appeared first on the carousel, and we waited for Macey’s bag to follow. But after a few minutes, in which Macey switched from chewing her nails to tapping her foot, it never did. The same few suitcases made their rounds, Macey’s long forgotten. I watched her braid, undo, and re-braid her hair three times before she gave up.
With a deep sigh, Macey drawled, “I’m going to the lost luggage counter.”
There wasn’t an invitation there, but I followed anyway. This section of the airport was shockingly quiet. Apparently, we were the only ones to have bad luck today.
After a long conversation that culminated with aWe’re sorry, we have no idea where your luggage went, please enjoy this free drink coupon,it became clear that Macey wouldn’t have her bag tonight. They assured us that it would be delivered to the resort as soon as it was found, which could be as early as tomorrow morning. Or as late as the end of the grand opening. Or never. Yikes.
I thought Macey might let loose with a lecture or at least a death glare—I know I would have—but instead, she gritted her teeth, smiled like a saint in a bad mood, and said, “Thank you. Have a nice day.”
Really?It took so little for her to insult me and call me a Ken doll, but the idiots who lost her luggage were off the hook.
“I never realized how polite you are to everyone,” I murmured as we searched for our driver again. He was tall and lanky, so I wasn’t sure how he disappeared so easily. “Except me.”
“It’s not the customer service rep’s fault,” she said. “People are good. They just make mistakes sometimes. The rep apologized. Besides, I packed my inhaler and an outfit into my carry-on, so as long as I get my luggage in the morning, it’ll be okay.”
Inhaler. I had almost forgotten what she had shared with me on the bench, too focused on the pain in my ankle and her soft touches. Thank God she had her inhaler with her or else I’d make us skip the opening event to go to the pharmacy.
“Interesting,” I said with a shake of my head.
“What?”
“You tend to see the best in people. I never noticed it before.”
I pushed down any hurt I felt at being the exception, not the rule.
“And that’s bad because…”
Because people were the worst. There were a few exceptions, but generally, people treated others terribly. Just turn on the news at night. And when people weren’t the worst, that was when you had to be careful. It was in those instances that you were at risk of having someone close to you leave.
