She trailed her bite of pancake through as much syrup as possible without meeting his eyes, because she would definitely haul his butt into a storage room if he kept sneaking around behind her back.
Halfway through her stack of pancakes, Gabby knew that she was addicted to sugar, and not in a casual way, but in the I-will-sell-my-firstborn-for-my-next-hit way. Before finishing, she felt the energy hit her system, and she was ready to tackle the day, running through a field of daisies picking flowers and singing. She might even be able to write music. It was the kind of high she normally associated with hard drugs.
“I know not everything’s perfect between us…” He looked into her eyes like he really meant what he was about to say. “I’m just so glad that I can trust you.”
Could he, and should she trust him?
Before they left for the morning activities, he picked up the pale pink conch, football-sized with its weirdly feminine slit, or maybe she was the only one with a dirty mind.
Markus feigned licking the conch, and she laughed. Nope. She wasn’t the only one.
“I am the luckiest man in the world,” he said to the conch, “I have no secrets from my beautiful fiancée.”
But then, what was Markus talking to Genesis about, and why was he lying about it? Gabby might be sleeping with the enemy.
0800 hours, after breakfast but still hungry, the main lobby, just passing through on the way to yoga
Dressed in yet another pair of high-waisted, butt-enhancing yoga pants and a bra that was masquerading as a shirt, Gabby set off to yoga. After a night of life-altering sex, she should be floating through the resort, confident for the first time ever in a bra-shirt, but her mistrust of Markus had dimmed her glow-up. She tugged the shirt down and walked into the lobby.
Because the yoga tent was still crumpled on the beach after Gabby had single-handedly taken it down with the worst crane pose ever, yoga was being held in the main resort.
To avoid a guy pushing G-shots and a woman checking in, she skirted the edge of the room. A familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
“I alreadytoldyou, it’s booked under Elena Greene. Check it again. I have a reservation! Y’know what, can you just let me speak to your manager?” the woman said.
Gabby’s heart plummeted as the voice ramped up in intensity. It couldn’t be. She must be hearing things.
Bracing herself, she turned around, sure she was hallucinating. Nope. There was her mother. In a polo, khakis, and a golf visor, her mom was killing the meditative vibe of the entire resort. Gabby stood frozen as she watched her worlds collide in the worst way possible.
How had her mother ended up on her spy mission? Just the thought made her brain explode with the absurdity. She was an undercover spy, Top Gun of the spy world. She was the best agent available to protect the president’s reputation, and her mother had just followed her to work.
She fought back tunneling vision and a feeling of faintness like a pilot trying to hang on to consciousness before the g-force took him. G-force—the word jogged a memory of Jasmine’s advice yesterday.Avoid distraction. Focus.She had to get her mother out before anyone noticed.
All her mission goals were irrelevant, except to protect her cover and try not to kill her mom.
As the yoga class started their deep breathing, Gabby did one yoga breath with them. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
Isolate the problem and contain it. She’d offer the woman her mother was talking to an explanation, shuttle her to the cottage, and form an evac plan. As far as the resort was concerned, she would just be an annoying guest who went to the wrong resort. That was essentially the truth. Her mom was definitely at the wrong resort.
“The credit card should have gone through…” Her mom continued talking about payment.
As she took a step in their direction, Genesis, looking like amountain of man flesh, wearing what could only be described as a loincloth, entered the lobby.
Shit. Shit. Shiiiiiiit.
Gabby slipped behind a display of tropical plants to stay out of view. Worst-case scenario, at the moment, was that one or both would spot her and they’d all end up chatting in front of the reception desk, everyone she was keeping secrets from in one casual conversation from hell.
“Cult leader, whom I’m undercover investigating, meet my mom, who thinks I’m a secretary. Nothing suspicious is going on at all. I repeat, nothing suspicious!”
Behind the plant, she crouched and took some deep breaths.Get it together, Gabby. Get it together. Think. There has to be a way out of this.
Her hiding place failed her. As Genesis walked past, he grabbed a G-shot off a tray and handed it to her. “Looks like you could use some help there.”
She stood up with a nothing-to-see-here smile. “I’m just a little off-kilter this morning.”
“Uncovering the truth will do that for you. You’ll get there. Sometimes I feel naked walking around the world.”
Gabby laughed, “G, you kind of are naked.”
