Courtney…Grady…?
I felt faint.
If I’d had anything to eat recently, I might have thrown up, then and there.
This lovely and confident person was Courtney. Noah’s ex-wife.
Courtney Grady.
She extended one hand while clutching her towel with the other. It was honestly unfair just how pretty she managed to be like this, with no makeup on, wet hair slicked back from her pleasant, heart-shaped face, except for a few tendrils that curled around her temples.
I took her hand, woodenly, and she shook it without any other response from me. I was sure mine must have felt as limp as a wet noodle.
“Christine said there was one other young person on the trip. I still can’t believe she dragged Noah out here. But honestly, I think it was good for him. He needed some space. Some perspective. You know?”
I nodded, though I didn’t actually take in anything she’d said just now.
Why was she here?
In our room?
Although… I’d just assumed it was ours.
Tay could’ve easily made the same mistake after yesterday.
If it was a mistake.
“Perspective. Yeah.” I mumbled, wrestling my suitcase away from the wall to drag it toward me. The handle jammed, and I had to yank on it to get it to extend to the proper length. Then, I had to roll it back onto its wheels after it tried to flop over like a turtle stuck on its back.
For fork’s sake! Why are you fighting me?!
Even without looking at her, I could feel Courtney’s smile. “He should be back any minute if you want to wait with me.”
I did not want to wait with her. I did not want to spend another second in this room.
“No. No, I should sort out my room.”
I backed up a step, dragging my polka-dotted luggage with me.
She smiled again. “Of course.”
I stepped into the hallway, and the door mercifully clicked shut.
But before I could even begin to process what just happened, to think about what to do next or where to go, I practically ran right into Noah’s mom.
She had stepped out of the adjacent room, deliberately closing the door behind her.
“Oh. Luna, dear. I thought I heard your voice.”
She smiled.
It was just smiles all around today, wasn’t it? Because everyone in this forking hotel was just so forking happy!
“Courtney flew in to surprise Noah,” Mrs. Grady said, as if she was announcing the winner of a raffle. Her voice was light, breezy even. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
No. No, it’s not. It is, in fact, the literal worst.
I said nothing. Because if I spoke, I wasn’t sure what would come out.
