“I’m…” I paused, buying time. “Good.”
“Good,” she echoed, like she wasn’t convinced.
“I was thinking it might be nice to have a little barbecue this weekend. Nothing big.” Her voice was easy—too easy. “I invited Courtney. She’s, uh bringing someone new. A man. I just wanted to check…make sure you’re okay with that.”
I leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. That was how she was going to play it. Like Vegas hadn’t happened. Like dragging my ex-wife into that mess was a well-meaning gesture that had just gotten…misinterpreted.
And Luna had stumbled right into it…
I exhaled hard.
At least now, it seemed like mom finally understood that Courtney and I were never getting back together. Not then. Not now. Not ever.
It was about damn time.
“Good for her,” I said, and I meant it. “And no—I don’t mind. But…I’m actually heading out of town.”
The words were out before I’d even realized I’d made up my mind.
“Oh?” she asked. “Where to?”
“Matunuck Beach.” I scratched absently at my knee. “See what the waves are like. I haven’t done much surfing this summer.”
The phone went silent, and then, “Doesn’t that girl from the tour live down there?”
I was a little surprised she knew that much. “You mean Luna?” I asked, sharp enough that I was sure she caught it. “Yeah. I might look her up.”
Another pause.
“Have you…talked to her?”
“No.”
And then I felt it. An ominous hesitation.
“I…I need to tell you something,” she said finally.
“Okay…” I set my beer can down, mentally bracing for whatever the hell she’d done. Ever since that stunt she’d pulled…
“That day in Vegas. When Courtney showed up—” She stopped. She didn’t need to finish. She knew exactly how I’d felt about that.
“You have to know, Noah, that I’m always thinking of your best interest,” she went on. “And when she came to my room looking for you?—”
“She?” My voice dropped.
“The restaurant girl.”
“You mean Luna? When did Luna go to your room?”
“Right after she met…Courtney. And I may have…told her things to make her think that…you and Courtney were reuniting.”
My jaw locked. For a second, I thought I misheard her. I wish I’d misheard her.
And yet, I knew that I hadn’t.
“What. Things?” My voice came out cold. Hard.
“I told her you were getting champagne. To celebrate. I just thought, maybe, if you and Courtney could spend some time alone together in such a romantic city, that?—”
