“Hold on,” I said again. “What do you meanhopefully?”
“Well…” Andrew coughed. “I mean, there is a chance the bracelet won’t unclasp.”
“And then what?” I snapped. “I get to wear this bracelet like a prisoner in handcuffs? For how long?”
“Nobody asked you to put it on.” Andrew’s voice rose an octave.
I was about to tell him to fuck off and fetch me a bolt cutter.
“Hey, guys,” William said in a calm voice, “can we go back to talking about tomorrow’s plan?”
“I’m sure it will come off the second we unlock the chest,” Andrew said, his eyes never leaving mine. “And then you’ll never see me or it again.”
With my hands planted on my hips, I turned away and focused on the indigo skies with orange hues on the horizon, my heart beating faster than it should have been. Going somewhere on the fly, especially to a country I knew next to nothing about, seemed like a bad idea. Was my karma playing a trick on me again? Too soon, even for her.
ChapterTwo
At eight in the morning, the pool was mostly empty with only a few parents occupying lounge chairs while watching their kids splashing in the shallow end. William and I sat in the Triton bar outdoor area, having a carb-loaded breakfast—calories didn’t count on vacation—and avoiding any mention of last night. We had done enough talking yesterday while we packed. William had presented me with his ridiculous, romanticized ideas about Dr. Andrew Jones and me. To the point that he had already married me to the man just so I wouldn’t have to change any of my legal documents because our last names were the same.
Most people didn’t think we were siblings. We were both tall, but William had hazel eyes, sandy brown hair with professional highlights, and a bowlike mouth, and I was green-eyed with chestnut hair and had a mouth that was often compared to Julia Roberts. Or a horse. I preferred the former. But the main difference between William and me was that he fell in love easily, just like our mother. An army of people did not have enough fingers to count how many lovers our mother had had, and the same went for William. Whereas I didn’t care to fall in love at all. Been there once. Done that. No more, thank you.
“Hot professor alert.” William wiped his mouth.
I looked over my shoulder. Dressed in a light-blue button-up shirt and oat-colored chinos, Andrew strode past the lifeguard, greeting the young man with a nod. The top two buttons of Andrew’s shirt were undone, and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. Keeping my face blank, I did a one-shoulder shrug. I’d never admit this out loud, especially to William—because I’d never hear the end of it—but, my god, Dr. Jones was hot. My stomach fluttered, and I ignored it.
Andrew approached a petite blond woman wearing an enormous sun hat and oversized sunglasses, who was reading a book. A girl about six years old with dark curly hair in a ponytail emerged from the pool and ran up to him. Was that his family? His wife was pretty and slim, sporting a sexy white one-piece swimsuit. Andrew crouched next to the child and listened intently to whatever she babbled about while showing him her mermaid doll.
I felt the familiar ache of sorrow in the pit of my stomach. “Would you recognize our dad if you saw him today?” I asked, without taking my eyes off the young family.
“Probably not. Mom trashed all his pictures.”
“How could a grown man leave two kids with the words ‘Well, I’ll just run out to get some smokes. You kids want anything?’” I picked up my newly refreshed coffee and took a slow sip. The bitter taste jolted me.Yuck. I stirred in a spoonful of sugar and added a splash of cream.
“Twenty-five years later, I’m still waiting for my M&Ms,” William said.
“I’m not sure if I’m mad at him for leaving us or for leaving us with Mom.”
“Why are you thinking about him now?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. I turned and surveyed Andrew and his daughter having an animated conversation, him holding the doll, no doubt saying something about mermaid treasures hidden at the bottom of an ocean. I bet he told amazing bedtime stories. “Sometimes I wonder… if our father had never left, would our life be any different?”
“Probably not.”
Not able to resist, I glanced over my shoulder again. The little girl hugged Andrew, and he closed his eyes, wrapping his strong arms around her tiny body, not caring that her wet swimsuit soaked his shirt. He held her for scads of heartbeats before he pressed a sweet, long kiss to her head and then rose to his feet. She waved to him as she speed-walked to the deeper end of the pool and cannonballed into it. Andrew continued to chat with his attractive wife. Did she mind him going on a trip with another woman?
Last night I hadn’t noticed whether Andrew wore a wedding band, but a man didn’t have to wear a solid circle of gold to be a good husband and father. When Andrew and the woman finished talking, she reached out her hands to him, and he leaned into her.
I averted my eyes and shifted in my seat, not wanting to see them kiss. I shouldn’t have been watching him and his family. I shook my head, trying to shrug off a strange feeling of disappointment. Why was I upset? Envy for not growing up in a family like his? Or was it guilt because I didn’t want to have a family, fearing that I’d inevitably become like my mother?
“Why are you shaking your head?” William asked, his eyes glued behind me, no doubt watching the handsome couple.
“It’s nothing.”
William gave me hisI don’t believe youlook.
“Are you done? We promised to meet him at the front of the hotel”—I checked my watch—“in ten minutes.”
“Don’t think I didn’t notice your look.” William smiled his Cheshire cat smile.
