“At the same time?” Her eyes widen in horror.
“No. But it’s been a hell of a long day.”
She guides me to the kitchen table. We sit. “Spill. Start with Sully.”
She nods as I tell her about the aquarium date, the romance of it all, even the sex. Down to us lying in bed planning our little getaways between his European shows. Until he had to go.
“Wow. The aquarium was…” She makes a chef’s kiss motion. “But of course, that spoiled bitch had to ruin it.” She shakes her head. “Now what happened with that assface ex of yours?”
“He ambushed me at the beach,” I sigh, shuddering as I remember. “Claimed he loved me and that leaving was a mistake, blah blah.”
“That rat bastard. Do you want me to gut him?”
“You haven’t heard the worst part. He’s been following me. Lurking around our apartment parking lot. Even showed me a dimly lit picture of Sully and Gigi and said he was cheating on me.”
“What the hell!” She stands, pacing the floor.
“I told him off.” I shift my weight uncomfortably. “He’s not worth thinking about.”
Alice takes my hand and squeezes it. “Veronica. You’re special. Don’t let anyone dim your shine. Not that asshat ex or even Sully.”
“I know. ButI—”
The smoke alarm goes off. Alice leaps to her feet. “Crap!” She turns off the burner and rinses the pan in the sink, but it’s too late. The burgers are charred pieces of meat.
She chuckles nervously. “How about we order in?”
I laugh, grabbing my phone. “Sounds good.”
It’s seven in the morning, and still no word from Sully. A heavy, twisting knot settles in my stomach. I can’t shake the thought that something terrible might have happened. If he’d been in a car accident or rushed to the hospital, no one from his world would bother to let me know. Well—maybe Charlotte would, if it was serious. But even that feels like a long shot. I searched his name online, but nothing came up.
“Do you want to drive to his place?” Alice asks, sliding two blueberry pop-tarts into the toaster.
I glance at her and stop paying attention to the orange juice I’m pouring into a glass. “I’m sorry, did I just have a mini-stroke?”
“Watch it,” Alice says, pointing.
The juice overflows. I rush to grab paper towels and mop up the table. “Did you really suggest driving to his place?”
She inspects her fingernails. “It's suspicious you haven’t heard a thing from him. Based on his history, he usually replies with something.”
I nod, sipping my juice. “I hope Gigi isn’t there because I’m going to throw up.”
The pop-tarts pop up, and Alice wraps them in paper towels. “Let’s go.”
I drive to the hotel, and as we drive down the road going around to the private casitas, there’s a roadblock ahead and a man dressed in black slacks and a red coat with the hotel’s logo in gold on his chest.
He walks over, and I roll the window down.
“Hello,” he says, leaning in and looking at Alice and me. “Are you two guests?”
“No. We’re here to visit a guest. His name is Sully Graham.”
“We have no guests currently staying in the casitas. The last guest checked out this morning, and he gave me a note to give to someone.” The man checks all his pockets and finds an envelope. “What’s your name?”
“Veronica Gates.”
He nods, offering me the envelope. “He left this for you. You can turn around if you pull forward into the dirt. Have a nice day.”
