“I could learn a lot from her.”
“You could,” Andrew said with a smile. “I’m sure there a lot of people who’d be happy to oblige.”
It’s on, Olivia thought. She felt the same surge of satisfaction she experienced just before she closed a deal, when she could feel her opponent giving in. That moment was often sweeter than the actual victory, the anticipation of victory about to come.
She’d spent so much time convincing herself that Andrew and Emerson were perfect together that she’d failed to considerthe possibility that maybe, just maybe, she’d been wrong. Maybe Zack had been right. Maybe Andrewwasn’tas serious about Emerson as she’d thought.
Maybe she still had a chance.
“That’s nice of you to say,” she said, returning his smile.
He ran his hand through his wet hair, looking endearingly bashful. “I should head inside and change. I’ll see you later?”
“Definitely.”
But as he walked off, Olivia’s smile faded slightly. Emerson wasn’t his girlfriend—great. She’d sort of invited herself to the wedding—even better. But that didn’t mean they weren’t sleeping together. She recalled how physically affectionate Andrew had been toward Emerson at the welcome drinks. Was she in the same situation as Olivia? Confused by the cues he was giving? Hoping for more?
As Olivia tried to chase the thought from her head, lest it ruin her burgeoning good mood, she heard another voice. “Hey.”
Startled, Olivia turned to see Zack. He’d put on a T-shirt, but was still wearing his pajama pants, and his hair stuck out in all directions. Something about his appearance reminded Olivia of a little boy who’d woken up on Christmas morning and run straight downstairs, too excited to bother with teeth-brushing or hair-combing. However, his face contained no hint of festive glee. “I got your email. You don’t need to apologize for anything.”
“Oh,” she said with an awkward laugh. Great. In trying to smooth things over, she’d just made things even weirder. “Okay. I just wanted you to know that we don’t need to make a big deal out of last night. It was just… one of those random wedding hookups, you know?”
“Relax, Olivia,” Zack said with a smile. “Everything’s fine.Last night was really fun, and I know it was just a onetime thing. I promise, I’m not going to start stalking you.”
She felt herself blush. “I thought you’d worryI’dbecome obsessed withyou.”
“Most women do.”
Olivia laughed. “Alright, you’re notthatgood.”
“Oh, really?” Zack raised his eyebrows. “I feel like I have some evidence to the contrary.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, raising her hands in surrender. “Let’s change the subject.”
“Sure… I saw you talking to Andrew.”
“Yeah, he was on his way back from a swim and wanted to know what I was doing up so early, with my suitcase.”
“I think taking a predawn swim in the North Atlantic is weirder than walking around a hotel with a suitcase.”
“He’s training for a triathlon!”
“Of course he is. My man is definitely the ‘work hard, play hard’ type. Go on.”
Olivia ignored the jab and continued, “Well, I panicked and told him that we’d had a fight. And he kind of seemed… happy?”
Something flickered across Zack’s face. “Oh yeah?”
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“I told you. You were underestimating the simplicity of the male brain.”
Olivia considered her options for a lighthearted retort—like how maybe that explained why Zack hadn’t minded sleeping with a woman who’d just been hysterically crying—but something about his carefully blank expression made her pause.
“So,” Zack said, “I guess that means we should initiate phase two? Operation fake breakup?”
Olivia hesitated. Thatwasthe plan, right? Now that she knew Andrew was interested, this was what she wanted. “Sure, that makes sense.”
