“Funny. But anyway, back to your idea. I don’t hate it, but I just don’t know if it will work. Would anyone really believe we were dating?” She makes a face. “Plus that we’ve been keeping it a secret?”
“If you prefer we go to the wedding alone, like the losers Rex thinks we are …” I stare at her and purse my lips. “Pity you don’t have a date, Mia. And pity you had a crush on me, but I was a jackass to you. But, yes, please come to my wedding and my two-week festivities by yourself and watch me and my bride be all lovey-dovey in your face.”
Her face contorts, and she lets out a long, low sigh.
“He’s such a jerk for what he wrote, but he’s not all bad.” A hopeful, reminiscent smile crosses her lips. “I still remember the boy who took me home from that party and tucked me into bed and whispered that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”
“But did you actually see his face?” I ask casually because I hate that she still tells this story to excuse the fact that Rex is a jerk. The story I know isn’t exactly as she remembers it to be.
“No, but I remember him saying he was going to wear that costume.”
“Yeah.”
I don’t tell her that he and I changed costumes at the last moment. I don’t tell her that I saw her getting drunk and noticed other guys circling in on her like crows to dead carcasses. I don’t tell her that I was worried that someone would take advantage of her and that it was me in that costume who got her home and tucked her into bed. I don’t tell her that her grandma knew it was me and thanked me and gave me cookies. I don’t tell her because I didn’t tell her all those years ago because I wanted her to hold on to a glimmer of hope that her crush on Rex wasn’t for nothing. I didn’t want her to feel completely rejected, but now I wonder if I should have told her the truth. It’s too late for me to admit that it was me, but every time she brings up that night to excuse Rex’s poor behavior, I cringe inside because I know the truth. And I hate that she still holds out some sort of hope that he is a good guy inside.
“But his note was rude,” she continues, and I can see her thinking hard. “I’m going to speak to Juniper in a few minutes and get her take on it, okay?”
“Sure,” I say softly, knowing it’s pointless to ask her to keep it a secret from her other best friend.
I’m not as close with Juniper as I am with Mia, but I still trust her and consider her a good friend.
“Let me know soon though because if we do decide to do this, we’ll have to figure out the details.”
“Or maybe you could come into town early and we could spend time together, figuring it out.” She looks excited. “That would be fun.”
“Mmhmm,” I say, without formally committing to that idea because I know based on my current work schedule, that will be hard.
In fact, part of the reason the idea appeals to me is that if I go as Mia’s date, I can pretend we’re spending quality time together while I’m actually working. I’m in the middle of a 2.8 billion-dollar deal that could elevate me to the next level of my career. If I secure this deal, I will make equity partner at the hedge fund. I will be the youngest financial analyst at the firm to have secured multiple billion-dollar deals. I will be able to write my own ticket. I will show my parents and Rex that I was able to make it without having to use the Haverbrook name.
“Luke, is that a yes?”
“Let’s see,” I answer and try not to laugh as she groans and shakes her head.
Mia, for all her wonderful qualities, doesn’t have the same head for business as I do. She’s more about laughing, enjoying life, and having fun, and I’m more about studying the stock market and international trade. On the surface, our friendship shouldn’t work, but beneath the surface, it is the most prized possession that I have.
“Anyway, I’m going to go back to work. Call me later tonight or tomorrow and let me know what you decide.”
“Okay, Luke.” She nods and smiles at me in that familiar way that reminds me of home—walks on Coconut Bay Beach, hikes to Hidden Cove, swimming in the waterfall, grabbing a bite at Iggy’s Grill, taking ice cream cones and biking to the lighthouse, listening to Mia sing as we swim in the ocean, hoping to call the dolphins to her as she pretends to be a mermaid. “I’ll call you later,” she says and hangs up.
I walk over to my floor-to-ceiling windows and stare out at the glittering city in front of me.
I love living here in New York. I love the hustle and bustle, the bright lights, the tall buildings, the millions of people from all over the world walking the streets and going about their business. Living here makes me feel like I’m a part of something big. Like I’m important. Especially from my view in this office. Which is picture-perfect. My life here is fantastic. And yet there’s still a part of me that misses that small island desperately.
I shake my head to clear it. I hate feeling nostalgic about a past that I want to remain in the past. I’ll go back to Coconut Beach for the wedding. Then I’ll be on the first plane back to the city, and I will never look back. I love my friends and my family back home, but I am always the second-best Haverbrook in my hometown. Here, I am somebody making a name for himself, not having to stay in the shadows. The only thing missing is Mia.
And I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that fact.
I’m about to start working again when my phone rings, and I see that it’s my nana, Bitsy Haverbrook. I answer on the first ring.
“Hi, Nana. How are you?”
“Lucas Haverbrook, why haven’t I heard from you in over two weeks?” She sounds annoyed, but I know she’s just teasing me. My grandma is one of the busiest women I know.
“Sorry, I’ve been busy with work and making millions. You know how it is.”
“All work and no play makes Luke a dull boy, dear.”
“I thought it was Jack?” I tease her affectionately.
