“I do plenty of thinking.” The rest he couldn’t speak to, but if Mugsy wanted a tsunami of thoughts, Charlie had a surplus. “Also, I can’t leave. I have a previous engagement.”
“With your mysterious lady friend, who just happened to stumble into your life?” Her voice was muffled by the closet door, but he still picked up a strong note of sarcasm.
“Why do you say it like that?”
Mugsy dragged his suitcase into the middle of the bedroom, throwing it open before straightening. “Because somebody sold you down the river.”
He shook his head, but Mugsy didn’t stop.
“Your cover is blown. In a couple of hours, this place is going to be crawling with reporters and photographers and screaming teenagers. We’ll be lucky to get out before the swarm descends.”
Charlie swallowed the reflexive surge of panic. There was something he needed to say first. “It wasn’t Jean.”
“Who else knows you’re here?”
“You,” he pointed out, but Mugsy only shook her head, pulling open a drawer and throwing an armful of clothes into his suitcase.
“I told you to be careful, Charlie.”
“I was!”
“Not careful enough.” She reached for the field journal on the dresser, but he grabbed it first.
“Will you please listen for a second?”
Sighing, Mugsy turned to face him.
“It can’t have been Jean, because she doesn’t know who I am!”
Dear Mom and Dad,
I’m sorry
I hope this postcard finds you well
Hello from Hawaii! The weather is
I know you must be upset
Guess what? I met someone
I will be home. At some point.
I’m sorry.
Love,
Charlie
Chapter 9
The softwhooshof the revolving door dragged Jean’s attention from the origami python she was folding as a surprise for Charlie. She hoped the person entering the lobby was another employee, because her shift was over in fifteen minutes, and the last thing she needed was to get stuck helping a needy guest. Not when Charlie had been texting her all day with hints about his plans for the evening like,I hope you’re ready to swing, my jungle queen.Followed by an immediate,From vines,in case she thought he was proposing a threesome.
Readying her customer-service smile, Jean stood and faced the front entrance. And then blinked several times, certain her eyes were playing tricks.
“Surprise!” said the voice of someone who should have been on a different continent. The beaming young socialite and erstwhile acquaintance of Jean’s roommate’s boyfriend held both arms wide, her halo of dark curls dancing like they had their own wind machine. “Miss me?”
“Hildy?”
