Page 41 of The Trouble with Flings

“I had a great time,” I say, even though I think Fitz cast some kind of spell over me that I can’t shake. “I even learned to surf.”

“And get this,” Mia interrupts. “She ran into the same guy in Costa Rica that she hooked up with last summer on Silver Island, and they hooked up again.”

“What?” Shea exclaims. “The summer-fling guy?”

“You hooked up with a guy on my island and nobody told me?” Leni asks. “Who was it?”

Shitshitshit. I forgot she grew up on Silver Island. “Just a guy.”

Leni crosses her arms. “Name, rank, and serial number, please.”

They’re all looking at me expectantly.

“His name is Fitz.”

“Holy shit,” Leni says, wide-eyed. “There’s only one Fitz on that island. Did you hook up with Fitz Silver?”

My heart races. “Maybe. Why? Is there something I should know about him?”

“Nothing bad,” Leni says. “He’s a nice guy with a good reputation, and he definitely doesn’t talk about his conquests.”

“Wait! Jennifer! Is that Wells’s brother? Is that why you didn’t tell me his name?” Mia asks, connecting the dots.

“One and the same,” Leni answers.

Mia looks at me and says, “How could you keep that from me?”

“Because it’s over and done with, and I didn’t want you to make a thing out of it.”

“But it doesn’t have to be,” Mia says, then turns her attention to Leni and Shea. “She’s been all messed up for the last three weeks because she can’t stop thinking about him, and she won’t give him the time of day.”

“Would you stop? I have not been thinking about him, and it wasn’t like that,” I say. “You know I’m not looking for a relationship, and he wants a white picket fence, with two point five kids, a wife who plays pickleball and wears a sweater knotted around her shoulders and little white tennis shoes that never get dirty.”

“Ha!” Leni exclaims. “She nailed him.”

“See?” I say, trying to ignore the ache burrowing deep inside my chest. “And please tell me you’ll keep this conversation between the four of us. I do not need to be island gossip.”

“I’m not a gossipmonger,” Leni reassures me.

“And you know I’m not, either,” Shea agrees. “But if you don’t want him, maybe I should shoot my shot.”

“Pfft.” Leni looks at her like she’s crazy. “Hawk would break every bone in Fitz’s body if he touched you.”

Shea shakes her head. “Hawk and I are just friends.”

“That man does not want to be in the friend zone,” Leni says. “He looks at you the way Reggie looks at Mia.”

“That’s not a good comparison,” Mia points out. “Reggie’s got me so deep in the friend zone, I’ll never find my way out.” She looks across the room at him.

He’s had one eye on her all night. He lifts his chin, his eyes smiling more than his mouth does. Mia smiles, then turns her back to him and says, “How did we end up here? Three gorgeous women, all friend zoned.”

“Jen’s not friend zoned,” Shea points out. “She’s on the other side. She’s a friend zoner.”

They crack up.

My phone chimes with a text. I pull it out of my bag and quickly check it.

Fitz: Hey, wild girl. I want to be the first to wish you a happy New Year.