Page 102 of Rum Sips and Salty Lips

I pick up Sienna’s wedding dress on the mainland and explain the situation. They offer their condolences and provide a list of places to sell the dress. I think Sienna wants to throw red paint on it. But I’ll make her wait before she pulls out the art supplies.

When I get home, I’m surprised to find Beckett’s parents, Lisa and Mitchell, in my living room.

I step back to give them privacy, but Sienna stops me. “Wait, don’t go. We’re finishing up.” All their eyes are red.

Lisa smiles at me. “It’s so good to see you, Carina. Even under these circumstances.” She pauses for a moment. “We were waiting for you to get back. I met your neighbor, Orion. We stopped at Paradise for lunch and Alex introduced us. He mentioned you made some branded shirts for him. We’re interested in a similar arrangement. Something nice that says Coastline Beach House. People still ask about your classes. I can’t believe I never thought of this before.”

I smile, not wanting to cry at the mention of Orion and how he’s helping me even after our breakup. “Of course. I’ll send a proposal your way this week.”

“Take your time,” Mitchell says. “We want you to take care of Sienna first. We’re not going anywhere.”

Lisa gives me a conspiratorial look. “We promise you won’t have to deal with our son.”

Sienna sees them out. When she returns, she collapses on the couch. “They think he’s is a disgrace to the world. They’ll pay for everything nonrefundable,” she explains.

“That certainly takes some stress off,” I say, fixing the throw pillows. I can’t imagine her grief. Not only losing the future she thought she had, but to find out it was a lie…

I don’t blame her for being angry.

“They’re also paying for the honeymoon and will transfer his ticket to someone else.”

“Wait, really? That’s incredibly generous.”

“They made some suggestion that Beckett will be the one paying. Which I guess they can do since he works for them.”

“Who are you taking?” I ask.

“You and Haley can flip a coin,” she says.

I gape. It didn’t occur to me she’d take me. Not that we’re not best friends, but I don’t deserve a free trip to the Maldives. Haley absolutely does. She helped Sienna pick the resort. She chattered on for days about how good the food is there, wanting Sienna to take pictures of everything and to steal recipes from the staff.

“Take Haley. She basically planned your wedding. She deserves it,” I say. Orion will think I’m being a martyr about this, but this is fair to me.

“She did have to see Beckett’s penis.” She’s thoughtful as she says it.

“See, something to bond over.”

She’s able to laugh and that assures me she will be okay.

That evening,Bristol arrives with Autumn. Haley spent the afternoon in the kitchen making our favorite breakup snacks. The rosé might have been opened early.

No rum or cocktails today.

I took the longest shower of my life, thinking I could get all my tears out of my system and they wouldn’t plague me any longer.

It didn’t work, but I smile as I play hostess.

“I feel a little weird intruding on this,” Autumn says. “Since you’re all single and I’m not.”

“It’s fine,” Sienna says. “Christian is one in a million and we don’t hold other men to his standard.”

“Maybe we should.” Bristol pours us each a large glass of wine. “What? I know my brother is a great husband.”

We turn to Autumn. “He is. He is my best friend. I know he’s more your friend than I am, and I’m not around you often. He and I have different lives. It’s totally fine.”

We feel tension in the room. Something is going on in her marriage that she doesn’t want to talk about.

I can’t help but wonder if, for a brief period of time, Orion was my best friend. The person I shared my secrets with and spent all my time with.

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