Page 34 of Match Made in the Maldives

“Okay.” I dissolve into his embrace, wishing our brand-new relationship didn’t have so much uncertainty. But that’s how the start of relationships go, isn’t it? “In that case, this feels…I don’t know, big somehow. And I don’t like not telling people.”

“Yeah. Lied out my ass with Aaron this afternoon. If he goes on about some girl he’s convinced I’m obsessed with, that’s you.”

“Obsessed, huh?” I snuggle closer to him, wrapping my top leg around his. “Well, my family worships the ground you walk on. Something’s weird about not telling them what’s going on.”

“You didn’t talk to them about your breakup.”

“Ouch.”

“Sorry,” he says, planting a kiss on the side of my head. “But I want to understand why that’s different.”

“I was humiliated. This is the opposite. It feels good. I think I might burst if we hide this much longer. So what do you think?”

“You want to tell them?”

I nod.

“How ’bout after the trip?” he offers. “Take our time, do it right.”

I catch myself forcing us into something more serious, which might end up pushing him away the way I did with Tanner. One thing at a time. I’ll make sure my parents have an incredible time here, then worry about everything else later. I nod in agreement with Finn, looking up at him through sleepy eyes.

“You’re beautiful.”

“Thanks. It’s the orgasm.”

“No, it’s you,” he says, kissing me on the head. Then, softer, “It’s always you.”

Chapter Twelve

Finley

I go to the library to see Lou—not because I have something in particular to tell her, and not because I plan to invite her to do something with me. Just because she’s in there and I’ve been thinking about her and I don’t want to do anything else.

“Again with the computer,” Aaron says as we enter the room. “Did you not get the memo? Vacation, LouLou. Vacation.”

“This is a library,” she whispers, her eyes flitting to me, then back to her brother. “Quiet, please.”

The resort has a multifunction space with an indoor gym, a kid’s play area, and shelves upon shelves of books to borrow. Unlike the villa or restaurants, this building has tall ceilings with windows only at the top so the light diffuses. It’s a quiet refuge from the sunshine. Scattered among the interior are bizarre-shaped orange chairs—like pods from a science fiction movie that sort of close out the rest of the world when someone sits in them. Lou’s got her legs crossed and her laptop resting on the pillow in her lap.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Aaron, for real,” she says. “Go away.”

“You’re literally in paradise, and you’re spending time on your computer.”

“She’s fine,” I say, and Lou’s face softens. “Didn’t you want to get a book for Mel?”

“You’re right. ‘Something smutty with cowboys.’” He squints at some bookshelves built into the wall. “How’s this place organized?”

“Western romance’ll be that way.” Lou points to an alcove down the hall.

Once Aaron’s out of earshot, I claim the pod chair near Lou’s. “Is that actually where the romance books are?”

“They’re notnotthere,” she says with a sly smile as she clicks on her screen. “Nothing’s shelved by genre. So if he’s hunting for something in particular, he can hunt for it way over there and stop annoying me.”

A man and his kid of nine or ten pause outside the children’s area and examine a bulletin board before heading into the room. I scan the lobby, then snoop at Lou’s computer to find her working on some kind of 3D bottle label. A soda with a retro-y, 70s sort of vibe.

“Didn’t catch you leaving.” I keep my voice low, almost inaudible.

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