Page 45 of Match Made in the Maldives

“You gonna make me repeat everything?” I sigh. “First of all, Tanner.”

“Fuck that guy.”

“Dad.”

“Pardon my French.” He shrugs. “But he wants to cheat on my little girl? No way.”

“I thought you and Mom liked him.”

“We’re happy if you are. That’s all that has ever mattered. I’m worried you didn’t come talk to us about this.”

I direct my attention to the water, savoring the breeze in my hair. “Cass and Aaron are tough to live up to.”

“You don’t have to live up to them.”

“Sure. But I feel so much pressure to be incredible at everything. To be talented and successful and to have a great relationship. And to make it so no one worries about me. I don’t want you and Mom stressing over me and my life, especially with the cancer, and—I just want you happy.”

“Oh, LouLou.” He kisses my hair. “Your brother and sister, they…well, they’ve dealt with their fair share of disappointments too. You see the best stuff, because how often do we really get together? Once every month or two? Nothing’s ever perfect. Far from it. But your mom and I, we don’t care about that becausethat’s not life. So I promise you, the only person holding you to those standards is you.”

“It’s so much easier to let you believe I’m as amazing and successful as your other kids.”

“You are. You’re living your journey. We want to know what’s going on in it, good, bad, and ugly.”

We sit in companionable silence for a while, listening to the ocean water thwacking against the support beams below. I hadn’t considered before that I experience my siblings’ lives as a highlight reel—that all the harder stuff, the messier stuff, they deal with on their own. I’ve also chosen a creative career, so my career will look different from theirs. This whole time, I’ve been comparing my life to theirs—and to every other person on the planet—but our lives aren’t meant to be the same.

“So you and Finn, huh?”

“Yeah.” I chew my lip, anxious over what he says next. Finn values what my parents think—so do I—and my dad’s reaction will remind me what a terrible decision Finn and I made together.

“Love?”

“Mhmm. But we finished before we even started, I fear. What I feel for him, it’ll go away.”

“Hasn’t for him.”

I quirk a brow at him.

“Oh, you.” My dad sighs again and pats me on the arm. “That boy’s been looking at you with stars in his eyes for a long time.”

The edge of my mouth curls into a smile as I reflect on simpler times—times when Finn wanted me and only me. Remembering how that ended sucker-punches the happy thoughts.

“Doesn’t matter,” I say, shrugging the memories off. “For all I know, he’s going to pack up and leave for California soon.”

“He’s been looking for any reason to not take that job.”

Finn had gotten so excited in the resort library the other day with his innovative idea, but he may yet change his mind. Maybe a developer position in San Jose seems more appealing—a fresh start, away from me.

“We wouldn’t work out anyway, would we?”

“What makes you say that?” my dad asks.

“We—I mean, he’s Finn. He saw me when I had braces and was obsessed with One Direction.”

“And you’re still here, the two of you. In each other’s lives. Seeing each other through good and bad times like you have since childhood. Sneaking to each other’s hotel rooms in the villa.”

“You knew?” I bury my face in my hands, and my dad lets out a belly laugh. “Did you tell anyone?”

“No. I wasn’t sure, but you just confirmed my suspicions.”

---