Page 87 of No Place Like You

“Why don’t you ride with me?” Mr. Marquez says, approaching my side. He towers over me by almost four extra inches as he nudges me toward one of the golf carts, the other already occupied by David, Hayden, and Ashton. I hook my golf bag over my shoulder and follow along.

“You and Hayden have been friends for a long time, I hear,” he calls over the high-pitched whirring of the engine. I peer at him, his eyes on the road ahead of us and large hands gripped on the steering wheel.

It’s not really a question, more like a statement of fact, but I nod.

“He seems like a good kid,” he adds. “Natalia’s last boyfriend, I didn’t like him. Her mom loved him, but I didn’t think he could take care of her.”

I continue to listen silently as he takes a tight turn.

“My girls, they have quite a bit of spunk in them,” he continues. “And they need someone who’s patient. Someone who’s going to encourage that spunk, not try to smother it.”

That’s exactly who Lucy is. She’s got spunk and determination and so much courage and tenacity. But what’s even more special about her is that she doesn’t even know these things about herself. Her humility is what makes her so unbelievably amazing. She shines and glows without puttingon a show. Without even trying, and that unassuming brightness burns so much brighter because of it.

And because of that, I can never ask her to give up everything she worked for, for me. I’m so goddamn proud of her. She deserves someone who would never hold her back, and I don’t know if I can be unselfish enough to be that person for her. Already, I could see the guilt seep through Lucy’s voice when she told me about the job offer. We should be celebrating, toasting her success in excess, but there was no room for that yesterday. Just a few loose tears and unspoken words.

“But Hayden…I think he might be up for the challenge.” Mr. Marquez looks at me, waiting for a response.

“I think so too,” I finally say. And that earns me a nod and a smile.

“As a father, you worry about these things. What kind of partner they bring home, if they’re happy and safe.”

He parks the cart at the same time the guys exit theirs ahead of us, heaving their heavy bags out onto the grass. The engine dies, and he turns to face me.

“I want to trust that my girls have pretty good judgment,” he says sternly as he faces me. “And maybe having you and Hayden as a part of our family is a good thing. God bless the men who have to deal with their sass…” He pauses to let out a low whistle. “But I think you’re up for the challenge too.”

He walks away with his golf bag and leaves me in the cart equally speechless and hopeful.

When we get back to the hotel, a little sunburned and dehydrated, it’s about time for dinner. And since Nat’s parents want to take the girls out to dinner, just the five of them, the guys settle for room service or deli style food from the small convenient store next to the hotel gift shop. I chose the latter and linger on the display case holding various sandwiches ranging from egg salad to salami and pepperoni subs.

“Oh.” I turn around from the line consisting of two other people ahead of me to find Lucy. Her face is glowing, giving off that freshly scrubbed look, and her wet hair is pulled back in one of those claw clips with the bottom ends trailing down her neck. “Hi.”

“Hey.” I step out of the line when a man approaches it with a tube of sunscreen in his hand. “Did you enjoy the spa?”

She nods, smiling proudly with her fingers splayed out in front of me, palms facing down. “I got my nails done.”

I smile when I catch a glimpse of the pale pink polish glistening against the fluorescent lights and resist the urge to pinch her cheek. “They look very pretty.”

“Thank you,” she says, suddenly bashful. “Dinner?” She gestures toward the sandwich and Doritos in my hand.

I nod. And she nods too, pulling her lips between her teeth. “I hear listeria does wonders for sunburns, so…”

She laughs, pressing her index finger into my pink forearm, where it blanches white for a second and goes back to red. “Well, let’s hope it does the trick because that pretty green dress I got does not contrast well with red for the occasion. Gives off a Christmas-y vibe.”

There was a fifty-fifty chance we’d be partnered up at the ceremony, and it looks like the odds were in my favor when Nat and Hayden gave us our altar assignments. And I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t fist pumping into the air thinking about spending the walk down the aisle with Lucy’s arm linked through mine.

“But I thought Christmas was good. You know, hot chocolate, presents? Snow?”

She scrunches her face and shakes her head. “Not for a tropical wedding. Too political.”

“Ah,” I answer, omitting the expectedI see. I huff out a sigh. “I was actually going to text you.”

“Oh?”

“Just to see if you wanted to, you know, grab your own serving of questionable deli meat and join me, but I heard your parents?—”

“Lucy, don’t forget the—oh, hey, Dex.” I look to see Nat round the entrance to the store.

“Hi, Nat.”

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