Page 88 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

We followed her out of the restaurant, heading toward the lobby. Jacqui stopped to chat with a few resort employees along the way, but she was disconcertingly silent with us—no smile, no effort to make polite talk. We found a set of vacant chairs near the lobby entrance, and by the time we sat down, whatever small smile had been on her face had completely disappeared.

“I’ll get right to the point,” she said. “I received an email from Phil last night. You see, Phil and I go way, way back. We both started in the industry around the same time, practically from nothing, and we worked hard to get to where we are right now. And he and I, even though we’ve had our share of disagreements in the past, we’ve always had each other’s backs. I’d trust him with my life.”

Both Alec and I nodded, the confusion in his face mirroring what I felt.

“And Phil’s gut instincts told him there was something notquite right about your relationship.” Her tone was calm, but her eyes were icy. “Something about the timing of Ellie showing up in Port Benedict being questionable. How it coincides too much with GPG looking into acquiring Mackenzie Constructions. I didn’t want to believe him at first, because I liked and admired you both. So he took it upon himself to dig a little deeper into your backgrounds.”

Blood drained from my face, and I could feel sweat beginning to pool on my forehead.Shit, shit, shit.I snuck a quick glance at Alec. He looked completely unfazed, but he was probably doing his best not to freak out.

“Phil seemed to think that you two hadn’t been in touch for a long time. He couldn’t prove it, because both your personal social media accounts are private, and neither of you are tagged together in any public posts anywhere. I tried to defend you, reminding him that you two were in a long-distance relationship for two years. Told him I’ve seen your photos on Facebook. That a lack of social media presence isn’t uncommon, because not everyone is hooked on posting every single facet of their lives online.”

“That’s very true,” I stammered. “I don’t post a lot on social media. Once every few months, maybe. Once a year, even. Alec is the same.”

“And our relationship is exactly what we’ve told you,” Alec replied, in a surprisingly cool, unflappable tone. “You know you can’t put too much stock in social media posts. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

I didn’t know how he could be so calm, but I was glad at least one of us was.

She was watching us, her eyes cold. “That’s true.”

“Yes. And just like we’ve told you, I’ve been in love with Ellie since—”

Jacqui cut him off. “I want you to listen to this.” She thumbedher phone, and I froze as Naomi’s confused voice echoed between us.

“They’re not a couple. They’ve known each other for ages, that’s true, but they’re not together. I would know if they were. Is this a prank call?” Her voice turned suspicious. “Wait, did you say you’re from thePort Benedict Gazette? And you’re writing an article about Alec and his company? What was your name, again?”

Naomi’s messages.She’d been trying to tell me about this call.

Jacqui switched off the recording, her icy eyes now blazing with fury.

“Phil did some digging, Ellie, and found that your family owns Pang Food Industries. He then contacted your brother and Naomi Park to ask some questions. Naomi said she had no knowledge that you two had been a couple for the past two years. She even confirmed it with Ellie’s brother. I had Carmel call Naomi herself to verify the stories last night.”

I closed my eyes, silently groaning.

“This morning, I went to take a closer look at your Facebook account, Alec. You know what I realized?” She laughed, her frosty tone sending chills down my spine. “Phil’s gut instinct was spot-on. You never posted any photos with her until several weeks ago. To be precise, a few days before my fundraising event.”

“I can explain,” Alec said.

“Are you going to spin me that lie about your long-distance relationship again?”

“The reason we never posted any photos online, or told Ellie’s brother and her best friend about our relationship, is because her parents think that I’m an unacceptable match for their daughter. Nobody knows we’re together. And I was never one to put up photos of my partners on social media anyway, until things got serious.”

“He’s right. My mother doesn’t approve of our relationship, sowe’ve been keeping it a secret from my family.” At least this part wasn’t a total lie.

“But after two years, we finally decided we couldn’t hide it any longer. Which is why Ellie moved out here to be with me.”

For a brief minute, Jacqui was quiet, her sharp eyes considering us. Then she shook her head, as if she’d reached a verdict. “No. I think the two of you never had any relationship, because it was all a lie.”

She went back to her phone, then turned it around, showing us the screen.

It was George’s viral proposal video, currently notching up close to twelve million views.

My breath hitched, while Alec swore softly under his breath, and the color had all but drained from his face.

“Phil managed to find this little gem. I had to watch the video three times to make sure that it was you, Ellie. At first, I thought the video was a few years old, because how can someone else propose to you if you were supposedly dating Alec? But then I realized the video was taken”—she turned the screen toward herself—“on New Year’s Eve, less than two months ago. Which doesn’t really fit with the timeline of your relationship, does it?”

I winced, as the guests in the video shrieked when the flame burst to life, before the video came to an end.

“So, Alec. Last chance.” She pocketed her phone, her eyes piercingly cold, but also, now I realized, with a trace of disappointment. “Care to explain how one of the country’s most eligible bachelors proposed to your supposed girlfriend only a couple of months ago?”

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