Page 103 of Hotter in the Hamptons

Summer was ending. Real life was calling her back. There was no hiding from it. Not even here. She had the feeling she’d overstayed her welcome in East Hampton.

Wherever you go, there you are, she thought.

“I think I want to go back to the city,” she replied.

“It does feel like it’s about that time, doesn’t it?” He rubbed circles on her back. “Giancarlo comes back after Labor Day anyway.”

“Maybe we could rent a car this time,” she said. “So I can take the damn sewing machine with me.”

“You better,” he said, laughing. “And if you ask nicely, I’ll even help you carry it.”

Lola was too sad to laugh with him, but she appreciated the sentiment.

“I wonder if Justin will be in my apartment when I get home,” she mused.

“If he is, you can just come stay with me,” Ryan offered.

She pulled away and squeezed his arm. “That’s really nice of you, but you don’t actually want me living in your space.”

“Maybe not long-term, but the offer still stands.”

“Thank you,” she said, overcome with appreciation for Ryan, her best friend in the whole wide world, who had seen her through so much. “I probably don’t say this enough, but I literally don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“And you know what?” he replied. “You never have to find out.”

Chapter 15

Hector held the door for Lola with a warm smile on his face.

“It’ssonice to see you, Ms. Fine,” he said as she wheeled her suitcases through the threshold. “I hope you had a lovely summer.”

“It was definitely full of surprises.” Lola grimaced.

The Lower East Side lobby was exactly as Lola had left it: lit beautifully with mid-century modern wall sconces, the concrete floors pristine, a lit Diptyque candle at the front desk that smelled of bitter orange. It felt strange being back in this unchanged space when she had changed so much. Like a decade had gone by, not one summer.

Behind her, Ryan was struggling with the huge Amazon Prime box that contained her sewing machine, likely regretting his offer to carry it.

“Do you want us to have someone send that up for you?” Hector asked.

Ryan promptly put it on the ground. “That would be great,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

They were both a little gross from their journey; they’d hit horribletraffic on the LIE, and it had taken them nearly five hours instead of the estimated three. Ryan had wanted to drive the whole way, which was fine with her. They’d stopped for lunch at a truck stop Burger King, which Ryan made a fuss about and Lola secretly loved. She could eat fries forever. Back in the car, though, they both smelled like fast food.

Other than that, Lola had been surprised at how emotional the drive back to the city was. The moment she saw the skyline stretching out across the horizon, she felt a pull toward it. Like the city itself had actually missed her. Like it had been different because of her absence.

She forgot how good it felt to belong somewhere—how important to be grounded.

Ryan hugged her goodbye and left, saying he was double-parked. “Call me later,” he said, blowing a kiss before disappearing.

She stepped into the elevator and, as she pressed the button for the penthouse, wondered if Justin would be there. Her heart pounded harder with each floor she ascended.

Emmett had had to go back to the city a few days before them, which meant Lola and Ryan had spent their last three days in East Hampton doing everything they’d neglected to do together this summer. They went kayaking in Montauk. They spent an afternoon walking around Longhouse Reserve, with its lush gardens and sculptures. They rented Jet Skis and zoomed around the ocean waves, racing each other. They ate clam chowder at a local diner, far away from Main Street’s hiked-up prices.

She’d avoided Aly for those three days, which hadn’t been hard—Aly was nowhere in sight. They didn’t see each other across their respective lawns, didn’t run into each other on the sidewalk. It was like Aly had gone into hiding.

Lola missed her terribly but was also too pissed off to reach outagain. The ball was in Aly’s court; Lola was fine to spend her final days with Ryan instead. With Ryan, she knew where she stood.

And then, when they’d exhausted all the tourist attractions and felt convinced they’d maxed out their time, they packed up all their stuff, cleaned Giancarlo’s house, and Uber’d to the rental car place. She didn’t try to say goodbye. There was no point.

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