Page 38 of Fit for Love

That she does—and they’re still natural, as far as I can tell, though she’ll probably get a boob job soon.

Back in the day, I called Janie “Miss Natural” because she studiously avoided chemicals, fragrances, and dyes.Now, due to Mr.Suck-Up’s influence, she looks like she’s stepped out of one of Tierre’s shoots.The only nod to her former self is the lack of perfume, but that is merely to appease Marcus, the person Mr.Suck-Up is dying to please.

“Did you know that tonight’s dinner—and tomorrow’s reception—will be prepared by a Michelin-starred chef?”she asks.

“No.”And the Janie I knew never cared about things like Michelin stars; her main concern would’ve been whether the ingredients were non-GMO.

“I wonder which one,” she muses.“Landon thinks it’s one of Gordon Ramsay’s students, or maybe even the man himself.”

Right.Landon is her boyfriend’s actual name.“Listen, Janie, I’m pretty beat after the flight.Can we catch up later?”

“Of course,” she chirps.“See you at dinner.”

Maybe.If Emma and Marcus aren’t there, I won’t be either.

I claim my room, which turns out to have a glorious ocean view and is bigger than my Manhattan apartment.

Watching the waves break against the golden sand, I call Emma to find out about dinner.Turns out, she and Marcus are visiting her grandparents and won’t make it to the mansion until late.

That settles it.I’m going to order in some food.But first, I need to plan a proper vacation activity for after the wedding—because I told Mr.Boss the festivities would last four days, since I haven’t had an actual holiday in ages.

The question is, what do I do with my free time?

It’s February, so the ocean is going to be too cold for my liking despite the heatwave forecasted for the next couple of days.Nor am I into theme parks, especially if it’s going to be in the upper 80s, as predicted.Though something nature-y might be nice, something unique to Florida.

I end up settling on Swamp Sparkle Safari, which is an overnight airboat tour that sounds amazing.According to their spiel, the owner takes you to a remote swamp location that only he knows about, and you get to experience bioluminescence and encounter gators cavorting with turtles, along with a firefly light show that accompanies a frog serenade.

“I’m sold,” I tell the owner, Bubba, who picks up the phone when I call.“Book me for the day after tomorrow.”

“You’re not going to regret this,” he says in a charming Southern accent.“The cabin where you’ll be staying at just got renovated.”

“Thanks.I’ll see you soon.”

I’m glad I planned for this.Even if I weren’t desperate for a vacation, I’ll need the relaxation after the hard work of being civil to Ashton.

Vacation plans arranged, I order Mexican takeout and deal with the numerous emails and texts from Tierre that piled up while I was offline.

Once my inbox is blissfully empty, I open Adobe Illustrator and stare at the screen, hoping for a visit from the design inspiration fairy—whom I picture looking like a hybrid between Tinkerbell and Tierre.

I feel like I might be on the verge of an idea, but then the chiming of the doorbell interrupts my musings and the inspiration vanishes.Annoyed, I get up and go to the front door to get my food.

“Here are your orders,” the delivery guy says and gives me two bags, one heavier than the other.

“Orders, as in plural?”

“One of those is mine,” Ashton says from behind me.“The one with shrimp tacos.”

“Good choice.”The guy points at the heavier of the two bags.“That would be that one.”

Damn it.Now I want shrimp tacos.Mine are grilled steak and pork.

“Why are you ordering takeout?”I demand as soon as the delivery guy leaves.

“Because I figured you’d want to dine with your friend Janie.”

I know this might be hypocritical given that I’m avoiding him, but the idea that he’s avoidingmepisses me off.

“Fine.I guess Iwilljoin Janie and the rest of them.”

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