Page 60 of Sunset Serenade
Unfortunately, she wasn’t that lucky. Craig was nowhere to be found. He mentioned he was looking for another buyer, so she assumed he was busy with that and not busy avoiding her. He’d told her to go forward with finding a match for Brett, too, saying it was important not to spook him or let him onto the fact that he was about to lose his chance to buy the company.
There were some lovely candidates for Brett – women closer to his age, which was good – but Rose thought they weretoolovely, especially for him. It felt wrong to subject any woman to his boorishness.
Mid-week, Rose changed her tactics and started looking for someone who wouldn’t mind dating a brute in exchange for material comfort. To her surprise, she couldn’t find anyone like that. The whole “gold digger” stereotype wasn’t proving to be real.
Friday afternoon, Rose gave up waiting on Craig and flew back to the island. Lucy had planned a girls’ night where they would watch old movies, binge their favorite candy, and paint their nails.
Rose was looking forward to it. She felt guilty about how busy she’d been, and she thought showing up with a bag full of Reese’s Pieces would buy her forgiveness.
The candy did nothing. As soon as she walked in the door, Lucy started.
“Busy kissing Craig all week?” she asked. “Or was it Greg?”
Rose groaned and flopped onto the couch. “It wasn’t Greg.”
“What happened?” Lillian set down a tray with three mugs of hot chocolate, then slid into the seat next to her. “I thought you said dinner with him was nice.”
“It was nice seeing him, and it was nice talking to him. I got clarity about our relationship.”
Lucy crossed her arms. “What relationship?”
“Lucy!”Lillian shook her head and snatched away a bag of Twizzlers. “Why do I have to yell at you allthe time?”
Lucy stuck out her tongue.
“It’s fine.” Rose waved a hand. “Lucy was right about him.”
Her mouth popped open. “I was?”
“He’s the same person, and not in a good way. He broke up with his fiancée because he couldn’t decide what he wanted. And she was perfect!”
Lucy scrunched her forehead. “She kind of was.”
“He still wasn’t happy with her.” Rose sighed. “He sort of tried to get back with me.”
Lillian gasped, immediately covering her mouth with her hand. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” Rose stared at the floor. “It was so disappointing. I wasn’t excited. He’s just…not who I thought he was.”
Lucy picked up the tray of mugs and handed them each one. “I say we raise a hot chocolate toast to Rosefinallywaking up and kicking that loser out of her life.”
“I’m sorry,” Lillian said. “I know this must be hard for you.”
“I’m not even upset about Greg. That’s the weird thing.” Rose looked at Lucy, who was still cheerfully waiting for them to raise their mugs.
Rose obliged. “To Lucy, for being right about Craig, too.”
They clinked mugs, and Lucy was mid-swig when she started coughing and choking. “Wait, what? Craig’s in love with you?”
Rose covered her eyes. “I think it’s the other way around.”
“You’rein love? With yourboss?” A smile spread across Lillian’s face. “You are turning into Lucy.”
Lucy let out a bellowing laugh. “I forgot I did that. That was bad.”
“Thisis bad,” Rose said. “I can’t be in love with him. I’ve been lying to him from the moment I met him. It’s a disaster.”
“He’s way cuter than Greg,” Lucy said. “And much more successful. Your tastes are really maturing.”
