Page 75 of Holiday Romance
“That it’s been going on much longer,” I say, ignoring him. “Mark cheated on me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“They’re at thebeach,” I say, going to the next photo. “Drinking out ofcoconuts.”
He starts to nod before shaking his head when I just glare at him. “Moll, I won’t lie to you; I am extremely bad at girl talk so this entire conversation is just making me nervous that I’ll say the wrong thing.”
“Well, tough,” I snap. “Because you’re sitting next to me for seven hours, which means you have to contribute to my breakdown. That’s the friendship rule.”
“But is it aplanerule,” he begins as I start scrolling through Mark’s last few posts. Bitterness stabs me with each one like my heart is breaking all over again.
I’ve been dumped three times in my life and each time it’ssucked. It’s suckedballs. And—
“I think that’s enough of those,” Andrew says, taking the packet of toffee from me. “I’m pretty sure everyone here would prefer if those vomit bags remained decorative for the rest of the flight.”
I swallow the lump of sugar in my mouth, aware that I’m acting like a child throwing a tantrum and yet unable to stop. Between Mark and more responsibility at work, some days it felt like I was hanging on by a thread.
“That’s what ‘meeting someone else’ means,” I say, continuing the conversation I’d been having in my head. “It means ‘I’ve been cheating on you.’” I’d just been too stupid to realize it. No one breaks up with someone because they see another person across the street and go, “Yes! Her!” He would have started something with her weeks ago. Maybe not going all the way, but emotionally moving on before blindsiding me on a rainy Tuesday night with a well-rehearsed speech and a packet of tissues because he knew I was going to cry and I did. “Can I have my toffee back?”
“No.”
I scowl as Andrew shoves the packet down the side of his seat. He’s wearing a sweater with a dog on it that says,Dachshund through the snow, which honestly just feels a little lazy, but he told me his girlfriend had bought it for him so it’s not like I can tell him that.
“I think you should get dumped too so we can be miserable together,” I say at the thought of her.
“Thatwaspart of our contract.”
Contract. Ugh. I was still waiting to hear back from one of my clients about—
“Stop thinking about him,” Andrew says.
“I’m not. I’m thinking about work.”
“Just as bad. Why don’t you think aboutHome Alone 2colonLost in New York?”
“Nobody says the title like that.”
“Because they don’t have the proper respect forHome Alone 2colon—”
I cut him off with a groan as he starts flicking through the options on my screen. He’s already loaded up the movie on his.
“You’re going to marry Alison,” I say as he plugs the headphones in. “You’re going to marry Alison andIam going to have to hook up with someone at your wedding. Is your brother still single?”
“You’re not hooking up with my brother.”
I huff at the clear dismissal in his voice. “Why not? I’m a delight. You don’t want me in your family?”
“Not like that, no.”
“I’d settle for a third cousin,” I say, but that only seems to make him madder.
“No settling at all.”
“Well, I’m going to have to dosomesettling seeing as I can’t seem to hold down a relationship for more than a year. I mean, there’s got to be something wrong with me at this stage.” I regret the words as soon as I say them, wincing as Andrew glances at me. Why not just lay out all my insecurities for everyone in my life to know? Why not everyone on the plane! Seems like a great plan. Super healthy. “Sorry,” I say. “I may or may not be having a bad day, I don’t know if you can tell.”
Andrew doesn’t respond, just holds up an earbud until I accept it, slotting it in place and placing a finger over the play button so we can sync. But Andrew doesn’t move, still watching me with that serious expression that makes me desperate to fill the silence.
“Okay, so I may have overreacted about the coconuts as well. But—”
