Page 34 of Falling Madly
“Hi! It’s Teresa. I?—”
“Teresa? Do you have a new number?”
“This is my colleague’s phone. I’m stuck in Cozy Creek. We came to look at an office space and I lost the car key, and my phone is locked inside the car.”
Her voice rose in alarm. “Oh, no! What are you going to do?”
“It’ll be fine. We’ll get the spare key tomorrow, I think. But we have to spend the night.”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“Oh, don’t worry. There’s a cabin…”
I’d talk Trevor into letting me stay at that cabin. It had to be a better option than the empty office.
“Wait. It’s Valentine’s Day! Wes is taking me out tomorrow because we couldn’t get a babysitter for tonight. But weren’t you supposed to go out with Richard?”
“Yeah…” I took a deep breath and explained the situation. I had to find the volume buttons on Trevor’s phone when the expletives began flying. My sister was the sunny one compared to me, but she could be quite expressive.
“How are you?” I asked, to get us back on track. “How’re the kids?”
She gave me a quick update on her two toddlers before jumping straight back into our earlier topic. “I told you, didn’t I? That guy was as dry as a piece of toast. No passion! Nothing. You can’t fall in love with someone like that. He doesn’t have the necessary parts.”
I almost laughed at her choice of words, despite the bitter taste in my mouth. “He seemed plenty passionate with his ex.”
She sighed so forcefully the speaker rattled. “Okay, fine. But you guys had no zing! I don’t understand why you waste time on anyone who’s not crazy about you. You can’t fall in love unless you’re both ready to jump, headfirst. Why would you settle for anything less?”
The memory of Trevor and me jumping into the pool resurfaced, and I pushed it down. “Well, you found it straight out of school, so I don’t think you realize how rare it is.”
I didn’t even feel like defending myself. She was right. After their first night together, Wes had stayed up to learn Suze’s favorite song on the guitar so he could play it to her before breakfast. After our first time, Richard had ordered me an Uber before ordering himself a pizza. I’d settled for a lot less.
“It’s out there! And you’re a catch!” Suze insisted.
I heard the soundtrack of a kids cartoon in the background.
“And what did you do today that wasn’t work?” she finally asked. “Quite a bit, I assume, since you’re out of office.”
“I’ve done absolutely no work since one p.m.,” I announced proudly. “I’m freaking out over the emails I’ve missed.”
“Oh, right! You locked your phone in the car!That’swhy you’re not working.” She laughed as if she’d figured out a mystery.
“Pretty much.”
“I guess this is the only way for you to vacation.” I heard the smile in her voice. “Even if it is in Cozy Creek. Is it… awkward?”
“I’ve already run into Peony and Mom’s nosy friend Selma. She runs a gift shop now.”
“Peony? Oh, my God! How is she? Did she ever… graduate?”
“I don’t know. She seemed well. Married. Three kids.”
“Oh.” Suze sounded surprised. “After what happened with Julian, she seemed so quiet and depressed. I was worried she’d never be okay.”
There it was. Julian. She’d casually dropped the name I’d been trying to block out for such a long time. Julian Neville. The guy I never wanted to see again.
“I don’t want to talk about him,” I pleaded. “I’m only here for one night, maybe two, so I’m really hoping I don’t run into him.”
“I’m sure you won’t,” Suze said in a soothing tone. “Just stay in the cabin of… who’re you with again?”
