“I’m fine,” I lied, clearing my throat and forcing a smile to my lips. “Everything okay at work?”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. The golden-brown undertone of the nearly black strands glowed in the early morning sunlight shining on the deck we were seated on. Giving me a brilliant grin, he nodded.
“It’s all good. That was the contractor working on the boutique hotel we’re busy with here. We’ve got about another month left here, finishing the renovation I’ve been working on with my partners. Then it’s two months in Spain where we’ll be building a hotel on the coast.”
Excitement shone from his features as he reached across the table and enveloped my hand in his. “I’ll walk you back to the hotel when we’re done here and then I’ve got a meeting, but I should be back early this afternoon. Since we know now that we’ve got another month left here, I thought we could go apartment shopping later. I’m tired of the hotel, and if we get a short-term rental place, we’ll be able to settle in and play house. It’ll be fun, right?”
I tried to muster up some enthusiasm, but I was having trouble. “Sure. It could be fun. Do you usually get apartments while you’re over here? If not, I’m okay with staying in the hotel.”
“I’ve done it a few times when I know it’s going to be an extended stay. A hotel is great, but only for so long. We’ll have the comforts of home this way and we’ll finally be able to do our own laundry. I know it’s been bothering you that we have to keep sending it out.”
“That’d be good,” I said, and it would be because at least I’d be able to clean our own place and, like he pointed out, do our own laundry, but I also had a feeling it would be too little, too late. Cleaning and laundry were only some of the things I missed, and I just didn’t know if only getting those back would be quite enough at this point.
What would I do when I was done cleaning? It was only the two of us and it wouldn’t take me very long, so I would be in much the same position as I was now.
“Great,” he said enthusiastically. “I made some inquiries yesterday, so I’ll let the realtor I contacted know to line up some places for us to see this afternoon.”
He glanced down at his watch, apologies in his eyes when he lifted them back to mine. “Shit, Em, I’m so sorry, but I have to run or I’m going to be late. I’ll see you this afternoon, though. Have fun today.”
Getting up, he came over to my side of the table and slid his index finger in under my chin, raising it and smiling against my lips as he pressed a lingering kiss to them. “I can’t wait to live with you officially. You’re an angel, baby. See you later.”
“See you later,” I replied, and then he was gone, leaving me alone again.
Since he paid on his way out, I didn’t even need to do that when I finally decided to make my way back to the hotel. Once again, the day stretched out ahead of me like an empty vacuum and a heavy sigh escaped me as I lay down on our bed.
Thoughts about home and my friends tumbled through my head, making me ache for the familiarity and the sense of belonging that came with those things.I wonder how Teddy is holding up.She must be feeling this, too.
Rolling over, I got my phone from the nightstand and scrolled to her number. It had been ages since I’d last spoken to her, and I missed her more than anyone else from home.
Half surprised when she picked up, I smiled when she immediately started gushing about their cruise. “Oh, my God. Emma! I’m so glad you called. I’ve been meaning to get you on the phone for days. You should see this ship. It’s like a freaking theme park for adults on this thing. There are too many swimming pools to count, live entertainment venues, a shopping mall, and so much else.”
“That sounds amazing. I’m so glad you guys are enjoying it.”
She scoffed happily. “Enjoying it is an understatement. We’re loving this thing. I’ve heard there are people who sell their houses and opt for living on cruise ships year-round. I always thought it was insane, but I’m starting to come around to the idea. And the ports! Oh, the ports. Every place comes with its own, special brand of magic. I so wish you were here.”
“Does that mean you’re finally starting to get a bit homesick?”
“If by that, what you really mean to ask is, am I missing you? Then the answer is yes. We’ll always be best friends, though. Even if I am seriously considering selling the house in favor of living on a cruise ship.”
I laughed lightly but shook my head at her even if she couldn’t see it. “You’d really do that? What about Rockdale?”
“Rockdale schmockdale.” She giggled. “Obviously, I don’t mean that. I’m just not ready to go back yet. How is our little town, though? Everything still fine?”
Ah crap.I hadn’t factored in that I might have to lie to her as part of our conversation. “It’s all good. Nothing new to report that I’m aware of.”
“Are Scott’s plants still alive?”
According to the landscaping service Colt hired to look after them.“Yep. They’re doing good.”
“That’s great. Thanks for looking after them for so long. I assume it is you looking after them now, right? Colt must’ve taken off by now.”
“Uh, yeah. He has. I think he’s in Paris or something.” I winced at the outright lie, feeling the intense guilt creating knots in my gut. “I have to go, but I’m glad we got to talk a bit. Enjoy the rest of your trip and we’ll talk again soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she said slowly, sounding confused that I was getting off the phone so soon. “Are you okay, Em? You sound a little off.”
“I’m fine.”Holy emeralds. When did I start lying to Teddy this much?“Just a rush, but I wanted to make sure you guys were still alive and having fun.”
Clearly hesitant to believe my lies, she asked a few more questions before I finally made up an excuse and hung up. I wished I could’ve just told her the truth, but Colt hadn’t given me the go-ahead yet and it was just one more thing that wasn’t working for me anymore.