Page 23 of Resorting to Romance

“No! Of course not.” I look over at Chloe, who is stifling a laugh at my outburst. “I have to think.”

Her face morphs into an expression of soft concern. “Of course you do, but if you don’t hear all the details of what Brad wants to say—what he has in mind—you’ll still be in the dark. I think you have no choice but to talk to him. Do you want me to go with you? We could go tomorrow after breakfast is served—while Noah is at school.”

“I … don’t know.”

“Davis is still away through the weekend,” Chloe says.

Davis is Chloe’s husband. He’s a commercial pilot. Their untraditional rhythm of life means she’s home alone for days on end, and then Davis reappears as if he’s on vacation, filling their home and overtaking her routine day-in and day-out before he takes off again to fly around the world. He’s hilarious, larger than life, and ambitious. When Davis is around, you know it. When he isn’t, Chloe has this whole other Davis-free life which includes her being fully available to any of her friends at the drop of a hat.

“I know you’re right.” I curl my legs up onto the bench swing, letting Chloe lull me with the sway of her gentle push-pull on the floorboardsof the porch.

“Duh. I’m always right.” Chloe winks at me, but her eyes are warm and filled with compassion.

“I really want a Door Number Three. You know?”

“Ah, the elusive third option. Like, if confronting your ex and avoiding your ex weren’t the only two paths forward.”

“Exactly. I’ve driven myself half-mad trying to think of another choice all day.”

“And?”

“I’ve got nothing. I have to talk to him. And, while I’d rather phone him, I think we have to meet while he’s here. I’ll hear him out. I don’t have to do anything. Not yet.”

“You don’t have to do anything ever. I’d like to remind you that you have full custody of Noah. That man, who I was convinced loved you with this earth-shattering love—whom I know you loved deeply—signed off his rights to Noah while you were still pregnant. I still can’t get over it. I think you’ve moved on more completely than I have, and I wasn’t even the one he abandoned.”

Chloe stares at the other end of the porch as if an outdoor movie screen just unfurled to replay the demise of my marriage frame by frame.

“He left,” Chloe says in a monotone voice. “I didn’t even recognize who Brad was after you told him you were pregnant. It was this whole other side to him I never would have expected.” Then she turns to me and her whole demeanor transforms to something far more determined. She’s all mama bear when she says, “That’s a done deal. He doesn’t have a say in anything where you and Noah are concerned. The ball is one hundred percent in your court.”

I shut my eyes, allowing the evening breeze coming in off the beach to caress my cheeks and blow strands of my hair around my face. I don’t even lift a finger to swipe the errant wisps away. My breath is steady and purposeful. I need to stay in the moment. It’s too easy to run ahead down one hundred rabbit trails of thought … What if Brad starts to dominate our lives? What will Noah think? How will I adapt? What will change? What if Brad wants me too, not just a connection with Noah? … Instead of indulging my anxious inner ramblings, I allow the island to calm me: the sweet night air, the occasional sound of a gull, the distant roll of the waves a few blocks down at the beach.

I am here. I am safe. I can do this—whatever it is—one step at a time.

Chloe sits quietly, giving me space to process my thoughts.

“Okay.” I dig my phone out of my pocket and sit upright. “I’m going to text him.”

“Do you want me to text for you?”

“No. I’ve got this. I just want you on standby afterward, in case I’m … I don’t even know.”

“You’ve always got me—before, during, or after you see him. I’m here, Mila.”

I’m here, Mila.

Kai said those exact words before we faced Brad together. I feel the corners of my mouth turn up in a soft smile when I remember the way Kai placed his arm around me, the way he stood next to me like a tower of strength—a shelter from the storm.

I shake my head. Then I pull out the business card Brad gave Kai, enter the number into my contacts, and type out a message.

Mila: I can meet tomorrow morning after Noah is at school. I’ll come to the resort. We can meet in the restaurant off the lobby—Horizons.

Not even five seconds pass before my phone buzzes with a reply.

Brad: Thank you. I appreciate this more than you know. Does 9:00 work?

Mila: 9:00 works.

The reply dots show on my screen and disappear a few times. Nothing more comes through, so I pocket my phone and look over at Chloe.

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