Page 40 of Ex Marks the Spot

“Court?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. That could’ve...” She releases a long breath. “Just, thank you.”

Stunned, it takes several seconds to come back with, “You’re welcome.”

It’s not until I’m almost asleep that I realize for the first time in six years, she didn’t call me Courtney.

CHAPTER 9

HARTLEY

Standings after leg 3, Argentina

1. Alaska Girls (Stephanie and Marcail)

2. A Team (Mitchell and Kennedy)

3. Wise Guys (DeAngelo and Big Mike)

4. Old Bay (Haylee and Kadeeja)

5. Kick Asspen (Treva and Boyd)

6. Bombshells (Gianna and Alexis)

7. Us

8. Niles (Padma and Bobby)

9. Loudmouths (Oscar and Janessa)

“No way! Hartley, did you know that?”

I look up from my notebook and find a handful of wide-eyed faces staring back at me. It’s the beginning of leg four and also the first equalizer, meaning no matter how many hours ahead the Alaska Girls were in Argentina, we all have the same itinerary to Queenstown, New Zealand. We’re currently at a layover in Sydney and I’ve been drawing to pass the time while everyone else has apparently been gossiping.

“Know what?” I sayto Kennedy.

“That your ex-boyfriend”—she points to Court, who’s sitting a few chairs down from me—“is from the same town that Raquel Ezra and Sienna Diaz live in.” Now she’s pointing to the tarmac, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the direction of Tennessee.

“Court never mentioned it when we were dating.”

“No, this happened after you two broke up. I just figured you would’ve made the connection.”

Suppressing a wry smile, I say, “I’ve pretty much spent the last six years actively not thinking about Court. And who are Raquel Ezra and Sienna Diaz?”

Jaw hanging open, Kennedy grips her skinny metal armrests and leans forward. “Are you kidding me? They’re only two of the most successful, amazing, gorgeous actresses of our time.”

Ah, that explains it. “I don’t watch much television.”

“They’removie stars, and I’m their biggest fan. I’ve literally seen every film they’ve been in at least fourteen times.” To Court, she adds, “Do they hang out in town? Can we come visit you after the show airs?”

“Easy there, tiger.” Mitchell gently eases her back into the uncomfortable airport chair. “Acting like a crazed fan isn’t going to earn you any invitations to Green Valley.”

They move on to a game of six degrees of separation while I go back to drawing in my notebook. I’m just glad they’re not talking about what happened last night. Or maybe it was two nights ago now that we’ve crossed the international date line?

Anyway, when we got to the airport in Argentina, the Bombshells and the Alaska Girls were swooning over Court’s display of muscular mayhem (their words, not mine) which invited a few questions from the teams that weren’t out with us. I gave a six-second rundown of the events and assured them it wasn’t worth any more of their time because I’d already moved on from it.

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