Page 20 of Happy Trails & Honey Pots

“Well, then, I mean, if that’s the problem, I can solve that problem tout de suite.” Nadia snapped her fingers twice.

“Tout de suite?” I parroted.

“I’m learning French.”

“Ahh.” I nodded.

Nadia “learned” a new language every year, which was lovely in theory, but in practice ended up with her spending a few weeks training on Babble and then usually losing interest.

“What was our favorite movie growing up?” she asked.

“Elf,” I replied.

She waved her hand back and forth. “Favorite non-holiday movie.”

“Hoodwinked.”

“Favorite non-holiday, non-cartoon movie,” Nadia clarified.

My mind was blank for a second, and then it dawned on me, and I knew exactly where she was going with this.

“Selena.” I could not count the number of times Nadia and I had watched the movie,Selena. It had to be in the hundreds.

“Yes. How many people discovered Selena and her music after that movie? We had never heard of her before we watched it, and we became huge fans. I’m not saying that it will be the same for Austin. Obviously, it’s totally different. But people should know what he did for this country, the sacrifice he made, the sacrifice you made, AJ made, andthousandsof other families make every day. And, I mean, the reason the movieSelenaworked was becauseSelenawas so charismatic, and talented, and people were drawn to her, and Jennifer Lopez really captured that essence. Austin was charismatic; he had a presence and charm about him, but he was also a badass with a huge heart, and I think that Miles Happy Trails Hottie Ford can capture that; he can capture what made Austin so magnetic and such a badass. The other reason it was so successful was because Selena’s family was so involved in the making of it. They made sure that they got it right. So, if you want them to get it right, you need to get involved.”

I knew Nadia was right, but what would getting involved mean exactly? What did that look like? Before I could even begin to process that information, my phone rang. I checked and saw a number I recognized.

“It’s work. I need to take this.” I grabbed my purse and headed out onto the back deck.

As soon as I was alone, I answered. “Dr. Russell, hi, what can I do for you?”

“Zoe, um, this isn’t, you don’t… I wasn’t calling for work. I was actually calling to see if you’d like to have dinner.”

Say yes, I told myself. Elias was the perfect solution to my problem. I was clearly sexually frustrated, which was why my reaction to Miles had been so off the charts. Elias and I were compatible. It wasn’t fireworks, but the sex was good. It was fine.

He was everything I should want in a partner. So why would I rather separate salt from sugar than say yes to dinner with him?

“Um, you know I’m not really in the right headspace for that right now.”

“It’s just dinner?—”

“No, I know it’s just dinner, but I’m really not interested in a relationship of any kind.”

Elias was quiet. So quiet; in fact, I checked the screen to see if the call had dropped. It hadn’t.

I put the phone back up to my ear, and he finally spoke. “So, nothing has changed in three years, then?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Okay, well, let me know if it does.”

“I will, and Elias, I’m…sorry.”

“Don’t be. You don’t have anything to apologize for. Bye.”

“Bye.” I hung up the call and stood at the railing when I felt the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. It was the exact same feeling I’d had when Miles sat next to me at dinner, except then it had been the hairs on my arms. I turned around, and sure enough, he was there, standing behind me.

“How long have you been standing there?” I asked.

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