Page 84 of Beached Wedding

“He was in my room. I had no choice.”

“Really?” Whitney paused in fingering through the magazines on the table between us. “Did he walk in on you and Fox sharing a room and come to a completely logical conclusion?”

Fliss lifted her gaze from the chair controller she was using to try out all the rolls and bumps of the mechanical massage.

The young women arranging instruments at our feet exchanged not-so-subtle looks of ‘this is going to be good.’

“No.” I scowled at Whitney. “Other way around, if you must know.” I smiled a thank you for the mimosa as it arrived and wet my dry throat. “We walked in on him coming out of the shower. Completely starkers.” It was an irrelevant detail that was a useful distraction.

“Ooh, I’d like to see that,” Izzy mused. “What did he want? Don’t say a wedding.”

“He did,” I admitted flatly. “I said ‘no thank you.’”

“How did he take that?” Izzy asked, growing more concerned.

“Not well.” I glanced at my phone, disturbed that there was nothing from Fox.

“Why not?Didhe jump to conclusions about you and Fox?” Whitney asked, taking on her Law and Order voice. “Better yet, do you continue to deny these accusations are unjustified?”

“Whit,” I said tiredly.

“I noticed he left right after you did last night.”

“You said you weren’t going to sleep with him,” Fliss said. “Did you?”

“Hold on,” Izzy demanded, putting up a hand. “Are you and Fox a thing? Why didn’t youtellme? Is that why he told Shane not to marry you?”

“No!Gawd.” I caught another wide-eyed ‘holy shit’ look zing between the techs. “We’re just friends. Were. Are. It’s complicated.” I clenched my eyes shut, wishing I could disappear. Wishing I could chew off the foot I’d shoved in my mouth because I was well and truly trapped.

“We’re going to need a bottle of tequila, lime wedges, and salt,” Izzy said sweetly to her tech. “Four glasses, and you’ll have to overlook Fliss’s lack of i.d. This is crash-course, Sister’s Traveling Pants, high-grade gossip. We cannot leave her in the field.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” I thought about storming out, but with my feet all soapy, I’d probably do a Bambi on ice and provide even more entertainment. Maybe even earn a trip to the hospital to get a bone set.

“So, what are you going to do?” Fliss asked. “Marry Fox instead? And go to Australia like you planned?”

“No,” Whitney answered for me. “What rebounds in Hawaii stays here.”

“It’s not a rebound! I don’t know what it is, but it’s not that.” What could it be, though? I’d cost him his best friend, his home, his career. No wonder he wasn’t texting me.

Howmuchdid he hate me? That was the painful question I was trying not to answer.

“It’s a rebound,” Whitney insisted. “You got dumped and you’ve leapt on the next available man. There’s no shame in it. I’ve done it—” She clammed up and smiled at her daughter.

“You won’t let me eat sugar cereal, but you’ll talk about casual sex in front of me? Good to know you’ll be totally fine when I start doing it.”

Whitney sent Fliss a stern look.

“One of the best things women can do for one another is avoid slut-shaming,” Izzy said to Fliss before taking a sip from her narrow glass. “And Fox is actually a pretty good cure for a broken heart.”

“Is that whyyouslept with him? To get over someone else?” I asked, wondering ifheknew that.

“He hasn’t exactly called. I don’t think he cares,” Izzy said dryly.

“Good grief. At this rate, I’m going to have to sleep with him just to keep up,” Whitney said under her breath.

“We can be sister wives,” Izzy said brightly. “Polyamory is all the rage these days.”

I shot her a look, wondering if that was a dig about my unintended thruple with Fox and Shane.

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