Page 34 of The Best Wrong Move

I can’t imagine Dom wanting a cat in his rental.

“Umm . . . I think Pru might just stay with me for the morning, then be gone again by tomorrow?”

“I doubt she’ll be going anywhere.”

Juju leans down to pick her up. Pru nuzzles her head into Juju’s neck, the rollerball in her chest growing louder.

“Why not?” I ask.

She breaks into a wide grin and nuzzles her right back.

“Because you’ve already named her.”

Chapter 22

“How was your date last night with Dom?” Juju drapes Pru over her shoulder, heading toward the lounge chairs out back like we’re already best friends. She pats the empty seat next to her, wanting me to sit down.

Are we really doing this right now? Me having coffee on my back deck with Rex’s new girlfriend?

She hits the seat next to her again harder, maintaining her grin.

I guess that’s ayes.

“Uh, it was good.” I sit down slowly. I’m a terrible liar, so I add, “I’m honestly not sure if it was a real date.”

The coffee she gave me is delicious. Way better than mine has been since I started learning how to make it, but I’m not surprised. I’m sure most things about her are perfect.

The balmy morning breeze sweeps past us while I squint out at the water. I didn’t think to grab my sunglasses, but the heat from the sun feels really nice on my face without them. A bird chirps in the trees nearby, sounding nothing like the nasty red-eyed pigeons back home. A half-dozen surfers are bobbing on the water, and I raise a hand to shield my eyes, wondering if one of them is Rex.

“It sure looked like a date to me!” she says, breaking my focus. “That red romper you were wearing is hot as hell. A solid upgrade from that bucket hat situation you had on earlier.”

I’m about to be offended, but when I look at her face, I can’t help but laugh. She’s not wrong. She pushes my leg playfully after successfully breaking the ice, and leans back in her chair, looking more relaxed.Dammit.She’s so likable.

“This view can’t be beat, right?” She sighs happily and takes a sip of her own coffee, pulling a stray hair back from her face, hugging Pru a little tighter.

“Is that Rex out there?” I ask as one of the surfers gets face-plowed into the water. They hit the surface so hard, it makes me cringe.

I hope it’s him.

“Sure is,” she says, shaking her head. “That man can do a lot of things right, but surfing is not one of them.” She pauses to watch him get smacked with another wave from behind and giggles before continuing. “Sometimes I think he might actually drown out there, so I try to keep an eye on him. Believe it or not, he seems to be improving by the day. You should have seen him when he first arrived.”

Rex pops out of the whitecap and then quickly gets hit by another wave coming in from behind. He jumps up out of the water a third time, like a resilient little cockroach.

Life is weird. The last time I was oceanside, Rex and I were waking up to a similar view in the same bed together. We spent a week last summer in the Maldives. Rex’s idea. It was a surprise gift to me. All I had to do was pack a bag.

I eye Juju suspiciously, wondering why she hasn’t recognized me from the viral clip of our failed proposal yet.

“So, are you here on an extended vacation or something?” she asks.

“Sort of,” I say slowly. “I’m finishing up a movie script.”

“You’re an actress?” She perks up and turns her whole body toward me, studying my face. “I knew there was something familiar about you! What else have you been in?”

“I’m a writer,” I clarify quickly. “I’m writing a script. Definitely not acting in it.” I feel myself turn pink.

“Oh wow, you’re here to write.” She looks genuinely impressed.

“That and I wanted to get away from New York for a while. My boss offered me a sabbatical of sorts. I figured I may as well choose a beautiful place to write from, plus the setting of the film is here.” I don’t feel like adding that I couldn’t go outside in New York without someone telling me they felt sorry for me. “It’s always been my dream. I figured, since I had the time, it was probably now or never.”

---