Page 57 of The Love Trick

“Oh, nonsense.” She waves me off. “I know what it’s like to nurse a broken heart. You need a strong drink and whatever else fits your taste buds.”

I giggle, unable to help it, and order a mimosa. As soon as it’s brought to me, I turn to the woman and extend my hand. “I’m Addy.”

“Mary.” She takes it and gives my fingers a light squeeze. “Now, what brought you to Hawaii? Were you on vacation with that disaster of a man up there?”

I laugh. “He was my date for my sister’s wedding. He was… He was supposed to be my fake boyfriend because my family is crazy—well, my grandparents are…” I go on to share theentireexperience with this stranger named Mary. She listens intently, nodding along.

“Wow. It sounds like quite a predicament.”

“Doesn’t it?” I groan, now on my second drink. “It’s ridiculous that I’m even feeling this way. Meanwhile, he’s not bothered in the slightest.”

She knits her brows together. “I wouldn’t say that. Considering he’s been stealing glances back here every chance he gets—which I’m afraid will probably leave him with a sore neck tomorrow.” Mary giggles and shakes her head. “But tell me, Addy, what made you dare him to kiss you again?”

I pause and take a sip of my mimosa, trying to gather my thoughts before answering. “Honestly, I don’t even know. I guess I wanted to see if the sparks were real or just part of the act.”

Mary raises an eyebrow. “And were they real?”

“They were…” I trail off, remembering the soft press of his lips against mine, how it felt like coming home and being lost at the same time. “But it doesn’t change anything. According to him, we’rejustfriends, and that’s all we can ever be,” I say quickly, just as the flight attendant brings me my third drink.

Blaze gets up from his seat and heads toward the bathroom—which means he has to walk right past me. I look away, catching the scent of his cologne before he even gets to my row. And wouldn’t you know it, Marywavesat him. I force my gaze up, and Blaze shakes his head, his expression impossible to read.

“He strikes me as being a complicated man,” Mary muses as soon as he’s out of earshot. “I think he’s got baggage. Any man that looks at you like that but doesn’t want to be with you … he’s got to have baggage.”

“How do you know all this?” I ask, angling my body in her direction. “You seem way too good at reading people.”

“Well, quite frankly, it comes with the territory of being a therapist, but…”

Oh my gosh. I’ve been talking to atherapistthis whole time?

I rub my forehead, feeling my face heating up from embarrassment. “I bet you think I’m crazy.”

She laughs. “Oh goodness, no. I get it. I get what you were doing with your family, too. You’re about to be thirty, and it sounds like you’re under some immense pressure. As for what’ll happen between you and your friend here, I can’t answer that. You’d have to go to a psychic forthatkind of advice.”

I snort. “Yeah, no thanks.”

We both burst into laughter.

Blaze walks past us for a second time to return to his seat. As he settles back in, I steal a glance at him, my heart fluttering in my chest. Despite everything, despite the confusion and the mixed signals, I can’t deny the pull I feel toward him.

Mary leans in closer, her voice low as she speaks. “Are you in love with him?”

I swallow hard and look out the window, watching the clouds pass by as we soar above them. The question lingers in the air, heavy and poignant.

Am I in love with Blaze?

It’s a question I’ve been avoiding confronting since the night he kissed me at the wedding.

“I … I think I might be,” I finally admit, a lump forming in my throat. “But it’s … complicated.”

Mary’s expression softens as she places a comforting hand on mine. “Love is never simple, dear,” she says gently. “But sometimes, we have to be brave enough to confront our feelings head-on. Life is too short to hold back our hearts. You should tell him how you feel.”

I smile and nod … but nausea churns in my stomach at the thought of telling Blaze how I truly feel. Because as inspiring as Mary’s little speech about love sounds, she doesn’t know Blaze like I do.

And I already know how a conversation like that with him would end.

Which makes this all the more heartbreaking…

Chapter Twenty-One

---