Page 37 of The Fallacy of True Love
“Seriously? That’s amazing.” To Eric, he said, “I should introduce you to my sister’s fiancé. He’s really into sustainability.”
“I’m down. Does he live in Manila?”
A strange look flashed across Alonzo’s face. “Yeah.” He seemed to want to add something else but held back.
It had me wondering what he was hiding.
I shouldn’t. I knew too much about him as it was. Any more was excessive. Dangerous.
Good thing he’d be out of my life in a couple of hours.
Chapter Thirteen
Alonzo
I hadn’t expected much from my last night in Juana. I thought about taking an earlier bus, but I wasn’t ready to leave yet. Returning to Manila meant facing reality. Having to explain my disappearance to my family and dealing with Dani.
I was all for accepting the facts and taking action—and I would.
Tomorrow.
For now, I enjoyed my fill of Juana’s salt-soaked breeze, laidback vibe, and in a surprising twist of fate, some good company too.
Cam might not have wanted me at their table, but Nikki and Eric welcomed me so easily that it felt like we were old friends catching up after a long period of separation. Their group dynamic fascinated me. From Jo’s mention of “Tita Cammy and Tito Eric,” I’d wondered if they were a thing, but it only took a few minutes of observation to realize I’d gotten the female counterpart wrong.
Whenever Nikki spoke, Eric looked at her with the same rapt attention that Jason and Gabe did with my sisters—as though the sun rose and set with her every word. Meanwhile, Nikki’s smiles seemed extra bright when it came to Eric, and she kept her body slightly angled toward him.
At a momentary lull in the conversation, I asked, “How did you all meet? Jo mentioned Cam and Eric came from Manila?”
“Uh huh. Funny enough, I met both of them at the café a couple of months apart,” Nikki answered. “Eric’s girlfriend back then chatted me up for my pineapple-banana bread recipe.”
Eric shook his head. “She was obsessed.”
“Then she moved to Canada, and he moved here,” Nikki continued.
“I’ve been a regular at Cuppa Jo ever since,” Eric said.
They shared a warm smile, and I averted my eyes because it felt like a moment just for them. My gaze fell on Cam, who was watching her friends with a look of exasperation. I couldn’t tell if she was annoyed by or disapproving of their almost-a-couple-but-not-quite dynamic.
“What about you?” I asked her.
She grunted. “Nikki gave me a job. Then we became friends and that was even better.”
Nikki’s bottom lip jutted out. “Aww, Cammy,” she said as she reached over and squeezed Cam’s forearm.
“The first time I had her as a waitress, she didn’t smile at all,” Eric told me conspiratorially.
“At least she wasn’t glaring at you,” I joked, throwing Cam a smirk.
“'Cause he wasn’t acting like he owned the place,” she said. “Unlike other people.”
I heard Erik and Nikki sucking in a breath, as though they worried how I’d react. Shrugging, I lifted my bottle to Cam. “Can’t argue with that.” Honestly, I didn’t mind her snarky comment…except for how it had reminded me of Dani.
I froze at the realization that it was the first time I’d thought about her since Cam had gone over to me at the bar. Maybe it was because Cam had taken me completely off-guard with her invitation.
I’d initially pegged her as a hot-headed woman who hated everyone, but seeing how she acted with Jo and her friends told me there was more to her beneath her prickly surface.
As the night went on, I grew increasingly aware of her presence beside me. Between the size of our table and the positioning of our stools, it was impossible for our elbows not to bump or my knee not to graze her leg. The accidental touches seemed to have a cumulative effect on my concentration. The more time I spent around her, the more I wanted to get to know her.
