Page 21 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
While she talked about how eager she was for the trip, I logged into my bank account. Two hundred fifty thousand should be a good start. I sent the money. Hopefully, once she got it, she’dthink bigger, and we’d be sipping wine on the shores of the Mediterranean.
CHAPTER 8
Madison Fucking Wisconsin.What in the hell was Emma thinking? Obviously, she wasn’t, or she hated me. It was the only explanation that made sense. I’d given her enough money for us to travel anywhere, and this was where we ended up.Unbelievable.
Emma smiled at me as we waited in line at the rental car counter at the Dane County Regional Airport. “Getting excited about our adventure?”
“Only if we’re driving to Chicago to hop a flight to Paris.”
Emma glowered.
I leaned in so nobody nearby could hear. “I gave you a quarter million, and this is what you came up with?”
“You’ve been all over the world. Visited the most exclusive resorts. Yet I bet you’ve never experienced a place like this.”
I snorted. “You’re right.”
“Then I consider it a victory. You’ll get to experience something new.”
How could I tell her I’d never paid attention to those exclusive resorts? I was absorbed with closing a deal, not vacationing. If I admitted it, she’d give me one of her pitying looks, and I was miserable enough, so I said, “Still. There are plenty of places I haven’t been. Somewhere on the ocean or sea would suffice.”
“How about a creek? Six Mile Creek.”
“A creek! Are you serious?”
“There’s a river and a bunch of lakes, too.”
“And that’s supposed to compare to an ocean?”
“Who’s in charge of this vacation?” Emma pointed her finger at me. “You better get over your attitude, or this will be a miserable four weeks.”
“You mean we’re staying here for all four weeks?” My voice rose high enough for several people around us to turn and stare. My face heated.
Emma put her hand on her hip. “Would you stop making a scene?” She peeked around me and said to the woman behind me, “Sorry. She’s just a little uptight.”
I didn’t turn to face the woman, but I waved my hand and muttered, “Yeah, sorry.”
Emma patted my shoulder. “See, you’re already getting into the spirit of Midwest Nice, and we’ve only been here for half an hour.”
“What the hell is Midwest Nice?”
Before she could answer, the employee at the rental car counter called us forward. The man greeted us with a huge smile and said, “How can I help you ladies today?”
Emma held up her phone. “I made reservations online.”
He scanned the code and typed away on his computer as he nodded. “Uh, let’s see. It doesn’t look like you picked a vehicle.” He slid a laminated sheet across the counter. “You have several choices.”
Living in New York City, I didn’t own a car since I had little occasion to drive. For a few years, I’d owned a Porsche, but I never took it out, so I’d sold it.
I glanced down at the page full of vehicles. There weren’t any Porsches, but I could picture myself behind the wheel of a less expensive sporty number. I put my finger on one. “I like these.”
“Great choice,” the man said as he typed.
“Not so fast,” Emma said.
He looked up from his keyboard.
“She’s not allowed to make any decisions,” Emma said to him.
