Page 22 of It Could Happen
Caroline runs her fingers through his hair. “Yes, baby, but my life has been so much better since you’ve been in it.”
Tyler looks at me, and the corner of his mouth curls up.
“I want to hear more about the friends you made on this magical vacation,” Rachel asks.
Caroline grins at me. “Well, Tori was the one who hit it off with one person in particular.”
“Uh-uh—no passing the buck to me, sister,” I exclaim. “We both became friends with those lifeguards.”
“Lifeguards,” Leslie says. “Now we’re talking.”
“We should take a cruise,” Andy says. I wonder if he’s feeling left out listening to Caroline talk about life before him.
“Fantastic idea,” Caroline says. “How about next year?”
“No, I mean all of us,” he says. “It could be a pre-wedding celebration to thank everyone for being a part of our day.”
“Pre-wedding?” Caroline asks. “You mean, soon?”
The wedding is in two months, so obviously he’s thinking this trip should happen ASAP.
“Yes, it would be a blast. A nice quick weekend to the islands,” Andy says as if it’s the most brilliant idea ever.
“What do you guys think?” he asks, looking around the table.
“We have to do it,” Caroline shouts excitedly. “I’ll text Erica right now.”
“I’ll go,” Matt announces.
“I’m in,” Leslie says. “What about you, Tyler?”
Tyler shrugs. “Possibly.”
“Tori?” Caroline asks while typing swiftly on her phone. “It’s perfect. We need a repeat of our first cruise together, and we were just talking about making up for lost time.”
She’s one hundred percent serious about going on a cruise in the coming weeks. Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Um, I guess it depends on when it is,” I say.
Honestly, cruising is one of the things that brings me the most joy. I love how it forces you to unplug and being on the open ocean is pretty spectacular.
“We can choose a date and book it tonight,” Caroline says. “I’m texting Mary right now. She’s my family’s travel agent.”
I smile. It must be incredible to have a family travel agent on call to book a last minute getaway for you and all your friends. My dad is super frugal, and he’s convinced he’s a master at travel planning. He truly believes the value airlines are still the way to go. At one point I thought my mother was going to leave him after he booked a super cheap flight for their anniversary trip and it got cancelled. He’d still rather save a few dollars on a fare despite having to pay for everything including a carry-on bag, a seat, and a tiny bag of pretzels.
“Erica and Christian are in,” Caroline announces, holding up her phone. “And Mary’s searching for itineraries right now. The cruise is happening, friends.”
This isn’t unusual when it comes to life with Caroline. One minute you’re trying on a bridesmaid dress and the next you’re planning a spontaneous weekend in the Bahamas. One thing’s for sure, things are never dull, and there’s definitely a part of me that’s missed this. I never was the spontaneous type, but Caroline always encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone.
“I’m still interested in hearing more about the last cruise you two went on,” Tyler asks, a gleam in his eyes. “Care to share, Tori?”
Leslie scowls.
“Ah, there’s not much to tell. It was a long time ago,” I say with a shrug. Caroline isn’t listening anymore now that she’s typing swiftly on her phone.
“Hmm … are you sure about that?” Tyler asks. “We haven’t had the opportunity to get to know you yet. Well, except for the fact that you have strong feelings about parking.”
I plaster a sweet smile on my face. “Only when common parking etiquette isn’t being used.”
