Page 31 of The Suite Life
‘Do you know who she is?’ I check, half expecting everyone in the world to know about Sunshine Greene. That’s usually how it goes, but he looks genuinely clueless.
‘No, who is she?’ he replies.
Music to my ears!
‘She’s my ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend,’ I tell him, leaving out the part about her being a sort of celebrity. It’s bad enough that she’s so beautiful.
He raises an eyebrow.
‘That guy is your ex?’ he says in disbelief.
I nod.
‘Yep.’
He lets out a low whistle.
‘Man, I thought he was just like your dickhead brother or something like that when I saw you with him yesterday,’ he explains. ‘Not that I would’ve told you he was a dickhead, if hewas your brother but, seeing as he’s your ex, I’m sure it’s fine – and I’m sure you know.’
I burst into laughter. Just when I think things have reached peak awesome, I meet a guy who not only thinks Nathan is a tool, but he’s never heard of Sunshine.
‘Wait, sorry, but… who are you?’ I ask, trying to make sense of the situation.
‘I’m Donnie,’ he says casually. ‘You?’
‘I’m Gigi,’ I reply, still processing the fact that this stranger is talking to me like he knows me. ‘I just… what did you want?’
‘I don’t want anything,’ he insists. ‘I was sat at the table next to yours, alone, so I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and that girl was on to you.’
‘On to me?’ I say.
‘Yeah,’ he replies. ‘I rumbled the fact that you don’t have a date for this wedding pretty much right away but, as your conversation was going on, I could tell she was picking up on it too.’
Okay, it’s scary how on the money he is.
‘Sorry if I’m overstepping the mark,’ he says, realising the audacity of his intervention. ‘This is the problem, when you’re bored on your own, it makes you nosy. But you sounded like you were in a tight spot, so I thought I should intervene. I would hope someone would do the same for me, if I were in a similar spot. Not that I can imagine being in a similar spot.’
I laugh. This is so ridiculous, but I’m really grateful.
‘Thank you,’ I say sincerely. ‘That’s surprisingly and disturbingly accurate.’
‘Yeah, you’re welcome,’ he says. ‘If I were you, I would go back there and join in on whatever the conversation has changed to, and keep it off your wedding date.’
‘Yeah, thanks,’ I reply. ‘I’m thinking my date might be too ill to come; I’m just leaving it long enough to tell them for it to be believable.’
‘Or there are plenty of men knocking around the resort who would love to go to a wedding with you,’ he points out. ‘I’m sure you can find someone. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your breakfast.’
Donnie heads back to his table so I rejoin my family. He was right – the conversation has moved on. What I need to do is keep my mouth shut and my head down. Maybe he’s on to something about the resort, too. There must be someone here I can take to the wedding. I’ll start looking today.
18
The poolside bar is swimming in sunlight and is already packed with people, most of them set up for the day, lounging by the pool, either topping up their tan or shading themselves under the dreamy cabanas.
The atmosphere is alive with chatter and ambient music. There are people in the pool – the main pool, not my fancy private pool, which is something I never thought I would be able to say – but the vibe is so chilled out. There’s no screaming or splashing – it’s nice.
The bar is beautifully decorated with tropical flowers and there is fruit pretty much everywhere, which leads me to believe that the cocktails here are not only healthy, but part of my five a day.
I take a seat on one of the plush cream-cushioned bar stools and grab a menu. I’m wearing another sundress that I stupidly bought when I thought that Hawaii Gigi should be more bright and out there. It’s a light-yellow dress which, now that I’m out in the daylight, I am realising leaves nothing to the imagination. You can see my lime-green bikini through it from a mile away. Still, it’s too late to worry about it now, all I can do is ownit. Perhaps it will make me seem like I’m super confident and comfortable in my skin. I’m not, but I’m sure half of the battle with being confident is convincing other people that you feel it.
