Page 53 of Never With You
“Then tell the truth. It would be good for you to face your dad like a mature adult. Being a mature adult means—” I start to say but stop when my gaze latches onto something familiar across the lobby.
All the blood drains from my face and rushes to my heart.
“Oh, no.”
“What?” Nate whirls around on high alert. “Is it my dad?”
It’s worse.
Much, much worse.
Isaac is here with a gorgeous brunette draped on his arm.
It’smy turn to hide under the tablecloth. I probably wouldn’t have thought to do that if it weren’t for Nate, but as I dive under the table, I’m grateful for the brilliant idea.
“Are you seriously making fun of me right now? You’re more unhinged than I thought.” He tries to pull the black fabric up as I forcefully yank it down to cover my head. I attempt to kick his shin, but from my crouched position, I doubt it holds any weight.
“Ouch!”
“Shh!” I whisper in the most forceful way possible, still fighting him on the tablecloth.
“Is this the Pureskin desk?”
Isaac.
What in the name of everything is he doing at the Pureskin desk? But I don’t even have time to ponder that question. My eyes go wide, pleading with Nate to do me a solid. I mean, how could he not? I just kept him safe from his parents.
Nate straightens. “Yes, it is. Did you just check in?”
“I did. The name is Isaac Levy.”
“You’re the new hire, right? The in-house event manager?”
My jaw is practically on the floor over this revelation.
“Word gets around. I guess the travel industry really is as small as they say.” I can only imagine the arrogant expression that accompanies Isaac’s haughty laugh.
It’s been ten months since I last saw him, but from what I could see across the lobby, he looks exactly the same. He has short dark hair and dark eyes. He and Nate actually resembleeach otherquite a bit. That's probably one of the reasons why I’ve been standoffish with Nate from the beginning.
“Too bad Pureskin didn’t bring me on sooner; then you wouldn’t have to deal with all this,” Isaac says.
“Well, dealing with this is my job, so it’s no problem at all. And who is this? Just so I can cross her name off my list.”
Yes, I’d like to know the same thing.
Who is that woman on Isaac’s arm?
“Oh, this is my fiancée, Lauren Ashley.”
Fiancée?
The way my chest hurts is justified, but I still rub my hand over my heart as if it can somehow stop the pain. Isaac said he didn’t want to get married. Isaac said marriage wasn’t in the cards for him. What Isaac really meant was that he didn’t want to get married to me. A devastating realization.
“Great. I have you both down.” Nate’s hand scrapes across the table like he picked something up. “I’m sure you already know the drill. This is your packet of information about the trip. We’re meeting in the lobby at six p.m. for the dinner cruise.”
“Yeah, I think I can figure it out.” His words come with his classic arrogance.
“Just out of curiosity. Where did you work before Pureskin hired you?”
