Page 10 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

“Right, well, let me show you where you’ll be staying.” He glances down at a piece of paper Junta has on her desk and nods. “Separate bungalows. Makes sense. Come on then,” he says, gesturing toward the door of reception.

I haul my backpack up from the ground and sling it over one shoulder. Offering Junta a friendly wave, I follow after Oliver with Xavier close behind me. I take note as Oliver points out the resort’s various features along the way: the restaurant and bar, the spa, the pool. This definitely looks like somewhere I’m going to enjoy spending the next two weeks.

“Do youeverstop smiling?” Xavier grumbles as we make our way to the bungalows.

I throw my hands out and spin around in a slow circle. “Look at this place—the sun’s shining, you can smell the beach, there are friendly people everywhere we turn—why wouldn’t I be smiling?” Xavier just glowers at me and I hold up my hands, offering an apologetic look. “Okay, well, to be fair, I wasn’t just dumped in front of all my family and friends.”

“Thanks. I was desperately in need of the reminder,” he says dryly.

“Okay, here’s the first one,” Oliver announces, holding up a key and gesturing to the right of the path. “They’re both the same, so—“

“Thanks,” Xavier says, cutting him off. He grabs the key from Oliver’s hand and strides toward the door of the bungalow, seeming incredibly relieved to get away from me. I can’t help letting out a soft chuckle, shaking my head wryly.Yeah, it’s not going to be that easy, mate.

“He’s a ray of sunshine, that one,” Oliver observes as we continue down the path to my bungalow.

“He’s just been dumped,” I explain.

Oliver nods sagely. “Ahh, I see.” He gestures ahead of us on the path. “You’re a bit further down here. I could speak to Junta about maybe swapping things around if you two want to be right next to each other?”

I shake my head. “Nah, it’s alright. Thanks though.”It’s probably a good thing that we’re not right next to each other. Xavier clearly needs a bit of space and considering part of my plan for this trip is to help him move on from Jack by potentially finding a rebound hook-up, it’ll be better if I’m not right there to cramp his style.

We reach the door of my bungalow and Oliver hands me my key before turning to head back to reception. “I’ll be working at the bar later. You two should come by—loosen that one up a bit,” he says with a nod in the direction of Xavier’s accommodation.

I let out a breath of laughter and start unlocking my door. “I’ll definitely try.”

The bungalow isn’t huge, but it’s not cramped either, with enough room for a queen-sized bed and a little couch off to one side. It’s got tiled floors and stone walls that offer some relief from the heat outside, and there’s a decent-sized bathroom with a walk-in shower. All in all, considering the incredible location and the price we paid for the two weeks, I have to say I’m pretty impressed.

As I’m getting settled in, I hear my phone ringing from where I left it charging on one of the bedside tables. I duck out of the bathroom to answer it, an odd mix of relief and wariness rushing through me at the sight of Jack’s name on the screen. I tried calling him a couple of times before leaving Melbourne, but it kept going straight through to voicemail; no doubt he’s had his phone off, for obvious reasons. I’m glad to see him finally resurfacing, but I have to admit I’m a little nervous about what his reaction will be to finding out I’m currently on holiday with the guy he left at the altar.

“So, youarealive,” I tease upon answering the FaceTime call. “I was worried a shark might’ve gotten you or something.”

Jack grimaces. “Yeah, sorry. Was trying to stay off the radar for a bit.”

“But you’re at the beach?” I ask. I’ve been working under the assumption that when Jack took off from the wedding he headed straight for his family’s beach house in Torquay. Surfing has been his go-to activity for stress relief for as long as I can remember.

He scowls. “Iwas. But do you realise how many people we know who holiday down there this time of year? And they were all glaring at me and whispering about me everywhere I went. People who weren’t even at the bloody wedding. I swear, you’d think I’d forced them to sit through a satanic death orgy or something the way people are carrying on.”

I let out a sputter of laughter. “I did warn you January was a bad time of year to get married. People have too much time on their hands and there’s no other news to keep them occupied. You should have done it in footy season.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” he says dryly. Then his expression turns curious as his gaze flits about, no doubt examining the scene in the background of my frame. “Where are you? That doesn’t look like Alicia’s place.”

“Well…I’m actually in Thailand,” I inform him, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Jack’s brows shoot up. “Thailand? When did you decide to go to Thailand?”

I shrug. “Two days ago.”

“Wow. That’s a bit spur-of-the-moment. Even for you,” he observes. “Are you just there by yourself?”

“Actually, I’m with Xavier.”

Jack just blinks at me in confusion. “MyXavier?”

I raise a pointed brow. “Mate, he’s not your anything anymore. You decided that when you escaped out the window.”

“I know, but…” His face screws up in obvious confusion. “Wait a minute—are you telling me you’re on my honeymoon?”

“Again, it’s not your honeymoon anymore considering you missed the getting married bit,” I point out.

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