Page 123 of Champagne Fizz

“And Ned’s at work. He’s nowhere near the airport,” Connor replies, not following.

“Yes,” I agree. “But he owns a cell phone, and a work phone, and all the other phones in his office that will be connected to his.”

“Get to the point, Hart.”

“I’m not going to make it to the airport to pick up your mother before she calls Ned for a ride.”

“What?! Ned’s not allowed to—”

“I know! Hence the panicked phone call.”

“Well, drive faster,” Connor growls.

“The pedal’s already to the metal, but I can’t defy physics.”

“Dammit!”

I nod, though he can’t see me. This morning has been a doozey. “Can you get to Ned’s office in the next ten minutes?”

“I don’t own a teleport machine, Kendall.”

“Nor do I,” I huff. “I’d be picking your mother up right now if I did. At the very least, can you call Ned and tie up his phone? Ask him to leave his office? Tell him it’s an emergency or bachelor party stuff—anything?”

“You really botched this, Hart!” Connor grumbles.

“Well, your mother didn’t give me much notice,” I snap back. “I don’t usually wait till I’m on an airplane to send an email asking for pick-up service.”

Connor starts swearing about his mom’s entitled BS and I’m happy to agree, except we’re wasting time.

“Connor!” I interrupt. “I need you to call Ned.”

“Wait, what about Arie?” Connor asks, and my insides knot. This isn’t the time. I have no interest in ever discussing what went down in the storage closet this morning, much less right now when there’s a crisis at hand.

“Wrong time, Connor!” I growl.

“No, Arie’s at the airport,” he clarifies. “Arie’s there right now. She’s picking up her sister and her boyfriend. Arie can get my mother.”

All those knots twist tighter, threatening to turn me into intestine salad. I don’t want Arie involved. I don’t even want to see her on wedding day, much less tag-team in picking up Mrs. Voss.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I ask seriously.

“No,” Connor admits. “The last thing she wants is to do a favor for you. But I know she’ll do it for me.”

I can’t imagine Mrs. Voss sitting in a car with Arie. She’d probably demand to return to the plane ASAP so she can fly back to the mainland.

“What if she just meets up with Mrs. Voss and distracts her,” I suggest. “It could buy me enough time to arrive late, especially if Arie can get your mom’s phone and keep her from calling anyone.”

“That’s probably smart,” Connor agrees. “My mother and Arie in the same vehicle …” I hear him shudder through the phone. “Arie already wants to burn down the island because of what happened earlier. She’s not going to give my mother any grace. And definitely not after how my mother’s treated me and Ned the last few years. You better drive fast. I can get Arie to be a distraction, but you might not like how she chooses to distract.”

I feel like I’m throwing gas on a fire, but if it keeps Ned and Olivia in blissful ignorance, it’ll be worth it. “Call her,” I instruct. “Your mom should be at terminal one coming off a flight on—” I check the email on my phone. “—Virgin Airlines. Fuzz, really?!” I swear into the phone. Can’t a girl get a break?

“Yeah, I’m not commenting on that one,” Connor says, and I’m thankful. “I’ll call Ned after Arie, just in case. The bachelor party’s tonight, so it shouldn’t seem too suspicious.”

“Thank you, Connor.”

“Get on your game, Hart. My mother’s a shark and she’s already drowning you, and there are three more days till the wedding. Trust me, she doesn’t plan on making anyone’s life easy.”

That’s disconcerting.

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