AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was bad,” Ismay told her. “Felt like a hurricane.”
Bastian rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t a hurricane. It’s not even hurricane season.”
That didn’t mean one couldn’t come up, not with all the changes in weather patterns that were happening all over the globe. Besides, he wasn’t even on the island at the time. He didn’t know what it had been like. But Ismay wasn’t interested in arguing about it.
“Ismay’s brother’s wife just left him for another woman,” Bastian announced.
“No way...” Jace said, properly scandalized.
Bastian took a sip of his drink. “Yes, way.”
Jace turned to Ismay. “Was that a surprise? Or did he know something was going on?”
“It was a total surprise,” she admitted.
“That sucks,” Terrell said, shaking his head. “Do they have kids?”
“No.” She didn’t elaborate, didn’t feel her brother’s situation was any of their business. It wasn’t Bastian’s place to tell them about it, either, especially because he was using it simply for the sake of entertainment.
Their meals arrived, putting an end to the topic. Ismay was happy to focus on her food. The restaurant served gourmet burgers and fries, as well as a variety of large salads and sandwiches. She’d ordered a smoked salmon salad with balsamic and pesto dressing, and she enjoyed it while listening to the others talk about their lives, their plans for the summer, and the good old days at SDU.
Eventually, Terrell asked Ismay what she did for a living, and she told them about law school.
“Can you believe she’s going to marry my brother?” Bastian said. “She hasn’t yet figured out he’s a total dick.”
“Remy’s starting his residency this fall?” Terrell asked, ignoring the comment.
Finished with her salad, Ismay put down her fork. “Actually, his residency starts July 1st. He’s still in LA, taking the last part of the United States Medical Licensing Exam. Then he’ll be joining me here on the island, and we’ll go back to California at the end of June.”
“What kind of doctor is he going to be?” Holly asked.
Bastian answered before Ismay could. “He’s going into emergency medicine, which should be perfect for him.” He snapped his fingers three times in quick succession. “He likes it when things are hopping.”
“He’ll be doing his residency at Prime West Consortium in West Anaheim,” Ismay added.
“How long will that take?” Terrell asked.
The check arrived. Bastian signed for it before saying he had to go to the bathroom and leaving the table.
“Four years,” she told Terrell.
Jace finished off his second mimosa. “So you couldn’t leave LA even if you wanted to—not for a while.”
“Fortunately, I don’t want to,” she said. “I like it there.”
“Even though you’re a farm girl from northern Utah?” Terrell teased.
She’d told them where she was from earlier and, of course, Bastian had tied it back to Jack, saying he’d probably never even met a gay person, and then his wife had turned out to be gay. “MaybebecauseI’m a farm girl from northern Utah,” she joked.
It wasn’t until the waitress came to clear away some of the plates while Bastian was gone that Ismay realized she had an opportunity. These people hadn’t known Bastian that well—hadn’t lived with him or anything—but they’d known him when Lyssa Helberg was killed in that fire. There was a chance Bastian had talked about her...
“Did either of you ever meet Lyssa Helberg?” she asked as though they should recognize the name—and was gratified when they did.
“The woman who died in the fire?” Terrell said. “She came out to SD once and watched while we played some volleyball.”
“Terrible what happened to her,” Jace added.
Ismay braved a quick glance toward the restrooms. “I bet Bastian took it hard.”
