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“I’m on my way, brother.”
I ended the call, started the engine, and crawled into the back seat with Skye, praying I could hold it together long enough for Theo to drive me home.
Chapter twenty-seven
Rowan
I’d just showered aftera long swim on Sunday afternoon when someone beat on my hotel door. Tightening the fluffy robe around my waist, I peered through the peep hole.
“I can hear you breathing,” Poppy yelled.
“No, you can’t,” Lauren said, shoving her aside to lean closer to the door.
I opened it, and they flashed matching grins.
“Surprise!” Lauren said, giving me a hug. “We’re here for a sleepover.”
“If you’re both here, who’s at the café?” I asked as my sister walked past me without saying hello.
“Dibs,” Poppy said, throwing her bag onto the queen bed I hadn’t slept in.
“Cammie is closing,” Lauren said. “It occurred to me she spent so much time at Karma, she’d make a great part-time employee, and I thought she could use the money. She knows all the drink combinations and most of the regulars. Plus, the girl learns faster than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“You left your business with a new hire to drive over an hour and a half for a sleepover with me?”
“I left my friend in charge, so I could take advantage of an amazing resort I would otherwise never be able to afford, and because you’ve introverted enough.”
“I’m here for the observatory,” Poppy said, shaking the box of Sour Patch Kids leftover from my drive with Mom and popping a piece in her mouth. “And because Lauren made me,” she added around a mouthful of candy.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “She’s joking. We’re both concerned about you and wanted to check in.”
“I can’t believe Mom paid for two nights here,” Poppy said, walking to the sitting area and admiring the view. “That woman still wears the same sweatshirts she had when we were in elementary school.”
“She wanted me to have time alone to think about my next steps,” I said.
Lauren peered into the trashcan and frowned. “How many boxes of tissues have you gone through?”
“Wrong question,” Poppy said. “How many desserts have you eaten?”
I cleared my throat. “A couple. Of both.”
Lauren flopped onto my unmade bed and stretched out like a cat. “Wow, this bed is amazing.” She closed her eyes, and I noticed the dark circles under them had deepened. “If it makes you feel better, Cal looked terrible yesterday.”
“It’d make me feel better if we didn’t talk about him.” I’d done as Mom asked, alternating my crying sessions with short hikes, room service, and a swim. After a full day of thinking and letting myself feel whatever I wanted, I was emotionally exhausted and no closer to deciding about the job offer. But I’d come to one conclusion: I had to stop thinking about Caleb Cardoso and focus on the decisions I could control.
“You really are Mom’s favorite,” Poppy said, walking into the bathroom. “I figured it might be Chris since he’s the baby and all, but damn.”
“As great as this room is,” Lauren said, “I want to see everything else. Have you been to the spa?”
“Just the pool,” I said.
“What’s wrong with you?” Poppy said, glaring at me. “Let’s go. Do you have a couple more of those robes?”
It took a few minutes to convince Poppy that I should change into real clothes for the walk down to the spa instead of all of us parading through the lobby in matching terrycloth robes. After we’d checked in at the spa and were given the exact same robes to wear for our massage, Poppy shook her head.
“That’s your problem, Rowan. You complicate your life because you do what people expect you to do. So what if you wore a robe in the lobby? You don’t know anyone here but us, and we’d already seen you in it.”
Lauren laughed as she tightened the sash on her own robe. “I agree with Poppy, in theory, but no way would I have walked through the lobby half naked.”
