Page 14 of You Know You Wanna

I nodded. “Yes, please. One more, and then the microphone is going to be in danger if I keep drinking.”

He laughed softly, motioning to Gracie to bring another for me as well. She shot me a knowing smirk and pumped her eyebrows but made our drinks and delivered them without commenting.

We spoke until James eventually packed up, and I told Remington more about my life and the resort while he kept ducking questions about himself. After Laurene had told me about the divorce, I figured it just wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on.

“There’s a barre class a few nights a week that your daughter seemed interested in joining,” I said after a while. “It doesn’t finish too late, but I told her she’d need to speak to you about attending anyway since it is at night.”

“I don’t mind if you think she’ll enjoy it,” he said. “I just don’t think she really likes anything but her phone.”

I nudged him a bit. “She’s twelve. That can’t be true. Anyway, I should go help James clear the stage. Think about the barre class and let me know?”

“I will,” he said. “Thanks for sitting with me for a while.”

As I stood up, I realized what his problem was. He was lonely.

My heart was suddenly bleeding for him. I didn’t like it when people felt lonely. I’d seen far too much of it, first with my dad and then with Alan.

I gave him another smile and a wave and decided that, just for this summer, Remington wouldn’t be lonely. I would fix his problem by putting myself in his way. And not for any other reason besides curing his loneliness.

At least, that was what I told myself. That I was doing it only for that reason. By the same token, I chalked up my rapidly beating heart to the fact that it was humid and hot outside, and not because the way he looked at me made my pulse thunder.

No, sirree. Nothing interesting to see here. Just a good Samaritan wanting to make the guests feel happy. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he’s hotter than hell with a body that would easily envelop my own. Nope. Nothing to do with that at all.

That was my story and I was sticking to it.

7

REMINGTON

When I woke up the next morning, I felt different. My conversation with Birdie was still front and center in my mind. As I thought about her, I wondered why I felt so refreshed and awake when I’d only just opened my eyes.

It usually took me at least two cups of coffee to even remember I was still alive, but not today apparently.

Rolling over in my bed, I smiled down at Laurene sleeping on the bottom bunk. “Wake up, sleepyhead. We need to pack our things. We’re checking into our suite today, remember?”

She groaned, grabbing her pillow and pulling it over head. “Five more minutes.”

“No can do, baby girl. The people who were in the suite before us had an early flight, so they’re already out and I was promised it’d be ready for us nice and early. That way, we can get settled before we start our day.”

She groaned again and slowly pulled the pillow away to frown up at me. “Why are you so cheerful?”

“Because it’s a beautiful day in a beautiful place, and we’re finally moving into the resort. The suite we’re getting is on the top level, so the view should be amazing, and now that we’ve had a chance to look around a little bit, we can start participating in the activities they offer here.”

“Yeah. Okay. Whatever.” She rolled her eyes at me and got out of bed, marching straight into the bathroom and shutting the door firmly behind her.

A few seconds later, the shower started running and I got out of bed myself, starting to get my things together. Since I hadn’t unpacked my suitcase, it took me no time at all to be ready to vacate our cabin. By the time Laurene finished in the bathroom, I was on my second cup of coffee and was still feeling uncharacteristically positive.

“Stop smiling,” she snapped as she frowned at me again. “You never smile. Are you on drugs?”

I chuckled. “No, but it’s recently been pointed out to me that it’s weird that I never smile. Now you’re telling me it’s weird that I do. What a conundrum.”

Her frown deepened. “Are you sure you’re not on something?”

“No. Why?”

“You look happy.”

I shrugged. “I am happy. You and I are here together and we’re finally going to be able to settle in. What’s not to be happy about?”