“With a capital ‘B.’ But you’re right. You’ve always been a caregiver. And you’re a damn good one too.”
“Thanks. I guess I’m just struggling to accept that they’re leaving. So, there’s that whole mess, and then….”
“Then what?” she prods.
“I guess I kind of met someone, but it already blew up in my face. I just can’t quite figure out why.”
With a quirked brow, Gem crosses her arms and waits for me to spill.
I sniffle. “I was engaged.” She gasps before I add, “For about five minutes.”
Shoving my shoulder, Gem shrieks, “You scared the crap out me! What happened? And tell me the whole story before I have a heart attack.”
“Sorry, I just kinda wanted to see your face ‘cause I’m pretty sure it was similar to mine.” She glares at me, then plops down in the seat across from me. “It’s not that big of a deal or anything. I shouldn’t even be crying about this; it’s so stupid.”
“It’s not stupid. But you better start talking, or I swear––”
“Fiiine,” I appease her before she has an aneurysm. “It happened at the game I went to with Owen. He and Grady went to grab some food or something, and while they were gone, a group of guys came and sat down in the empty seats by me. One of them was really cute and started talking to me. He was totally drunk,” I add with a laugh. “But still, super cute. He proposed because, ya know, that’s what any sane person does while under the influence of alcohol. When I didn’t answer him, he got the whole crowd involved in pressuring me into saying yes. It was a total joke, but it felt nice to be…wanted. Ya know?”
With her elbows on the table and her hand tucked under her chin, she practically swoons. “First, that is the sweetest story ever. Seriously. I’ve got goo-goo eyes for the guy, and I haven’t even seen him. Second, you’ll always be wanted by me, but I get what you’re trying to say. Having someone else’s attention on you like that….” She fans herself. “And third, do you have any idea how jealous I am right now? I mean, your future kids are going to love that story!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I interrupt. “There will be no future kids because I haven’t finished the story yet. He told me he left his phone somewhere and had to go get it so that we could exchange numbers, but he never came back. It was like he ghosted me or something. Hell, I can’t believe it really even happened, ya know?”
Pursing her lips, Gem taps her manicured finger against her chin. “Hmmm….”
My eyes narrow. “Don’t give me that look.”
“What look?”
“That one.” I point to her face. “I know that look. It’s your reporter look.”
“I don’t have a reporter look.”
“You do, and you’re wearing it right now. Don’t do any digging, Gem. Seriously.”
With a wistful sigh, she slouches in her chair and stares up at the ceiling. “But can you imagine how epic it would be if we found him? That would take this already awesome story to the next level––”
“No. Gem, it’s fine.”
“But the eclipse––”
“Means nothing for my love life. Let’s just….” I wipe beneath my eyes to erase the last of my sadness. “Let’s just move on and have a blast on this cruise. It’s an all-expenses-paid vacation on a boat that’ll be visiting at least three amazing beaches. Let’s keep it at that, okay?”
Eyes narrowing, she stands back up and crosses her arms over her chest. “I love you, which is why I won’t be making any promises. However, I do have some work to do, so we’ll catch up later.”
The mischievous smirk and pep in her step are more telling than her half-assed attempt to convince me that she needs to get back to “work” when we both know she’s going to use her investigative skills for something much less productive.
Wiggling my fingers at her retreating form, I mutter, “Bye.”
Now, I need to get to work too.
3
Gage
“Did you see the article?” Justin lifts his chin to my computer.
With a deep chuckle, I twist my swivel chair toward him to give him my full attention. “About my proposal before it went sour? Yeah, I saw it. Where the hell did you even find that?”
Justin shrugs before leaning against the edge of my desk. “It was in the school’s newspaper. Sorry, she was already taken.”
I grunt but cover my disappointment by pulling up Excel and continuing to work on a report that’s due later this month. “She’s a dime a dozen.”
“I dunno about that,” Justin argues. “But I do think we need a vacation.” A magazine appears under my nose, followed by Justin’s finger as he points at an advertisement on the page.
Flinching back a few inches, I try to read it, but his sausage finger gets in the way. “What am I looking at here?”
“A cruise to the Bahamas with a free drinks card, as well as a free upgrade to a balcony room. We could get Ben and Conner to go with us too.”
“The new guy, Conner?” I ask.
“Yeah. He seems pretty cool. Just moved down from New York.”
“Alright, but I’m getting my own room. Send out a text or something to see if they’re interested. It says it leaves in…”––I look closer––“two weeks? That’s a lot of employees asking for the same week off in a short amount of time.”
“It’s the slow part of the season, Gage. Besides, you’re working on a report that isn’t due for a month.”
My eyes shift to the opened Excel spreadsheet that’ll be finished by the end of the week. The bastard has a point. Gripping the back of my neck, I squeeze it. “Fine. I’ll talk with our boss and get his two cents.”
“Deal. But come on…free drinks. Women in bikinis. A casino on board. Sounds like a party to me.”
Scanning the advertisement, I point
