“You falling, or us being here at the same time?” Craig asked.
“Both, but mainly the latter.” Jolene said. “You just caught me off guard. I thought I was alone.”
“Not surprised to find you hiding out here. That lady talked non-stop at your dinner table. Friend of yours?”
“My father’s new wife.” If he could ask a question, then so could she. The identity of the donor for this vacation still nagged at her, and she’d like to either eliminate or confront her father if he were involved. “Craig, did you ever meet my father when we were together?”
“Not that I recall. The man’s calendar seemed to need eight days to schedule all his comings and goings.”
“Yes, both business and personal, it seemed,” she said.
“Is that bitterness I hear in your voice?” Craig asked as he strolled into the room and stopped breathtakingly close.
“This is their honeymoon! I wasn’t even invited to the wedding. He just skipped off and married the young…” she almost said hussy but corrected herself, for that did not describe Barbie at all, “…woman. She’s not that bad really. Guess my nose is a bit out of joint.”
“So, you decided to sabotage their honeymoon? Not very discreet, if you ask me.”
“Well, no one asked you, Craig Landers. And no. I did not follow them here. Someone gave me a week’s holiday, as a birthday present, and it was for this resort. I can’t help it if they were here.” Jolene looked at Craig. “But you! This is turning into a nightmare and I should pack up and go home tomorrow.”
“And miss all things Christmas? Not your style, Jolene.”
“I do love Christmas,” Jolene moaned. “What’s on the schedule tomorrow?”
“You snuck away before the social convener laid it out, but they do supply pamphlets on the desk daily as to the day’s events,” he explained, as she sniffed the scent of his favorite gum. He always chewed and tasted so good. She wheeled her thoughts in and took one step back. He grinned and she knew he’d read her mind. “You are uncomfortable, aren’t you? It may help you to know I’ve moved on from your kick-me-out-the-door status.”
“Only for your own good,” she argued. “You do remember that part, right?”
“And what is it about women that feel obliged to make a man’s decision for him? I am on a search for that very answer of late, and may have to date as many females as your father before I find my barbie doll.”
“How did you know her name was Barbie?”
Craig raised his brows and burst out laughing. “You’re kidding right?”
“I wish I were. I can’t help but smile on the inside every time I speak her name.”
“Maybe you should just call her Mom instead and abolish the comparison in your head,” Craig said.
Jolene immediately rebuked the idea. “I will not – ever! She’s young enough to be my sister.”
“Just speculating a solution for you. We were always good at solving one another’s problems,” he said.
“Well, now you have Miss America to bond with while you seek to unravel the mysteries of a woman’s mind. I’m truly happy for you, Craig.” The crack in her voice warned her it was time to exit.
When she almost reached the door, Craig called out, “Are you really glad, Miss Sumpter, or do you say that to all the ex’s you cast by the wayside?”
Jolene wanted to dispute his comment, to beg him to understand her decision and plead for the gift of his friendship. She missed their comradery, but more so, she regretted the fact that they’d tasted authentic love and she’d thrown it away. A part of her heart would belong to him forever.
But the tears had gathered and were threatening to spill at any second. She did not look back but managed a simple, “Goodnight, Craig,” before she escaped into the foyer and raced for the refuge of her room.
Chapter 5
The next day, Craig and Selene rounded the corner of the upstairs hall and encountered the man they’d met on the stairs upon arrival as he spoke in hushed tones on his cell, oblivious of their presence.
“Sheki, you need to come. I won’t take no for an answer. I’m on my honeymoon and this has all the ingredients of a homemade bomb about to explode.”
Silence filled the air as the man listened intently to the person on the other end. Craig started to move but Selene pulled him back against the wall where she hovered like a spy. He screwed up his face, pondering her interest in this random call.
“Okay, see you soon,” Trace said as he pushed his phone back into his pocket, turned the knob and entered the room that Craig supposed was the honeymoon suite.
Selene hurried off toward the steps and Craig rushed to catch up. “What? Now you’re eavesdropping on random conversations?”
“He addressed the person on the other end as Sheki.”
“So; besides it being the weirdest name I’ve come across, it doesn’t ring a bell, unless it’s some high-class, mucky-muck you haven’t introduced me to,” Craig said.
“Sheki is the name of a woman’s magazine, our strongest competitor in the marketplace, and Sheki Gabel, the owner of this prestige publication is my one and only mother.”
Craig frowned. “Really? Your mother is your rival?”
“We are both focused and passionate about our careers.”
“Well, at least you get it honestly. Helps me to understand you a little better.”
“I’m not that hard to read, Craig. You’re simply looking through the wrong lens.”
“I’ll be eager to pursue that line of thinking with you, Selene,” Craig said. Maybe this vacation would be fruitful after all. If she’d open up and talk
