Fifteen
The game ended in such classic Dennet fashion that Mackenzie wanted to kick something. She’d thought she had a good chance at winning because Cora didn’t understand the rules and Joey was too busy trying to be polite, but she’d forgotten about Eliza, quietly and steadily playing a near-perfect game and building the ideal planned habitat for her animals.
Why had Mackenzie picked a game with animals anyway? She thought she’d remembered how it worked, but it got cloudy after Cora started asking about Steve.
He had loved board games. He loved strategy. He was great to play with because he was clever and calculating.
Apparently, she hadn’t known he applied that cold calculation to his life. Cutting her out was just part of the plan.
In true Eliza fashion, she humbly accepted her win and promptly handed her winnings to Cora.
“Don’t give that to her!” Mackenzie hissed. “You won it fair and square.”
“Yeah,” Joey made a face. “Sorry, Cora, but you’re one of us. A loser. You don’t get to take the pot.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Eliza said. “I could tell she really wanted to win, and she needs the money.”
“I just couldn’t make these stupid game hawks happy!” she whined. “Otherwise, I would’ve won.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t put the bears in pairs,” Mackenzie pointed out. “Or the foxes in the right place at all.”
Cora frowned and nodded. “All true, but listen. Now that I have some money, I can treat everyone to pizza tomorrow.”
Eliza and Joey both groaned.
“Cora, please just keep the money for yourself,” Eliza said. “You don’t have to treat any of us.”
“I’m sure Joey would like some pizza after he takes us up for a flight,” she said, tucking the money into her pocket.
“I can’t go up this week,” Mackenzie said. “I have to do some work so I don’t get fired.”
“Getting fired is underrated,” Cora said. “You should quit. Teach Steve a lesson.”
Joey turned to her, his eyes wide. “He’s your boss?”
“He got promoted,” Mackenzie said quickly. “He’s not just my boss. He’s her boss, too.”
Cora nodded. “He told her their relationship had to be secret because they worked together, but the whole time he was with the other—”
“Hey!” Mackenzie shot her a look. “How do you know all of this?”
Eliza cut in. “I’m sorry, I told her.” She turned toward Cora and lowered her voice. “ So she wouldn’t ask too many questions.”
Cora winced. “Sorry! I just feel bad for you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Mackenzie said, loading the game pieces back into their velvet bags. She had to blink to clear her vision. All the crying had done something to her tear ducts. It felt like her eyelids dragged across her eyeballs, sinking them further in their sockets. “I’m fine.”
Joey stood from his seat. “It was lovely hanging out with you ladies tonight, but I’ve got to get going. I have early flights tomorrow morning.”
“Bye bye, Joey. Fly safe!” Cora said, waving him off.
“Have a good night,” Eliza said.
He smiled at her. “I’ll text you.”
Ooh la la . Mackenzie sat cleaning up the pieces, a little smile on her face. She kept waiting for Eliza to make eye contact with her so she could say something, but she never did. Her eyes followed Joey, lingering on the front door long after he was gone.
Mackenzie sat back and crossed her arms. She’d fully expected Joey to detract from their evening, but she was pleasantly surprised with how unoffensive he was. He had that unaffected, aloof charm the girls went wild for.
He was cute, too. Not Mackenzie’s type, but it seemed he might be Eliza’s type.
Mackenzie packed the bags and cards neatly into the box. “Are you in love with him?” she asked.
Eliza spat out a laugh. “What? No.”
“He’s pretty dreamy,” Cora said, a twinkle in her eye. “I can tell you like him.”
Eliza stood, fussing with the game pieces, straightening them out. “Well, yeah, he’s easy to like, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not romantic. It’s professional.”
“Aw, why not?” Cora asked. “He seems like he likes you. He makes excuses to see you.”
“Yeah,” Eliza rolled her eyes. “Probably because he thinks this island is a retirement community like you do and there’s no one else to hang out with.”
Cora shook her head. “I take that back. There are plenty of young people here. It’s a vibrant community, indeed.”
Eliza raised her eyebrows. “I’m glad you see it that way.”
“Do you like him?” Mackenzie asked.
She’d been half joking, but Joey probably did fly around breaking hearts. What if he was a player? How would Eliza even find out? He could be ten times worse than Steve—a girlfriend in every city! Every country!
“I’m not delusional enough to think he’d ever go for someone like me,” Eliza said softly. “We’re just friends. There’s nothing more to it than that.”
A bell rang out and Eliza stood to tend to it.
Mackenzie blinked hard, dragging her stiff, dry eyelids over her scratchy eyes. “I, for one, am glad she’s not into him. He seems like a risky choice.”
“Oh.” Cora sunk into her chair. “I’m sad for her.”
“Don’t be.” Mackenzie had to hold her tongue. Cora was like a plastic bag caught in the wind. She didn’t understand what was going on in front of her. “It’s for the best.”
“She never thinks anyone likes her. She thinks she’s unlikable.”
“That’s ridiculous, Eliza can’t think that. She’s not unlikable.” Mackenzie shrugged. “He’s probably just a playboy and she’s better off staying away.”
“I don’t know about that. She clearly likes him, and Eliza tends to be a good judge of character.” Cora paused. “I know you’re speaking from your experience and you don’t want her to be fooled, but there’s no indication that he’s up to no good. He seems like a nice guy.”
Mackenzie hadn’t heard Cora make that coherent of a statement all night.
Even if she was wrong.
She crossed her arms. “I’m guessing you would tell me I missed a bunch of warning signs with Steve? That I should’ve known he was lying to me and had another girl on the side?”
Cora put her hands up. “No! Every act of love is an act of courage. We can be careful, but we can’t completely avoid risk.”
“Then that’s it. Eliza is being careful with him. I think that’s good.”
“I don’t think that’s it. Eliza doesn’t think she’s good enough for anyone. She thinks she has to be perfect to deserve love.”
This tea was making her nauseated. It was too lemony. It was like reflux in a cup. Mackenzie set it down. “Why are you saying all of this?”
Cora, who had been staring into space, startled and looked at her. “I thought you knew. She’s always been like this.”
“Of course I knew! She’s my sister.”
“I’m not accusing you of anything.” Cora sighed. “I’m her best friend. I’ve seen her at her lowest. Eliza tries to look strong for everyone.”
The heat rose from her chest and into her throat. “So she tries to look strong for me, but she’s willing to be vulnerable and tell you all these things?”
“I’m not trying to compete with you,” Cora said gently. “Eliza doesn’t have to worry about looking bad in front of me.”
Mackenzie scoffed. That was true.
“Though I know she still tries to be strong,” Cora added. “I’m so much of a mess, I don’t make anyone feel self-conscious.”
Mackenzie let out a breath and uncrossed her arms. “You’re not a mess.”
“Oh no, I really am.” She drew herself up and took a deep breath. “I just wish Eliza didn’t spend so much time measuring herself, thinking she’s supposed to be this, or supposed to be that, and always finding herself lacking. It makes me sad. She’s incredible and she doesn’t see it.”
Mackenzie looked down at her hands. She’d never considered that Cora might care so much for Eliza. Mackenzie tended to get stuck on the whole ditzy-rich girl thing. “She’s a perfectionist.”
“I know. That’s the thing about perfectionists. They don’t believe they have any worth if they’re not impossibly exceptional.”
Impossibly exceptional . The words landed on Mackenzie’s chest with a punch. The heat on her skin dissipated, blasted away. “And you think Eliza believes pilot boy is too good for her?”
“She thinks every guy is too good for her. Have you ever seen her with a boyfriend?”
“There was that one guy. He was…interesting.” She scrunched her nose. “He always smelled.”
“He did, didn’t he?” Cora shook her head. “And he never did anything nice for her. He only thought of himself. He was so…disappointing.”
Her breath stung in her throat. She took a sip of water.
How had she not noticed any of this about her own sister? Mackenzie hadn’t put nearly as much thought into analyzing it as Cora had. Until this moment, Mackenzie had written her off as a self-absorbed simpleton.
Who was the simpleton now?
“Can we help her?” Mackenzie asked.
“Oh, sure.” Cora smiled. “Just keep loving her.”
For the first time, Mackenzie had something more important to think about than her own broken heart.
It was the best she’d felt in weeks.
She nodded and picked up her cup of reflux tea. “You and me, Cora. We’re going to crack this one. For Eliza.”
Cora raised her cup. “For Eliza!”