3. Chapter 3
Chapter three
Lauren
Wyatt dumped a scoop of roasted beans into the grinder and rubbed his forehead. “I feel terrible you’re missing the trip because of me.”
“Don’t.” I held up the notepad I’d been carrying everywhere since I flipped on the café lights. “Only one item on this list is to post a job ad. I’m using the time to catch up on all the things I’ve been meaning to do. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Yes, we will,” Chris said as he slid the cookies Rowan delivered last night into the display case. “You’ll be the Energizer bunny, like always, working your tail off, while Ann cries into her pina colada because her best friend isn’t with her on her bachelorette trip.”
“You aren’t going either,” I said.
“I’m seventeen, and my mom won’t let me. So I’m here at the butt crack of dawn theoretically so you could enjoy yourself on a tropical island with my sisters. So remind me again why you’re here?”
“She’s a control freak,” Rowan said, flinging open the door to the back. “And I prefer mango daiquiris. Pina coladas are too sweet.”
She had on an ivory eyelet dress paired with thermal leggings and a bulky green cardigan, her red hair piled on top of her head in a bun that somehow looked more artful than messy. That was Rowan. Always thinking ahead. The moment she stepped off the plane in the Virgin Islands, she’d strip off the warm layers, let her hair down, and be ready for vacation.
I dropped my pen and notepad on the counter where I’d been doing a tea inventory and stared at her. It was just before five in the morning, way too early for visitors, even ones who had keys to the back door. “Why are you here?”
Before Rowan could answer, Cammie burst through the swinging door, flashing her signature smile, her blue eyes dancing with excitement. “I love pina coladas. Anything coconut, really.”
I pictured them lounging together in beach chairs with frozen drinks, soaking in every moment of each other’s company before they returned to their busy lives, Rowan to her fledging bakery and wedding plans, Cammie to her jobs at Cal’s office and here. I fought a sharp pang of regret and smiled at them. “Not that I’m not delighted to see you both, but what’s going on?”
“I was hoping I could borrow some clothes from your awesome wardrobe,” Rowan said. “I don’t have many sundresses.”
“I’m here to teach Chris how to make the specialty lattes,” Cammie added.
Wyatt raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. I had no idea why Cammie assumed he couldn’t teach Chris.
“Help yourself to whatever you want,” I told my bestie. She pulled me into a brief hug and ran off to raid my closet.
Rowan may or may not have been telling the truth. I could see her jolting awake on the morning of the trip, worried she didn’t have the right clothes. But Cammie was full of it. No one got up this early unless they had to or were neurotic like Rowan. I put my hands on my hips and stared at her. “Now, tell me what’s really going on.”
Cammie glanced at Chris and Wyatt, who had both given up all pretense of working, and stood waiting for her reply. “Let’s go to your office.”
She grabbed my arm and tugged me to the back, pushing me into the squeaking swivel chair behind my cluttered desk before she closed the door and leaned against it.
Cammie was a wisp of a thing who probably weighed a buck ten soaking wet. I wasn’t worried about moving her if I needed, but the fact she’d blocked the door to tell me something had my heart racing. “What’s happened?”
“Rowan wanted to make a PowerPoint, but I figured that was overkill. Give me three minutes.”
“OK,” I said, my heart still thumping at an odd rhythm.
“I’m staying here and you’re going on the trip.
I blew out a relieved breath. “Geeze, Cammie, I thought something was wrong. You scared me.”
She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “I didn’t mean to worry you, but honestly, you ditching this trip is wrong. You’re Rowan’s best friend. I’ve known her less than a year and Cal only two. If I stay behind, there’s no reason you can’t go.”
“I need to find a replacement for Wyatt.”
Cammie smiled at me. “You know I love you, right? You’re one of the best people I know, and I wouldn’t change you for the world.”
“Um, thanks,” I said, unsure how she was going to turn the compliment into an argument for why I should jet off to the Caribbean while my business faced a staffing crisis.
Cammie straightened to her full height and gave me a look I’d seen her give Cal a time or two, but only when he really needed to hear what she had to tell him, which was usually something critical and a hundred percent accurate. “You hire with your gut, not your head. The chances of you finding a replacement for Wyatt any time soon are next to nil.”
“I hired you. And him.”
“Because your gut told you we could be trusted.”
“And that’s a problem because?”
“Your gut’s standards are too high. You don’t need that level of faith in every person who works here. Sure, you want to trust they won’t spit in the drinks or steal from the till, but that’s not the same level of trust you have for the people you allow close to you. You don’t have to be friends with your employees. Let me help you hire someone.”
She wasn’t wrong. In fact, she was being generous. Wyatt and Cammie were more than friends. They were my family. And not like a toxic work culture “family” whom I expected to work endless unpaid hours to improve my bottom line. I liked working with people I could trust enough to put my guard down slightly.
“You’re right, but I need more than that to let you stay here instead of me.”
Cammie smiled and held up one finger. “Besides the two excellent reasons I already gave, Cal will be more relaxed on the trip because I’ll use my number as the emergency contact. I’ll be able to field all his patient calls and only reach out to him if it’s absolutely necessary.” She put up another finger and continued. “I’ve never flown before and I’m honestly terrified. If you make me go, I’ll need to get roaring drunk to board the plane and then everyone will be worried about me.” Another finger. “I don’t know how to swim. Someone will always be staying behind with me when they’d rather be snorkeling or whatever people do in the ocean, and I’ll feel guilty.”
“You don’t know how to swim?”
“Focus, woman,” Cammie said, holding up another finger. “You work harder than anyone I know. No one on this beautiful earth needs a vacation more than you.”
“That’s—”
“And finally,” she said, holding out her thumb. “I need to get used to working with Wyatt, since we’ll be covering evenings and weekends together. You trust him, so I know I should too. Honestly, I’m only nervous around him because I can tell he likes me, and he’s kind of cute and sweet, which is a lethal combination. But if you tell him I said that I’ll catnap Desdemona and Medusa and never speak to you again. You’ll only have Dido for company, and she hates you.”
“You like Wyatt?”
“I said he was kind of cute and sweet, which makes him dangerous because I’m never getting into another relationship. But it’s time I put on my big girl panties and stop avoiding him. Call it exposure therapy.”
Damn it. I couldn’t argue with that last reason. If Cammie was ready to swallow her fear of men, or at least of Wyatt, and take a brave step forward, I wouldn’t stop her. “OK.”
She clapped her hands and did a little hop. “Great! Because Rowan is upstairs packing for you right now. Better hurry if you want to add anything. Your ride gets here in ten minutes.”
“What?” I said, standing. “I thought the flight left this afternoon.”
“Aiden traded in my ticket and some points he had to upgrade everyone to the direct morning flight from Charlotte instead of the connecting one from D.C. Plus, now you don’t have time to change your mind.” She flung open the door and laughed.
Rowan was standing just outside with a roller suitcase and a huge grin. “I might have pilfered through your summer wardrobe after my delivery yesterday while you were power cleaning the café.”
“Where’d you get the bag?” I asked, stepping around the desk and spinning the navy suitcase in a circle. It glided with ease across the industrial tiles on four unblemished wheels. It looked brand new and expensive.
“I ordered it when Aiden started planning the trip and was going to surprise you last night. You’ve had that cloth tote bag since our high school sleepover days. The seams are busted. Consider this an early birthday gift.”
“I never go anywhere,” I said. “And my birthday isn’t until October.”
Rowan shrugged.
I ran my fingers along the hard case but stopped when I saw my initials stamped on the side in gold letters.
“That’s so you know it’s yours if you ever have to check it,” Rowan said, watching me closely. “But it’s carry-on size, so you won’t need to do that today. I can help you set a combination for the lock at the airport.”
It was just a suitcase. If I told myself that enough, I might keep the tears from slipping down my cheeks. By the time I came to live with Grandpa, I’d lost count of the number of black garbage bags I’d used to move everything I owned from one foster home to the next or back to wherever Mom was living, only to put everything in another garbage bag a few months later and do it all again.
“Better open it and make sure I got everything you need,” Rowan said softly. I glanced at her but looked away when I saw the sheen in her eyes. She knew. Somehow, without me saying a word, she understood what having something like this meant to me. I guarded my pre-Peace Falls childhood like a dog with a rotten bone. But time and time again, sweet, empathetic Rowan somehow guessed the rawest pieces of my past.
I tipped the bag gently on its side and opened it to find all the clothes I would have packed for a four-day trip to the tropics neatly folded in packing cubes in a way I’d never have managed, including my favorite gold sandals, a black bikini, and a book I’d wanted to read for months. I pulled out a toiletry bag that matched the suitcase and peeked inside. “Seriously?” I said, lifting out an impressive ribbon of condoms.
Rowan shrugged. “I know it’s been a while. Maybe you’ll meet a cute guy on the beach.”
Cammie smirked. “Or you could go for another round with Aiden.” Her eyes were a little red, which meant she’d caught on to the significance of the suitcase. Chances were, she’d moved everything she had in garbage bags a time or two herself. Not that we ever talked about it.
“Forget I ever told you about him,” I said, shoving the condoms back in the bag and zipping the suitcase closed. A couple months ago, in a moment of extreme weakness, I’d blurted out to Rowan, Cammie, and Poppy that I’d had a one-night stand with Aiden. I hadn’t told them it was the best sex of my life or that I still found him annoyingly attractive, despite his obnoxious personality. But ever since, they’d never missed an opportunity to suggest I revisit that mistake.
“Oh my word,” Cammie said, laughing. “You and Aiden will be a default couple in St. John.”
My stomach dropped. The original plan had been for Cammie and me to break off together whenever the couples wanted their alone time. I figured I’d have to put up with Aiden some, but now he was my travel partner by elimination. That alone was reason enough to stay behind.
“No,” Rowan said, shaking her head. “You’re going, Lauren. Either you walk to Aiden’s truck or Theo and Cal carry you.”
“I’m not riding with him. I’ll drive myself, thank you.” And be conveniently late for the flight.
Rowan put her hands on her hips. “Your car couldn’t make it to Charlotte.”
“Of course it would.” Doubtful. But what better excuse for missing a flight than a broken-down car?
“Is the check engine light still flashing?” Cammie asked.
“Of course it is,” Rowan said. “Don’t worry. I told Chris to hide her keys where she’ll never find them.”
“That’s evil,” I said, but I couldn’t help laughing. I loved how the Stevens siblings came together whenever one of them needed help. When Rowan left her ex-husband, Poppy filled his apartment with poop that Chris collected from Cal’s dog, Skye. Rowan and Chris almost shattered a sliding glass door to enact revenge on Theo when he broke Poppy’s heart. They were fierce in their love for each other, and I never tired of seeing the Stevens Suicide Squad, as I called them, in action.
Rowan’s phone vibrated in her hand. “They’re here,” she said with a face-splitting grin. “Come on, Lauren.”
Cammie yanked me into a tight hug. “I’ve got everything covered here. Promise you’ll relax and have a pina colada for me.”
I nodded into her shoulder, my throat suddenly tight, and gave her an extra squeeze before stepping back and grabbing the handle of the first suitcase I’d ever owned.