In a Pinch (Love Island Duology #2)

Prologue

Addie

T he cold air hits my face, and if I thought I was freezing my tits off in Colorado, I had a whole other thing coming to me here in Maine. The moisture in the snow makes the snowflakes stick to my face like glue. It comes down in big, heavy flakes, coating the ground.

Traffic buzzes around me as I wait for my Uber. Apparently, I'm not the only one getting an early start, never mind that it’s the literal ass crack of dawn. My plane boarded at 2 a.m. last night. Or would that be this morning? I don’t know. I’m too tired to form coherent thoughts.

Isla better love me extra after all this effort on her behalf. Not even the sun is up for her yet, but here I am, up and on the go. Her leading man, Cal, being the planner he is, arranged for an Uber to pick me up. A 6 a.m. Uber was not on my Christmas wish list. But here we are. I don’t even want to know what Cal is paying for this. An hour Uber must be at least $200. He is the epitome of" if he wanted to, he would."

Once I’m settled in the Uber, it feels like the blink of an eye before I am pulling up to Cal and Isla’s new complex. Probably because I may or may not have passed out. The puddle of drool I left on the window is a clear indicator of that. Oops.

I have been here one other time, which was shortly after they first moved in together, and it is fun to see it now decked out in Christmas garb. Little Christmas lights lead the way to the door as I quietly make my way from the car. It’s before 8 a.m., and I am fairly confident that Isla won’t be poking her head out anytime soon. So, I don’t feel like I need to be playing super spy but I'm going to play it safe anyways.

Shooting a text to Cal, I stay close to the building’s side just to be safe and out of view.

I see Liv, Cal’s sister, pop her head out of the front door. “Come in, but be quiet. She is still asleep.”

“Thanks so much for coming,” Cal whispers as he grabs my bag and purse off my arm before giving me a small side hug. “I am going to hide these in the laundry room, and I’ll wake up Isla once we get you hidden. I think if you stay in this closet, you will be fine.”

He leads me down the hallway before I can really even greet the rest of his family. The faint sounds of voices chatter and the white walls of the condo blur past us as we make a mad dash.

Cal’s shoulders are so tense, they’re practically at his ears. Poor guy needs a chill pill. He opens the door, and I see a small trash can, brooms, and mops. A cleaning closet. Really? Like the laundry room wouldn’t work? But I keep this particular question to myself because I can see the man is already sweating bullets.

“What is with you two and cleaning closets?” I say, laughing to myself. “You better have done a spider check before you came up with this grand plan.”

“Oh, hold on, let me look.” He turns on the overhead light in the world’s smallest closet. “No spiders seen. Sorry, this is the best bet for you to still be closest.”

“Did you make sure the door doesn't squeak?”

“Yes, I sprayed it down with WD-40.” He points to the can.

“Okay, great. Now, hide the can and I will hide in here. Go get our girl, Cal.” I close the door in on myself, when a thought bubbles up. Shit, I don’t know my cue. “Cal, what’s the code word?” Can’t go through all this effort to surprise her and then ruin the moment.

“I’ll mention something about a present too big to wrap, or something like that.”

Super vague, but I guess I will roll with it. I give him a thumbs-up and retreat to my little hole.

I shit you not, I’ve been in here for a freaking hour. They ate first. Not only did I get placed in a closet, but I also have to smell delicious cinnamon rolls, which are my absolute favorite thing in the world. Cal owes me so big. Fighting the urge to bang my head against the wall, I hear them all move to the living room to open presents.

Freaking finally.

“Well, now that we have all our presents, I want to start with one that isn’t wrapped,” Cal says.

Shit, is that my cue? I stumble while getting to my feet and knock my head into the wall, bouncing off it.

Pushing through the doors, I make my way to the kitchen. “Surprise!”

Isla stumbles to her feet, more gracefully than I did, and runs to me.

“Did you do this?” she asks, looking back at Cal.

“He sure did. I am surprised neither one of us spilled the beans. I thought when I accidentally mentioned taking off time to go on a trip, you would have figured it out.” I smile at her. The good news is, Isla runs off good vibes only and didn’t put a second thought into me going on a trip. She was just happy I was going somewhere.

So far, all my PTO has been spent coming out here, which is nice. It’s like how our Hawaiian vacation should have been, if my douchebag ex hadn’t unplugged my phone so I would miss my plane. Apparently, he was the jealous type and didn’t want me parading around in a bikini. Totally a good reason to make your girlfriend miss her flight and make her best friend go on a two-week trip alone, right? Ugh, I’m still so mad about that.

While Isla and I chat about how long I’m here for and how this all came about, someone interrupts us.

“Can we get back to our regularly scheduled programming?” A voice I don’t recognize floats from the other side of the room. A rude-ass interruption, accompanied by a look of complete disdain.

“Who the hell is that guy?” I ask. Half whispering, half wanting the dude to hear us, so he knows he’s being rude as hell.

“That is Samuel, Cal’s brother,” she says, with a pained smile. Her eyes are giving me the be cool look. But that’s a no from me, dude. You want to be rude? That’s fine. I can do it better.

“Well, yes, Prince Samuel. You may get back to your regularly scheduled programming. I would hate to delay His Royal Highness.” I do a half-assed curtsey and sit next to Liv, who laughs. At least someone thinks I’m funny.

He rolls his eyes at me, which are really nice, and I hate myself for noticing. The perfect honey brown. His skin has an olive tone that highlights his eyes and dark curly hair. If I wasn’t so done with douchebags like him, I’d let myself get a little tipsy, break down his asshole exterior, and get his number. But I have made a vow to myself to make better dating decisions. Never again am I dating a guy who will just end up ruining my life. Being alone is better than being with the wrong person.

Nope. No more. Done. Finito.

Presents get handed out, and to my surprise, I have one. Which can only mean that Cal got me one. Seriously, Isla hit the freaking jackpot. Good for her.

My eyes wander over the room and land on Sam’s angular face. The fireplace illuminates his high cheekbones. Turning my head, I look away before I get caught gawking at him.

Isla finally gets to her last present. Which is a box. In a box. In about three more boxes.

“Okay, which one of you bitches thought this was funny?” She looks over to Liv. “It was you, wasn’t it? Is this payback for your birthday?” she asks. And now I’m dying to know what she got Liv for her birthday.

“This one is not from me. But don’t worry, your time for payback is coming.” She shoots me a wink and I laugh. Being with them all reminds me of my crazy Brady Bunch. The jokes and laughter are music to the soul.

Isla gets to the last box, which is also empty. She mutters to herself. Fighting the urge to smile, I bite my lip back. This girl has no idea what’s coming. Everyone is deathly silent and staring at her. Seriously, she is the most oblivious person I have ever met in my life.

“What?” Isla looks at me and I nod, urging her to look at what’s behind her.

She turns around and her mouth falls open. Cal sits on one knee, holding a ring box. An upside-down ring box. Seriously, we practiced over FaceTime, like, a million times. How the hell did he still get it wrong?

His speech brings tears to my eyes. No one deserves a love like this more than Isla. It literally radiates off them. And it doesn’t make me at all jealous. Nope. Not one bit. If I keep lying to myself, will I eventually believe it?

Once they finally separate and make their way back to the group, I get to show off my fancy new planner. The Maid of Honor Bible. All the things I will need to make her day the best possible. Good luck to anyone who stands in the way of that.

My days with Isla fly by in a flash. When New Year’s Eve comes around, I almost dread going back, but I have a promotion with my name on it, and boy, have I earned it. Knowing that is coming makes me feel a little more excited about work. And life in general.

I’m not sure when it happened, but I no longer feel like I am crushing the life game. Everyone is rushing past me. Getting cool jobs, moving, and starting the better parts of their lives. And I’m just here. The annoying part is, there is nothing wrong with where I am at. I like my job. I like my life. So, why does it all feel so lackluster?

“I’m not ready for you to go home. We will have to FaceTime every week.” She reaches over for my arm as we sit cozied up on her couch in front of her fireplace. We’re enjoying every last second together.

“And that’s different, how?” We share a laugh. “You’ll have to let me know how the meeting with the wedding planner goes. I’m dying to hear what you all come up with.” My hands clap in excitement.

I’ve forced Isla to get the big things done—like choosing a date and finding a planner—while I’m here. Knowing her, she would put it off, and then we would be rushing, and I just cannot have that.

“I promise to call you right away.” She holds up her pinky, and this is how I know she will not fail me. The girl has never broken a pinky promise in her life.

Liv comes busting through Isla’s front door, quite literally. A kick sends the door flying open, so that her hands can hold her two bottles of champagne. “Let’s get this party started.”

Readjusting on the couch to better face the door, I say, “Yeah, I have a 9 a.m. flight tomorrow. So, you can all party your pants off. I will gladly play photographer and hold all the embarrassing things you say against you for the next year.”

“Okay, who invited the party pooper?” asks Liv’s husband, Tyler. He’s following behind her, carrying even more stuff.

“Have you ever flown hungover? It’s literally the worst, and I choose life. You can go crazy.” I hop up onto the chair and pour myself a nice glass of sparkling grape juice.

After an hour, we have all settled onto the couch and chairs. As it turns out, I am not the only party pooper. Everyone is still nursing their first glass of champagne as we watch the New York Time’s Square special.

My gaze keeps going to the door, waiting for a dark, curly-haired man to make an appearance. The act catches Liv’s attention, and she asks, “Who are you watching for?”

“I figured Samuel would be coming.”

“He doesn’t come around much. I’m shocked he came to Christmas. I’m guessing Mom asked him to. She’s the only person who can get him to show,” Cal says.

I notice Liv tuck her head, which leaves me with more questions than answers. This feeling of disappointment also causes more questions than answers. I’ve heard all about the douchebag brother who ditched his sister’s wedding. So, why am I still thinking about his eyes? And how fun it was to jest with him?

Because you have horrible taste in men , my brain answers the question for me. I shake my head and get back to the moment.

Cal changes the subject, and I snuggle into Isla’s side. Knowing that tonight is our last night together for a while is a punch to the gut. Having a best friend live thousands of miles away should be illegal.