I forced myself to breathe, laughing along with the rest of the group.
“It’s so good to see you,” Nick said.
“How’re things, Andy?” Brad asked from across the table.
“Things are good.” He gave a happy nod. “You guys? How’re the girls?”
“They’re great. Growing like little weeds,” Brad said.
“Emily, how are you?” I asked her.
She beamed from her seat, her black hair slicked back in a high ponytail, thick eyeliner and a dark, maroon lip I couldn’t have pulled off if I tried. Then again, she was almost literally half my age and stunningly gorgeous. Even more beautiful than most of the women Andy usually dated, and that was saying something.
“I’m great, thanks, Laura. How are you? Oh my gosh, you look so pretty.”
I felt heat rush to my face, though I knew she was only being polite. “Thank you. I’m doing well.”
As they settled into their seats, Lila was back to our table in a flash.
“Um,” Emily pointed to the empty place in front of her. “I’m the only one who didn’t get a drink.”
“Right,” Lila said, looking at Andy uncomfortably. “I wasn’t sure who, er, I mean what, um—sorry, what can I get you?”
“I’ll take a cosmo please,” Emily said, clicking her painted black nails on the table.
Lila nodded, without writing it down. “I’ll get that put in and be right back to take your orders.”
When she disappeared, Andy looked at Emily, his eyes bright. “So…can we get to the elephant in the room.”
She pressed her lips into a tight smile. “I know you’re ready. Go ahead. Tell them.”
Oh my God, she’s pregnant. Natasha’s shocked gaze met mine again, and I could practically hear her screaming internally.
“So, as you all know, Emily is a pretty big deal in the travel blogging scene,” Andy said, clasping his hands in front of him. He looked as if he were going to explode, his cheeks flushed red. His eyes traveled around the circle, waiting for us to acknowledge it.
“Right.”
“Yes.”
“Go on,” we all chimed in, realizing he was waiting.
“Well, a few months ago, she got word that a new, private resort was opening up in the Caribbean, and she was one of the first bloggers to get to sign up for it. But, the thing is, they’re doing twelve weeks of trial runs before it opens and they’re only inviting select groups on the island for a week each, so it was a major long shot.” He looked at her, just as it hit me what they were saying. “But we just found out she got accepted! And, well, of course, they want groups, right? So, we thought, what better group than this one?” He held his arms out, waiting for a reaction.
We hesitated as a group, and I saw the eyes traveling around—Jaren and Nick, Brad and I…
“Wait, what?” I asked.
At the same time, Natasha said, “So that was you?”
“The invitations?” Megan asked, looking up at Nick.
Andy’s face fell. “You already got them?”
“You’re the ones who invited us?” Jaren asked, pointing at them.
“Yeah!” Andy said, his excitement back. “I thought we’d hear back before you, but…isn’t that great? Guys, it’s an all-expenses-paid trip to a private island! Why aren’t you more excited?”
“Andy, we,” I looked at Brad, who looked as uncomfortable as I felt, “look, it’s a sweet offer, Emily. Honestly. We just, we can’t really afford to take the time off—”
“Oh, come on,” Andy scoffed. “You guys are your own bosses. If you can’t get the time off, who could?”
“Yeah, man,” Brad said, “but we’re crazy busy at work right now. Even if we wanted to take the time off—”
“What, you couldn’t?” Andy’s brow furrowed. “You’re seriously telling me you are going to pass up a free week on a private island? A free trip to paradise, and we have no takers?”
“We have the kids,” Brad said. “We’d have to get a sitter, and that’s not going to be easy for a full week.”
“And Laura and I are swamped at work. Plus, Megan’s been baking at home because she’s so behind…”
Andy looked at Jaren. “What about you, man? You guys are always talking about how you want to take vacations but something’s always coming up so you can’t afford them. Everything’s included! Food, stay, flight over, everything. And Nolan doesn’t need a sitter.” His eyes lit up. “Hey, maybe Nolan could watch your kids!” He looked toward us again, and my stomach tensed at the thought.
Jaren twisted his mouth. “Yeah, I mean, it’d be great, but can we afford to take the time off work? If I’m not working, I’m not getting paid.”
“And we’re short-staffed as it is,” Natasha pointed out. “Until Erica gets back from maternity leave, I don’t know if I can ask for any time off.”
“You’re the manager,” Andy argued.
“Yes, but I don’t get to say when I come and go if we’re short-staffed. Being there is my job,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Andy.”
I watched Jaren, watching her with an incredulous expression. Andy dropped his hands to the table, his jaw dropping open. “Okay, so…so, none of you want to go?”
He looked to his right, past Emily, to Megan, then Nick, then me, then Brad, then Jaren, then Natasha. At first, no one spoke. Feeling incredibly guilty, I leaned forward.
“It’s not that we,” I moved a hand between Brad and me to show I was only speaking for us, “don’t want to go, it’s just that it seems like we won’t be able to make it work.”
“But have you even tried?” he asked, obviously disappointed. “Come on, the Brad and Laura I knew in college wouldn’t have turned this down. Is this what becoming adults has done to us? Come on, guys, life is short, right? It’s so short, and we can’t just sit around saying no to things that aren’t convenient. This trip,” he laughed dryly, “this trip is an opportunity of a lifetime.”
“All right, we’ll go,” I heard Nick say, causing me to dart my gaze in his direction.
Andy’s face lit up as Megan’s did. “You will?”
Nick threw an arm over Megan’s shoulders. “Yeah, why not? We could use a practice honeymoon, don’t you think?”
She leaned her head onto his shoulder. “Oh, Nicky! Yes, it will be perfect.” She sat back up, resting her hands on Emily’s shoulder. “Thank you so much for thinking of us, honestly. I’m just over the moon about this experience.”
Emily smiled at her, nodding gently. “Of course. It was my pleasure. It’ll be good to travel with some familiar faces.”
“Okay, so who else is in? We’ve got two on board,” Andy said, patting the table excitedly as Lila reappeared with Emily’s bright pink cocktail.
“Sorry, guys. I’ll be right back to take your orders,” she said, dashing to the table across from us with the rest of the drinks on her full tray.