“Hey, I’m a twenty-eight-year-old jobless, husbandless, and nearly homeless woman. I don’t have anything to lose.”
I could see Holly’s resistance weakening. So I pressed on. “You and I could both use a little R and R. Your research”—and George—“will still be waiting for you when we get back.”
“I’ll still have to check with work…”
I grinned widely, my head already spinning a million different items for my to-do list. Not the least of which included checking in with Penny and taking her up on her offer to come and visit.
“Okay, since it sounds like you’ve already made up your mind, I’m in. You could stand to have someone around who still has a grip on reality.”
“Yes!” I hugged her tightly and squealed. “You’ll see. Operation Marry a Billionaire is going to work.”
“You mean Operation Gold-Digger,” she muttered.
“To-ma-to, to-mah-to.”
I didn’t care. We were a go.
3
“I can’t believe we’re here,” Holly said as we stepped into the lobby of the Kop’aa Hala Beach Resort and Spa, a lei made from beautiful pink hibiscus flowers hanging from our necks thanks to one of the women who greeted us when we stepped out of the airport shuttle.
A limousine pulled up at the entrance, and I watched as a guy who looked oddly like that guy who played in the vampire movie climbed out with a younger woman who I swear was the daughter of one of the biggest pop singers of all time.
This was definitely the place I needed to be.
“I told you that you weren’t going to regret coming.”
“That remains to be seen,” Holly warned, a sentiment that was betrayed a second later by the slight smile on her mouth as she lovingly caressed her lei, bringing it to her nose to inhale its fragrance.
I smiled at my friend in her oversized glasses, baggy dress, and purple crocs, who was woefully fashionably inept but who was beautiful both inside and out with her big heart. I’d moved into her place the same day as my breakup with Eddie, and she was such a comfort, even though we’d been strangers until that day. She had recently been tossed over by George, so we had commiserated in our misery. This vacation was going to be good for her, I knew it. For too long, she’d holed herself up either at the university or in the apartment, never getting out or doing anything for herself. Here, she might actually get a chance to just relax and breathe—and get that jerk George out of her system once and for all.
“Janie! You’re finally here!”
I turned around and into the smiling face of my old school friend. Dark brown eyes that always seemed to brim with laughter met mine as we reached for each other and hugged excitedly. “You must be Holly,” Penny said from over my shoulder.
I stepped back. “Penny, this is Holly, friend and roommate extraordinaire. Holly, Penelope Ferrara, the fastest Oreo-eating champ and my oldest friend.”
“Hey, who are you calling oldest? I’m younger than you by three months.”
“You know what I mean.”
I studied Penny. Even though she’d been living here in paradise for the past four months, there were obvious signs of fatigue around her eyes and her usual bright glow seemed to be…off. Then there was her long, dark brown hair I’d been jealous of since we were kids, that she had pulled back into a boring but tidy, professional-looking bun. So not her.
I’d tried the same austere look myself in the first few weeks at the law firm but found that it made my already wide, round face—and the semi-Rubenesque figure that went along with it—appear even bigger. Penny’s build was still as slim and athletic as it had been when she’d been on the lacrosse team in high school, and despite downing as many Oreos as I did, she’d managed not to look like a butterball turkey the next day.
Penny turned her attention to me and shook her head. “For a woman whose life supposedly just melted down around her, you’re looking great. What’s your secret?”
“Let me think…” I said, checking out my newly polished manicure. “Oh, I suppose draining my retirement savings and spending two days at a top-of-the-line salon getting colored, cut, lasered, waxed, and spray-tanned will do that to a person.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You did what?”
Holly smirked, seeming to find validation in Penny’s reaction. But before Penny could press me further, a guy in tan slacks and a pink shirt with the hotel’s logo approached Penny and whispered something. She frowned. “Okay. Excuse me, ladies. I’ve got to do one thing and I’ll be right back.” She followed the guy behind the desk, where they hunched over a computer.
“I need a drink,” I said, suddenly parched and needing a little liquid magic to remind me that my plan was sound.
I mean, I knew my mom thought that this was the right thing. She’d been calling me every morning, giving me every reason she could think of why this was going to change my life, even sending me tips that she’d found on the internet about how to seduce a man—something I chose to ignore since I didn’t know how I’d do one thing on those lists and not think about my mom.
“I’m going to go get us some drinks,” I said, spotting the bar section just off the lobby. “I’ll be right back.”
Holly nodded and dropped into a plush chair, already scanning her phone for new emails.
I hesitated as I reached the top of the small set of steps that led down to the bar. I’d opted for three-inch strappy sandals and a skirt at my mom’s recommendation since, as she put it, you never knew who you’d be seated by on a plane and you had to always look your best. Although I had to admit the shoes made my legs look better than ever, they also were torture to walk on, and I had three blisters already forming. Still, the call of an icy alcoholic beverage made me shore up, and I gripped the rail and took a step down. It was only as I reached the bottom step that I fumbled and nearly went over but somehow managed to stay upright and make it to the bar without falling.
I took a seat in one of the barstools and looked around the place. Even the bar had a spectacular view as the entire back wall was a sheet of glass that looked out at a nice garden area, the tops of the palm trees visible in the background. There wasn’t much of a crowd, but that would be expected since it was the middle of the day, but a few couples and groups filled some of the tables, their talk boisterous.
“What will you have?”
I turned to the bartender, ready to spit out my order, and froze.
Oh. He was cute. Scorching hot with dark wavy hair and eyes a light color that could be blue or gray, it was hard to tell in this lighting. He smiled, and I was impressed that his gaze didn’t leave mine, even though the girls were pushed high thanks to a killer bra that had every other male in a twenty-foot radius ogling.
“Could I get three banana daiquiris?” I’d seen someone order those in a movie once and I’d always wanted to do the same.
“Three daiquiris coming up,” he said and started pouring the ingredients into the blender as I watched, quietly admiring his nice, broad shoulders and the tanned and toned arms that worked seamlessly.
“I haven’t seen you around. Just checking in?”