Chapter One
Thursday, June 20th
“Hedidwhat?”
“Disneyland?”
“That bastard!”
Danielle Peters took a bracing gulp of cheap Chardonnay before facing six goggling eyes. She could always count on her book club posse to denounce her ex-husband’s latest douchebaggery.
She heaved a sigh and slumped back on the sofa. “How can I say no? The kids really want to go, and it’s the only time he can take them.”
Cari clucked her tongue while topping off Danielle’s glass. “Really? He just happens to get VIP tickets during the beach vacation you’ve taken with your kids every summer of their frickin’ lives?”
“Typical divorced dad,” Marie added with a snort. “Spoil the kids two weeks a year, then turn them over to Mom for all the hard stuff—school, lessons, sports, doctor’s appointments…”
Danielle massaged her aching temples. “The new girlfriend arranged it. Some kind of work junket in Southern California. She’s taking her sons too.” Another detail to sour the pot: Jason had been seeing this woman only two months, and already he was folding their kids into her family. Considering his dating history, which, it turns out, overlapped their marriage by several years, this girlfriend would mostly likely be around just long enough for Olivia and Noah to get attached.
Since giving Jason the boot, she’d labored to keep the kids’ lives as normal as possible, including their beloved summer kickoff, two weeks on the Washington shore. But how could she deny them this vacation-palooza: four amusement parks and a week in San Diego? If she said no, the kids would hate her for it.
“And he waits to tell you until it’s too late to get a refund on your rental?” Marie shooed her cat off the coffee table and slid the tray of snacks toward Danielle. “I call bullshit. Now eat something before you pass out. You’re too pale.”
Danielle speared a cheese cube. “Looks like I won’t be getting much sun this summer. Not at the beach, anyway.” She popped the cheese into her mouth, but she might as well be chewing cardboard. Had her ex robbed her of that too? First their much-anticipated family beach trip, and now her love of food? Jason had a talent for sucking all the joy out of her life. Like a black hole.
“Why the hell not?” Laurie thumped the coffee table, interrupting Danielle’s daydream of ejecting Jason from an airlock into the endless void of outer space.
She blinked at her friend. “Why not what?”
Cari pushed her glasses down her nose and fixed Danielle with a laser-sharp gaze. “You should totally do it.”
“Do what?”
Marie’s brisk nod made her chandelier earrings tinkle. “You’re stuck with the rental. Why not use it? Beats hanging around Tacoma all by yourself. Especially on the Fourth of July.”
An odd sensation slithered down Danielle’s spine. Shiver of warning, or tingle of delight? “I haven’t traveled alone since—well—ever.”
“So?” Cari refilled Danielle’s glass. “You’ve been renting that same beach house so long, it’s like a second home. Only better because it’s close to the beach.”
“And lots of cute guys,” Laurie added with a nudge.
Danielle snorted. “A cute guy is the last thing I need.”
Marie pinged a kernel of popcorn off Danielle’s forehead. “It’s the first thing you need. Classic scenario, just like in that movie. Oh, what’s it called?” She circled her wrist, conjuring the memory. “Divorced woman takes a vacation by herself, goes to…”
“Tuscany?” Laurie suggested.
“Wasn’t it Greece?” Cari asked.
Danielle slouched further into the sofa. “I thought it was the Caribbean.”
Marie huffed. “The point is, you need time alone to get your head on straight. Pretty hard to do when your kids are around, right?”
Her friend wasn’t wrong. Though she loved her kids more than anyone or anything, they didn’t leave her much time for quiet contemplation.
“And God knows you deserve some pampering. So take advantage of this mess and make silver-lining lemonade.” Marie flashed a satisfied smile and slurped her wine.
Cari raised a finger. “Umm, I think you mean—”
