I set down her suitcase and shut the door behind us. "If you didn't think we were staying here, why'd you bring your suitcase to the front door?"
"Oh, that?" She gave a weak laugh. "It was for dramatic effect. You know, to put you in the vacationy mood."
Funny, it actually had, but not because of any hotel or spa plans. It was because I'd been so thrilled to see her.
I wasstillthrilled. But now I felt slightly ashamed about how she'd gotten here in the first place.
I didn't want to be ungrateful to anyone, not even to Brody.
Did that make me a sap?
Probably.
And yet, if things had been even slightly different, his gesture would've melted my heart.
But not now.
Now, all I felt was despair. And I hated that Cami had been caught up in the middle. I gave her a concerned look. "Are you disappointed?"
She sank down onto the living room sofa. "About what?"
I claimed the sofa's opposite end. "Oh, come on. You know. That we're just stayinghere."
Together, Cami and I had agreed on this revised plan because neither one of us had felt right about taking something so extravagant from Brody when my relationship with him was decidedly over.
But for Cami's sake, I still felt guilty for the bait-and-switch. I glanced around. "I mean, this is no luxury hotel."
"Forget the hotel," she said. "You were the main attraction."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because you reallydolook disappointed."
"Of course I'm disappointed," she said. "But not because of the spa or whatever."
"Oh. Then what is it?"
She sighed. "I'm disappointed because I actually believed him. He soundedsosincere. And I was so happy for you – for both of you, actually."
I knew the feeling.There was a time, and it wasn't too awful long ago, that I'd been happy, too.
With a wistful smile, Cami continued. "It was all so thoughtful. Or at least, Ithoughtit was. And in the car, all the way down here, I kept thinking how lucky you were to find that special someone, you know?"
I did know.Until a couple of days ago, I'd been feeling pretty lucky myself. Whatever Brody and I had, it had seemed so achingly real.
But now I knew better. The whole thing was built on a foundation of lies.
It reallywasdepressing.
On the couch, Cami gave me a hopeful look. "Are yousureyou're not over-reacting, at least a little?"
I stiffened. "What?"
"I just mean, I know he bolted without telling you and all, but —"
"That's not it."
She hesitated. "What do you mean?"
The last time I'd talked to Cami, I'd been angry about Brody leaving so suddenly with no warning, andalsofor avoiding my phone calls after the fact.
