“I know she’s hurt you. I know she’s going to hurt Mr. Bean.”
“How do you know that?”
“Someday, Mr. Bean is going to wake up and realize his mistake. Losing you will be the biggest regret of his life, and he will die a broken man.”
Adrienne blew out a small laugh. “Maybe he’ll be happier with Therese, happier than he could have ever been with me. Maybe we were just poorly matched and we’re better apart than we could have ever been together.”
Nick gazed at her. “Do you really believe that?”
She wilted beneath his scrutiny. “I don’t know what I believe anymore.”
A stewardess appeared beside Nick. “Anything to drink?” she asked.
Nick ordered a Pepsi and Adrienne a water. They both waited for the stewardess to hand them their drinks before resuming their conversation.
“Is that why you want to meet with a priest?” Nick asked.
“I want someone to tell me what God wants me to do,” Adrienne said.
“You don’t need a priest to tell you that. And you don’t need to make any decisions right now.”
“No?”
He grinned at her. “Right now, we have an amazing trip planned through South America. We don’t need to think about anything other than chasing monkeys in the jungle, running with llamas in the Andes, and counting penguins in Patagonia.”
#
The air cloaked Adrienne like a warm, wet, heavy blanket and smelled of rain and jungle. Strange animals that looked like a mix between a cat, a raccoon, and a monkey swung in the trees.
“Coatis,” Nick said, answering her unasked question.
“They look like cartoon animals,” Adrienne said, glancing around at the long lines forming around the park’s entrance. “And there are so many people here. How will we ever find a private place for you to sing?”
Nick consulted the map on his phone. “The park is supposedly huge with several trails cutting through the jungle to the water’s edge. We’ll be fine.”
“Everything’s so green,” Adrienne said. “Like Seattle, but different.”
“Do you miss it?” The tone of his voice made her wonder if he was asking about Seattle or Seb.
She squeezed his arm. “I’m glad I’m here. There’s really no other place I’d rather be.”
Her answer softened the concerned wrinkle between his eyebrows and he briefly put his hand over hers.
She waited while Nick bought the tickets to the park, her worry mounting. After he returned, she said, “The price tag of this trip is climbing.”
He gave her a smile that seemed full of secrets. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure?”
He raised his eyebrows. “What are you saying? We came all this way! You want to back out?”
“Of course, we have to see the falls now that we’re already here, but…” She paused before adding, “There are a lot of cool places where we can take videos in Buenos Aires. We don’t have to—”
“Stop.” He placed his finger on her lips. “I know what I’m doing, okay? Don’t worry about the money.”
She stared at him. He looked so much like Seb, but despite the fact that they’d been raised as brothers, they were so very different. Seb never said don’t worry about the money, even though he had plenty of it.
“Where’s your guitar?” she asked, noticing for once that he was empty-handed.
