“Why?” A million reasons spring to mind but I’ll start with the most obvious one. “Because I’m spending the week sharing a room with a strange man.” And if that isn’t reason enough for her. “And because I and this strange man have been thrust into a couple’s vacation with all of my siblings and their spouses.” The level at which the bulk of us know each other only creates an impossibly vast contrast between me and this dude they convinced to tag along as my plus one. Which reminds me, “What is wrong with him anyway? What the hell kind of a person agrees to this?” A horrifying thought crosses my mind. “Oh, my God! Tell me he knew what he was getting himself into. Tell me you didn’t trick him into this like you did with me.”
“Relax. He knew.” Roni makes a face like I’m being extra dramatic. I’m not. I’m being more than reasonable.Extrareasonable if you will. “And there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s cute. And divorced. With two kids.” She actually gushes when she goes on, “He’s the best dad. Seriously, Nessa. Ever since his wife left him, he has focused only on his kids and work.”
“If that’s true, how did you manage to drag him thousands of miles away from these kids he’s so dedicated to? Along with his work?”
She rolls her eyes at me. Then she simpers like she thinks I’m going to regret being so snotty about things when she tells me whatever it is I obviously don’t know yet. “Because three months ago, he had a near-death experience and realized that life without the love of a good woman is empty. Therefore, he’s now willing to take a leap of faith in the pursuit of destiny,” she ends with the sort of snobbish flair we generally only tolerate from Tori. Because she dressed up as a princess one too many times growing up and now can’t help herself. “Also,” Roni adds, sounding more reasonable again, “he’s the Chief of Surgery at Clark’s hospital.” Roni’s husband, or perhaps better known to my date as the Chief of Emergency Medicine. “Clark and Oliver have known each other for seven years.” Then her entire expression changes in a flash. Gone is the scowl and disdain she’s been throwing my way in exchange for a face that is practically glowing with pride. “Clark saved his life, you know. Someday, when you’re married to Oliver and you’re living happily ever after with a ‘yours, mine, and ours’ story fit for the movies, you can thank him for it.”
“You sound insane right now.” I shake my head at her, but Roni’s too caught up in her fantasy about my future to care.
She’s also not bothered by my dig at her mental state. “Whatever. You know you think Oliver’s totally handsome. Justas soon as you get over being mad at us, you’ll be falling head over heels for the guy.”
“I’m sure.” I’m never one to skimp on the sarcasm, but I may be taking things to unprecedented heights during this conversation.
Honestly, I’m not so sure I’m sure of anything. Not least of all, what I do or don’t think makes a man handsome to me. For as long as I can remember, the sexiest man in the world was the one I slept next to. Sure, I could acknowledge when other men were attractive, but I always defaulted to comparing them to Matti. And compared to Matti, well, no one compared to Matti.
This moment, right here, is the first I’m realizing it’s possible no one ever will. And then what?
Roni takes my hands in hers, squeezing them tight. Either she’s completely oblivious to the sarcasm I’ve been using to navigate this entire conversation, or she’s choosing to ignore it because she stares at me in all earnestness as if she’s making me a sacred promise when she says, “You’re going to be perfect together. I just know it. Oliver’s stable and funny and just a super nice guy.”
I try not to cringe at the word nice. People like to throw it around like it means something significant. As if being nice is the same as being kind. And it’s not.
But I understand how she intends it, so I roll with it. “How long has he been divorced?” If this is a fresh wound, I want to know now. I don’t care what anyone says, if it’s still oozing in grief and betrayal, I’m not putting my finger in it. I know the kind of mess I was post-divorce. I’m not interested in being anyone’s cleanup crew.
“Three years.” She makes a face akin to an annoyed scowl. “His wife cheated on him.” Then she musters an encouraging smile, distinctly laced with an undertone of pity and judgment. “Another thing you two will have in common.”
“Matti never cheated on me.” For six months after we split, no five words crossed my lips as frequently as those did. “That’s not why we ended our marriage.”
“My mistake.” Though the look in her eyes is every bit the words she’s not saying. She still doesn’t believe it. Even if she believes that I do. “Well, in any event, you’ll know what it’s like to have your spouse’s attention wander elsewhere.” She smiles again. This time it’s just plain uncomfortable.
“Right.” I bite back the desire to explain myself. To explain Matti. To defend him. Roni may be my sister, but she doesn’t know what happened between us. She’s not meant to. It’s not her business. And I don’t intend to make it hers on a whim, just because she pushed my buttons trying to win me over on this stupid blind date I’m still not convinced won’t ruin my vacation.
“Just tell me one last thing,” I pause, holding my bottom lip between my teeth. “Did Vale know?”
Because I can easily blame this whole mess on two scheming, manipulative older sisters, but if my brother, the oldest and most sensible of us, was in on this too, I’m going to have to reassess the level of sadness my life has really stooped to.
“Sort of.” Roni does a half-roll of her eyes and sighs like she knows she’s losing the high ground she thought she secured herself with her little doctor speech. “He knew we were all coming together, siblings and spouses, and that you were bringing a date. But he only found out this morning at the airport that you weren’t the one to invite Oliver as your plus one.”
Thank the heavens. I’m not sad and pathetic enough to warrant this insanity after all.
“Okay.” I take a deep breath, determined to make peace with my fate. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for seven months, no way am I letting one little unexpected roommate situationruin it. “Well, we’re all adults. I’m sure Oliver and I will find a way to traverse the disaster you and Tori brought upon us.”
“And Anna.” Of course. Naturally, my brother’s wife was in on it as well.
“Right.” I shake my head, reaching for the handle. “Remind me never to let any of you be in charge of booking the rooms ever again.” Ten years we’ve been taking these trips and the one time I let Tori take the reins on planning things, this is what happens. I guess I should have known something was up when she suddenly volunteered to take over organizing everything for the first time in a decade.
“Don’t worry.” Roni shrugs. “We knew going in this was a one-shot deal.” Then, as we start to walk out of the room, she leans in to whisper, “You’re way better at arranging all of this than Tori anyway.”
Obviously. That’s how I got tasked with the job in the first place.
As soon as we step foot outside the room, I notice it’s as though we never even left. Like time stood still while we were gone and then picked back up the second we returned.
The cabin is just as lively as it was when we stepped away from the hustle and bustle a few minutes ago. Bags are being lugged from room to room. Every cabinet and cupboard in the kitchen is being opened, the contents assessed, and closed again. And random conversations are being shouted from one end of the house to the other, with no regard for noise or privacy. Because growing up in a family of six taught us that noise is a given and that privacy is impossible, and somehow, we never outgrew those lessons.
Of course, where Anna has been around long enough to be acclimated to our levels of chaos, poor Oliver looks like he’s lost in a war zone.
That’s all it takes for my desire to maintain as much distance from him as possible to give way to my basic human decency.
“Just keep moving and don’t make eye contact,” I tease, nudging him to start walking again. From the looks of things, he got three steps in the door with his bags in hand and froze mid-pandemonium. “Our room is upstairs.”
