Chapter Four

Gemma

There was no easy way to say this, but parties were not my thing. I mean, they used to be when I was younger, but I was pushing forty and I didn't feel the need to party like I was twenty anymore. These past couple of years, the only time I liked to get my party on was Christmas when my parents hosted their annual holiday party. It was a real blast, having the Christmas music cranked up, eating all the special foods, and then going out to carol with the rest of the group. Now that was a heck of a party.

But a week-long bachelorette party for my sister to live out her final days of being single? That wasn't a party, that was a train wreck waiting to happen, especially with her two best friends in attendance. I mean, pretty girls in teeny tiny bikinis, drinking way too much, and horny shirtless men, that could only end in disaster.

Worse, she insisted we do it at the Emerald Seas Resort in Miami, the very same resort where I had a fling with a handsome surf instructor years ago. Apparently, when I talked about the resort three years ago after working for them for a brief stint it stuck in her head.

Just my luck.

And of course, this trip back there had me thinking about all the ways I'd changed since I'd last been there. At that time it was no big deal for me to extend my trip and have the fling of a lifetime. But now, well, now, that would never happen. My sister told me I was boring. In my opinion, I just woke up to the fact that I didn't have time to let loose and forget about my troubles. Heck, the last time I did that, I nearly lost clients. It was selfish and careless on my part. Sure, Lance and I had a good time, but that was then and this was now.

I rubbed my forehead and sighed before being pushed slightly off kilter by a fist to my arm I didn't see coming. "Come on, Gemma! It's Soph's bachelorette party! "

I looked over at Daphne, the girl who had fists of steel even when she was acting playful, and furrowed my brows. As if I didn't already know why I was sitting in a convertible with the top down on a weekday with three girls in their twenties. If I didn't know any better I'd think I was in the wrong car. I felt much safer in my Cadillac, where I paid extra for it to be dust, rain, and UV protected.

Sophie turned around from where she was sitting in the passenger seat, her high ponytail whipping her face as she did. "Yeah, come on, G, don't be such a party pooper."

I exhaled and slid the hairband off of my wrist as I put my hair in a sloppy bun on the top of my head. The wind was a real menace to my hair, but no one seemed to care. Coco, the girl driving and Sophie's BFFAE—best friend forever and ever, her words not mine—didn't want to cramp our style by putting the top up, closing the windows, and driving with the air conditioning on, like most Floridians did. I didn't think of it as cramping anyone's style, especially when it was July in Miami and the rays were threatening to burn me to death, but what did I know?

I wiped the back of my neck and felt tiny beads of sweat transfer to my palm.

I noticed Soph still turned around, eyeing me. "Well? Are you going to have some fun, or what?" she asked, trying again to get me to lighten up. But what was wrong with having a different kind of fun than them, I wondered.

Resigned to my fate for the foreseeable future, I fixed my sunglasses on my face and looked around. Three pairs of eyes were on me and I immediately put my hands up and gave. "Fine, I'll try to have some fun." And that was the most they were getting out of me.

Unless they suddenly got us tickets to go to the theater to see the latest rendition of Romeo & Juliet that I heard was playing in South Florida. Now that was something I'd actually have fun doing.

"Try harder," Coco commanded. "It's our girl's bachelorette party. She's only getting married once, ya know?" Then she gave a squeal and clutched Sophie's arm before placing it back on the steering wheel. "We're going to be sisters!" Then she added, "I still can't believe you're marrying my brother." She gagged. "Don't tell me anything about your sex life ever! I. Do. Not. Want. To. Know."

"You can tell me," Daphne said. "But as happy as I am for you, it's also such a bummer." She frowned. "Who will be my wingwoman now?"

Sophie gave her a pouty look and took her sunglasses off for a moment. I spotted some tears and wondered if they were tears over not being able to go to a bar late at night where men were practically crawling the place to hit on innocent women or something else. I decided my sister couldn't be serious about missing that life. She'd finally got everything Mom and Dad dreamed about for her. At least one of us wasn't a disappointment to them. "I'm going to miss those days," Sophie cried. "But I'll be a married woman." She put her sunglasses on and looked back at the road in front. "I'll at least have to ask my hubby first." Then they all broke out into laughter.

Daphne bent down and her crop top creeped up even higher, her back showing. She rummaged around in her purse that was on the floor and then took out a piece of gum and popped it in her mouth before grabbing another and offering it to me. "Want one?" she asked, chewing her own like her life depended on it.

I cleared my throat and waved my hand. "No, that's okay, I think I'll save the gum for later. You know, after we eat."

Coco peered back and raised a brow. "After we eat?" She pointed at me and then looked at Sophie. "What's she talking about?"

I answered before Sophie could explain my way of thinking I'd explained to her multiple times before. "I don't like the aftertaste of food in my mouth. There's a reason restaurants have mints at the door. So when you walk out, you grab one. "

"Or a dozen," Coco jested. "I love those darn things!"

"Same!" Daphne cried. "I swear, I don't know where they get those. The green are the best."

"Spearmint," I explained. "They're spearmint."

"Whatever," Daphne said, looking out her side of the window as we came rolling to a stop at a red light. "I still don't understand what that has to do with not having gum now," she started, shaking her head. That was until something else caught her attention. "Hey, check it out, girls! Those guys in the Range Rover to our right are totally checking us out!"

Sophie giggled. "They are not!" She turned to look out her side.

"They so are!" Coco exclaimed, waving at the guy in the passenger seat.

Daphne raked her bottom lip through her teeth and seemed to be trying to hold back a giggle herself as she shouted, "Hey, handsome!"

The driver of the car opened his window while the passenger winked. They looked like they just came back from the beach because their hair was wet and they were wearing those little white tank tops men wore under their shirts. They were definitely coming back from the beach or a car wash, but seeing as they weren't seventeen it was probably the former .

I looked forward and noticed the light turned green just as the car behind us honked. "Ugh," Coco groaned. "Are they honking at me?"

"You're going to get us killed. Go, Coco."

I looked back and waved at them as if to say sorry, but didn't know what it mattered because Coco hit the gas pedal while at the same time sticking up one of her hands and giving them the middle finger. As we continued driving and the car changed lanes, Coco scoffed. "Some people are so rude."

Yeah, rude, I mused. Thankfully, we were getting on the highway in a few minutes and she'd be forced to pay attention. Or so I prayed. My life kind of depended on it, after all.

Clearly in her own head, not worried about her safety in the least bit, Sophie held up her hands and let out a shrill squeal I swore only dolphins could hear. "Wooo!" she yelled now, shooting her arms straight up in the air. She unbuckled and lifted herself up in her seat as she looked all around and shouted, "I'm getting married!" to any passerby that would listen. Technically, she wasn't getting married this week, but you wouldn't know that by how excited she was.

"Soph, sit down and put your seatbelt back on. You want to actually make it to your wedding day, don't you? "

She settled back in and I heard the click of the seatbelt. "Party pooper," she mumbled. "Haven't you ever done anything fun and freeing?" she asked me, her voice getting louder as our speed picked up and so did the wind.

I looked skyward, thinking. It needed to be something good because I was much too mature for these girls and was starting to feel like the old, boring nanny around them. I had a few options, but didn't really want to share the nefarious details of any random hookup I'd had. Then it hit me. "Of course!"

"When?" my little sister challenged.

I chuckled just thinking about it and how she'd regret doubting me. "When I was in college, I went to a rager."Sophie gasped. "I didn't know you went to a rager."

Daphne leaned in. "Well, don't leave us in suspense."

I grinned. "Mmhmm. Okay, so there was like tons of alcohol and the music was real loud, and this guy came up and kissed me," I paused before finishing, "out of the blue. I was just standing there, dancing with some of the other girls, and he walked over and kissed me. It was so wild."

Coco looked back and raised a brow. "And? "

I shrugged my shoulders. "And nothing, that's it. I let a stranger kiss me. It was definitely freeing and fun." Didn't these girls see how fun that was?

"That's it?" Sophie asked.

Daphne questioned, "Wait. Was he cute? Did you guys hook up?"

I shook my head and placed my hands in my lap. "Nope, that's all. He kissed me and walked away." As if I'd tell them about that if I did. No, those moments were too private to share.

"And you let him?" Soph asked, wide-eyed.

I nodded. "Of course. I couldn't keep him there even if he tasted delicious."

Daphne's lips formed a circle next to me like she wanted to say something but was speechless.

"What did he taste like?" Coco asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Cheetos, beer, and bad decisions."

Turning around, Sophie just shook her head. "I can't believe that. That's both the wildest thing I've ever heard happen to you and also the saddest thing. It's such a sin we aren't closer in age."

I smirked and looked away. I was okay with that, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

Meanwhile, Daphne settled back in her seat and untied the halter strap on her string bikini and slid it out of her gauzy tube top. "I gotta let my girls free for a while. They're too confined in that bikini."

My eyes widened and I turned and caught Sophie doing the same, freeing her own breasts. On. The. Highway.

Didn't they know people could see us, especially with the top down? Traveling like this wasn't exactly the definition of privacy.

Besides the fact that it was so dangerous for their skin.

Needing to remind them of the importance of proper sun protection, I sat up and spoke mainly to my sister who I hoped would see reason. "Soph!" I gasped. "Your shirt is much too thin not to be wearing something to cover your breasts. The rays of the sun are no good and you're not wearing sunscreen there." Then I quirked a brow and leaned even closer in my seat, well, as close as the seatbelt would allow. "Are you?" I asked.

She tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and chuckled. "No," she answered. "You need to chill, though. Daphne's right. I hate bras, and bikinis are no different."

Coco groaned. "I don't even know why I bother wearing a bra. My babies are barely Bs. But, you know, I have to tell you, Soph, my nipples are really sensitive lately. "

"And why are we sharing this?" I asked, both wanting to know and not wanting to know all at the same time. I couldn't fathom what Coco's sensitive nipples had to do with my sister and why she would want to know. Maybe she was trying to tell us she was experiencing hormonal changes. "Are you pregnant?" I questioned and got nasty looks all around. "What did I say?"

Sophie answered me, "Talking babies on a bach trip should like be illegal. Especially mine."

"But don't you want babies?"

Sophie turned around and shook her head quickly. "No way! I mean, maybe in a few years, but I'm much to young to be talking babies. No, I think my trusty birth control and I will be friends for a couple more years before I wave them arrivederci ."

"Hello," Coco whined. "My nipples and I have something we'd like to say."

"Oh, yeah, what gives, Coco?" Sophie asked, looking at her now.

"Whenever my nipples are this sensitive it means rain is nowhere in sight. It's going to be a sunny week for you, girl."

Smacking her head, Daphne sat back. "Oh my goodness, I totally forgot about your whole nipple thing. She's right, you know," she said to my sister as she ran a hand through her hair to try to tame it .

I tilted my head and then shook it. "Wait, so to be clear," I asked lamely, "your nipples are sensitive, so naturally it's not going to rain while we're on this trip?"

"Exactly," Coco replied.

Daphne pursed her lips and looked at me skeptically. "It's totally true."

I looked over at her like she had eight heads. "That makes sense to you?"

"Of course, what like you don't believe it?" she countered.

"No," I lied, "just making sure I understood."

Sitting back, resting her head against the headrest, Sophie shouted. "Whatever, I'm just so glad we won't be rained out. I hate the rain."

Coco nodded and put the music on now, as if perfectly content she could give Sophie this small thing. They all began singing to some hit pop song they knew the lyrics to, so I took that as my time to take my phone out of my purse and check my email.

I was having withdrawals from work and I had barely been away from my computer and phone for an hour. "No new messages," I said to myself.

No one seemed to notice, though, so I put my phone away and watched as Coco pulled off the highway to a gas station at a rest station. "Do we need gas already?" I asked, trying to see the meter. If she filled up before we left, we shouldn't have needed gas until we got to Miami, especially without the air conditioning.

Coco shook her head. "We don't need gas, but I need to pee and am dying for some beef jerky."

"You're going to use the restroom at a gas station?" I gave Coco a sour expression. "That can't be safe."

"It's perfectly fine," she promised. "I have these." She took out toilet seat covers from her purse one-handed, like those made it all better, and waved them back at me.

"I hope you're planning on using the whole box."

She brushed off my comment. "It'll be fine." Then she turned to Daphne and Sophie. "Remember when we took that trip to Atlanta to go to the aquarium because Mel was having an obsession with sea animals and Sophie peed in the bushes?"

"Oh, I miss Mel. I wish she could've come home for this week," Daphne said, looking off.

"There was nowhere else to pee and we had just passed a gas station," my sister exclaimed in her defense.

"You peed in the bushes?" I asked her, still astonished that she'd do something like that.

She nodded. "It's actually not as bad as you think. To be honest, now I know why guys do it so often. "

"Guys pee in bushes often?" I asked, sounding stupid to even my own ears."I don't think they set out to do it, but yeah my boyfriends have on more than one occasion," Daphne said. "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

I rolled my eyes. "But this is only a four-hour drive. You can't just wait?"

Coco shook her head. "I think it was the blue raspberry Slurpee I got at the 7-Eleven earlier. I knew I shouldn't have drank it all."

Coco got out. "Any of you coming?" She looked to me, Daphne, and then Sophie.

We all shook our heads.

"We'll wait here," Sophie spoke for all of us, apparently. But I didn't mind. In this, my sister could definitely speak for me.

Daphne shot a hand up in the air and climbed out. "Actually, wait up, I'm coming with you. I want to get something to snack on," she explained to us as if it mattered one way or another.

When Daphne was gone, Soph unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed over to the backseat. "What are you doing?" I asked, astonished by her. In fact, I really didn't think I'd ever not be astonished by her. She was so carefree. Reckless, I pondered. Or maybe it was just me, maybe I was getting to be too old and boring .

When she finally got settled, she fixed her jean shorts and sighed. "I want to talk to you."

Focusing on her, I pushed aside all my thoughts and asked, "And you couldn't do that from up there?"

She shook her head and found my hands in my lap, taking them in hers. "I need to know something."

I searched her eyes. I didn't know where this was going, but I'd tell Sophie anything she wanted or needed to know. "What's up?"

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Am I making a mistake?"

I widened my eyes and licked my lips. "Why would you ask that?"

She pulled away and played with her ponytail now. "Because I'm not always the best judge of character and Bobby is a great guy and all, but is he really my forever? I mean, is he going to make me happy for the rest of my life? Or am I settling?"

I pulled my sunglasses up and put them on top of my head. "Listen to me," I started and looked to see if either of the girls were coming back first. "You are the luckiest girl I know. Do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"Because you've known Bobby practically your whole life. Sure, he didn't see you that way in the beginning because he was older than you, but he sees you that way now." I rubbed her arm. "As for whether he'll make you happy forever, I don't have a crystal ball or anything, but he makes you happy now, doesn't he?"

She nodded and I could see tears fill her eyes. "So happy."

I smiled. "Then that's all that matters. What happens down the road? We'll deal with that then." I added, "What do I always say?"

"Don't borrow trouble," she repeated my motto.

"Exactly. And if he ever gives you any trouble, you tell me and I'll deal with him myself."

She chuckled. "Thanks, sis." She leaned in and gave me a hug.

I hugged her back and smiled. "I'm always here for you," I promised, as we pulled back.

"I know you are and I can't tell you how happy that makes me."

"Hello!" Sophie looked up and chuckled and I turned my head to see Daphne waving her arms around. "What are you doing in my seat, girl? Goodness, I'm gone for like ten minutes and you jump in my seat."

Sophie climbed back to the front seat. "Sorry, had to talk to my sister."

"And you couldn't do that from your seat?" She rolled her eyes. "Now you made it all hot with your big behind."

"Who's got a big behind?" Coco asked, coming up behind Daphne .

"What took you so long?" Sophie asked and I was wondering the same thing.

Coco laughed and put a pack of beef jerky on the dashboard. "I got Big Mac's number." She held out her arm and flipped it over so we could see the inside of her wrist. "Take that down for me, Soph, would you?"

Sophie got out her phone and texted the number to Coco. "Done."

"What kind of name is Big Mac?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

Daphne laughed, opening her bag of licorice. "I saw him at the register. He's definitely a Big Mac." She held the bag out to me, then Sophie and Coco.

We all shook our heads. I, for one, was still caught up on what she'd said. "What?" I was so confused, but again chalked it up to this being something else I wouldn't want to know. "Never mind."

Sophie giggled. "My sister's a bit square."

"Whatever," I said. "Can we just drive? We're almost there and I'd like to get somewhere where there's air conditioning soon."

Coco started up the car again and let out a screech as she did. "Soph's getting married!" she shouted for the rest of the world to know.

I put my hands on my ears to protect them from the sudden onslaught of wind we were going to pick up. " We could've been there sooner if you didn't stop again, that's all I'm saying."

Coco waved her hand in my direction. "Nah, I just made a flood. There was no holding that back for another second."

"I think I'll try to get a little shut eye before we get there." I put my sunglasses back on over my eyes and closed them.

The closer we got to the resort, the closer we got to me facing my biggest fear—running into Lance. I really hoped that wasn't the case, though, and that I didn't walk on the beach and bump into him. Honestly, it had been a little over three years, so what were the odds he'd still even be working there? So much had changed in my life, so there was no way he didn't have changes in his life. Maybe one of those changes put him at another job, in another place, another city, far, far away from Miami.