2. Amy

CHAPTER 2

AMY

P resent Amy is pissed at Past Amy for not thinking about the mess that would be left all over her apartment when she decided to pack at the last minute.

I groan as I get out of bed, stretching before nearly falling over the suitcase in the middle of the floor.

Catching myself on the edge of the dresser, I untangle my foot from the midi-length slip dress I plan on changing into the moment I’m off the plane and in Mykonos.

Sighing, I glance at the clock. I still have several hours left to pack, but I have no clue what to bring.

What do you wear on your best friend’s weekend bachelorette trip to Greece?

My phone starts buzzing somewhere in the mountain of clothing that met their fate on the chair in the corner, and I groan. Why the hell is someone calling me at six in the morning?

I shuffle to the side, digging through the pile and sending most of it cascading to the ground as I look for the phone.

When I find it, there are several missed calls and messages from Gabby. I dial her back immediately, my first thought going to the wedding.

“Why aren’t you at the airport right now?” she asks as soon as the call connects.

“Uh, because the flight isn’t for another twelve hours? You booked us for six tonight.”

Gabby sighs, people chattering in the background. “No, Amy. I booked the flights for six this morning. I’m standing here with your ticket, but you’re not here. You’re not going to miss the weekend, are you?”

“No!” Tears spring to my eyes as I start shoving shorts and shirts into my suitcase, not caring if any of them will create viable outfits. “I’m so sorry, Gabs. I’ll call the airline right now and see what I can do to get another ticket. I promise I’m going to be there.”

“Are you sure? I can pay for the ticket for you.”

Guilt gnaws at me, tearing at the last few pieces of my dignity. “You don’t have to do that, Gabs. You already paid for the entire trip, and I’m the one who screwed up. I have some savings I can use to cover the flight.”

All of my short-term savings, actually.

“If this is going to be an issue for you, you know I don’t mind paying,” Gabby says, her tone gentle as one of the other girls calls for her. “We’re boarding now, so I have to get going.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get the next flight out of New Jersey, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay. Let me know when you get a flight booked and when you’re supposed to land. I’ll send a car to pick you up.”

“Thanks, Gabs. I’m sorry I got the times wrong.”

“Everything is going to be fine.”

The call ends, and I scramble to finish packing before calling the airline. I pace around my apartment, cleaning as the line rings several times.

“Hello, Andrea from INTEL Air speaking. How can I help you today?”

“Hi, I missed my flight this morning because I mixed up the time, and I was looking to get another flight to Mykonos for today. I have a bachelorette party I have to get to. My ticket is under Amy Harlowe.”

Keys tap in the background before Andrea hums. “There are no more direct flights to Mykonos for another five days. Would you be interested in a flight with a layover?”

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. Five days from now would be too late. I’d miss the whole weekend. Gabby would be so disappointed.

“A flight with a layover is fine. Anything to get me there as soon as possible.”

Andrea makes a noise in the back of her throat, whispering something to someone on the other end of the line that I don’t catch. “My colleague has told me that there’s a direct flight to Athens in three hours, and from there you can catch a boat to Mykonos.”

“Andrea, you are a lifesaver.” I head back to my room, slinging my purse over my arm and dragging the suitcase behind me. “Book me for the ticket, please. I’m on my way to the airport now.”

“Great. The ticket is booked and waiting to be paid for at the counter.”

“Thank you. Have a good day.” I end the call, heart racing as I fly down the stairs of my building and out to the parking lot.

I’ll do whatever it takes to be there for Gabby, even if it means flying halfway around the world, using money I can’t afford to spend.

“The last boat has left for the day,” the translation app informs me as I gape at the man standing in front of me.

“No. That can’t be right.” I look out at the crystal blue water, and sure enough, the boat I was supposed to get on is filled with people and leaving me behind.

I take a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears that burn the corners of my eyes as I stare at the sun shining on the waves as it creeps closer to the horizon.

This can’t be happening right now.

I didn’t get on a plane with two screaming babies, sit through a grandmother trying to tell me about every single ailment she’s ever had, and spend the last of my emergency savings to get here.

Groaning, I tilt my head back, squeezing my eyes shut.

When I open them again, the man is still standing there, looking at me like I have three heads.

I’ve been traveling for nearly twenty-four hours. The plane spent hours sitting on the runway when a storm kept it from taking off, and once we actually got in the air, it was a steady stream of chaos.

And now I’m standing in a country where I don’t speak the language, wishing that a boat would turn around.

The man taps my shoulder and points to a little orange boat before nodding to my phone.

I hold it up to him, and he starts speaking. “That boat will be leaving soon.”

Smiling, I gather my bag and head down to the boat. The man gestures to one of the few empty seats, helping me on with my luggage. I sit down, my stomach lurching.

Maybe it would have been better to wait until tomorrow when the bigger and more stable boat could take me, but Gabby’s weekend trip is going to be over in two days. I have to get there tonight if I want to spend any time with her and our friends.

Which means that I hold on, trying not to throw up as the boat rocks against the waves, leaving the sloping side of Athens behind.

One of the women beside me smiles and gestures to the purse in my lap. I hold it out to her, thinking she wants to get a better look, but she snatches it from me and starts rummaging through it, skipping past the wallet and heading straight for the packet of peanuts inside it.

She takes the snack and hands the bag back to me, saying something in a language I don’t recognize before tearing into the bag.

My jaw drops, and I can’t seem to pick it up as the old woman tears into the bright yellow package and pops nuts like she doesn’t have a care in the world.

Would it be wrong to throw an old lady overboard?

It might make for a good story, but I doubt anybody would be happy to find out that I’ve been starting fights with little old ladies.

Even if they did rifle through my things and steal my snacks first.

The sun is just starting to set as the woman lifts the bag to her mouth and tilts her head back, catching all the crumbs.

The man running the motor says something in a language I don’t recognize as he guides the little boat alongside a crooked dock. He hops off, worn sandals hitting the planks before he tows the boat in with a rope.

Other passengers get off first, talking to each other and starting the journey up the small slope of the cliffside.

I glance up, and along the top of the island, there’s a castle.

This isn’t Mykonos.

My heart drops to my feet as I look around, searching for some sort of sign that might tell me where I am.

While the houses that sprawl up the side of the cliff are gorgeous and white, standing out against the lush green foliage, it’s not the same as Mykonos. The roofs are all wildly bright colors, looking like I stepped into a rainbow village.

“Excuse me,” I say to one of the men getting off the boat. “Do you know where we are?”

The man looks at me like I’m crazy before shrugging. “Katastinia.”

His accent is heavy, and his skin looks like it’s close to leather from spending long days in the salt spray and the sun.

If anybody is going to know where we are, it would be this guy.

“Is Mykonos close to Katastinia?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No. No boats going there today either. Or tomorrow.”

The man nods to me before joining a woman with a baby on her hip. They head into one of the little houses right on the water, shutting the door behind them as I stand in the middle of the dock, not having a clue what I should do now.

With no boat today or tomorrow, I would be arriving in Mykonos on the last day of the bachelorette trip. I’d have a couple hours with my friends before we all get on planes.

They would be going back to their successful lives, and I would be going home to dream of the day I could open my own bakery, in the meantime spending long days at Newark’s fanciest hotel, making pastries for people with three times the amount of income I make.

Minimum.

I take a deep breath and send Gabby a message. She may as well know now that I’m never going to make it in time.

Several minutes later and the message sits unread, as Gaby posts pictures of her and our friends out at a bar and dancing.

Once again, I’m the friend who’s getting left behind while the others move on with their lives.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes as I search the map app on my phone for somewhere to stay. There’s a little inn a short distance away that shouldn’t charge too much for a couple nights.

It’s still more than I intended on spending in Greece, but I don’t have any other options.

My feet ache as I walk along the beach to the inn, dragging my suitcase behind me. It feels like a lead weight at this point.

The inn is a little stone building, the front doors opening right onto white stone that leads into the sand. I step inside, approaching the woman behind the counter with my phone at the ready.

“Hi,” I say, voice soft as I watch her, trying to gauge how much English she knows. “I was looking to get a room for two nights.”

The woman nods and turns around, grabbing an antique brass key from the glass case behind her. “Right this way. It will be one hundred euros a night.”

I swallow hard but nod. “That’s fine with me.”

She leads the way down the hall to a small room with a little kitchenette tucked in one corner and large doors against the far wall that lead to a patio.

“I’ll leave you to get settled.” She presses the key into my hand before spinning and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

Once she’s gone, I set my suitcase on the bench in the corner, open it up and pull out the dress I had planned on wearing to the bar.

May as well put the dress to use even if the rest of my life has imploded.

I take a few minutes to shower and change before heading out onto the beach, the white sand soft and warm between my toes.

The sun is shining with beautiful streaks of orange and pink as I sit down, listening to the lapping of the waves against the shore.

Even if everything else in my life feels like it’s tearing apart at the seams, it is a beautiful evening.

I can worry about piecing myself back together tomorrow.