Page 15 of The Other Plan

He choked on the sip of mimosa he’d just taken and nearly spit it out in her face. After a quick exchange of horror between us, we both shook our heads.

“Gee, Lydia. I sure would love to have a wedding here, but actually, Camilla and I called off our engagement a few months ago.”

Camilla. So that was the name of the leggy blonde with the perfect smile, the legs up to my ears, and the breasts that were probably natural and twice the size of my mine. At least that was how I envisioned her in my head.

Wait... did he say called off the engagement?

“Oh, dear,” Lydia said with a frown. “I feel like such a ninny. I don’t know how I didn’t put together that you were the poor fellow who was engaged to Camilla before she...” She sucked the air through her teeth. “You know. Valentina probably even told me, but I’ve been so distracted with wedding plans it must have gone in one ear and out the other. Please accept my apologies for such an awful foot in mouth situation. I don’t know all the details, but I know my Valentina was right in kicking her out of the wedding for that sort of behavior. It’s uncouth. I just hadn’t put together that you were the young man she was supposed to marry. I’m so sorry for everything you went through. So tragic.”

“It was for the best,” he answered quickly. “All that matters right now is marrying Eric off to that beautiful daughter of yours. If only we could all be so lucky as to find a woman to love as much as Eric loves Valentina.”

Lydia’s frown lifted into a big, bright smile as she clinked her glass against his—a smile I didn’t share as I stared dumbfounded at Carter.

He wasn’t engaged anymore, and I had just panicked and made up a fake boyfriend like some middle schooler who came back from summer camp bragging about the boy we all knew they’d never met. In a matter of less than a minute, I’d gone from proud, single woman to lying, pathetic loser. And it turned out, I had done it all for nothing.

Carter was single too.

The boat picked up speed, and the breeze threatened to dislodge Lydia’s hat. “I’d best go find my husband and make sure he hasn’t gotten into the cigars. Filthy habit.” She puckered her face in disgust.

“We’ll see you soon,” Carter said, and I just smiled and nodded.

As soon as she got out of sight, Carter’s attention turned back to me. “So, where were we? Oh, yes. We were at the part where you were going to apologize for abandoning me in Hawaii without a word.”

Flashes of his shirtless body wrapped around Janine crashed back into my mind. The horror. The heartbreak. The agony. The returning emotions twisted my stomach into knots as I braced against their assault.

“Well? I’m waiting?” he teased as he leaned against the railing and took a sip from his glass.

All those emotions that had returned merged into one powerful one as I narrowed my eyes.

“I’ve got your apology right here.” Lifting my middle finger, I stuck it up in his face and spun on my heel, storming away.

CHAPTER FIVE

CARTER

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After Jenna left me standing alone in shock, I spent the better part of the morning trying to talk to her again. But she had ninja-like stealth moves, and she successfully dodged me each time I got close.

Not being one to give up without a fight and desperate to get the explanation I deserved, I moved in closer to her once again. After ten years of coming up with a thousand explanations as to why she’d left, I wasn’t giving up until I found out the real reason... and now I also needed some semblance of an explanation as to how I was the bad guy here. But when she saw me making my way toward her again, she impaled me with a glare then slid into a crowd, disappearing into their conversation.

Unbelievable.

All these years, I’d thought there must be some very reasonable explanation for her exit. I’d believed it so much that I’d almost not proposed to Camilla because I’d still held onto a glimmer of hope I’d find the girl of my dreams again. Something inside me had breathed a sigh of relief when we’d called off our engagement. Maybe, just maybe, Jenna was still out there, and we’d reconnect again. We’d be reunited and fall into each other’s arms just like we had that week in Hawaii. But that was not at all what happened when she’d reappeared in my life. It turned out the girl I’d fallen head over heels for wasn’t at all what I’d thought. In fact, she was a real jerk.

“I’ll get the case of wine and bring it to the servers,” Jenna said to Aunt Tilly before heading into the cabin.

This was it. My chance to get her alone and demand she explain to me what the hell was going on. I pushed through the crowd and followed her inside and down the steps, catching her alone in the hallway.

“Are you stalking me now?” she asked as she spun to face me.

“I’m not stalking you,” I answered. “I just wanted to finish our conversation.”

She lifted a dark eyebrow. “I think I was quite clear that our conversation was over, but if you need me to remind you, I have another middle finger I could try. Maybe that one would get the point across that I have nothing else to say to you.”

With a chuckle, I shook my head. “You know, I’m not going to lie. When I first saw you yesterday, for a moment, I thought that you’d throw yourself in my arms and tell me why you abandoned me in Hawaii without a word, but I see now that’s not going to happen. And yeah... it took me a while to get over it, but I guess if this is the kind of person you are, then it’s probably for the best you ditched me.”

Her mouth fell open as she struggled to form a sentence. “Me? Are you insinuating I’m the shitty person in this scenario? Because let me just tell you, Carter...” She stepped forward and stuck her index finger in my face. “The only one who is lucky to have gotten away from that relationship, or whatever the hell it was, was me.”