“I’m glad they wanted to split up. I wasn’t sure I could go into another little store and act interested in everything they thought was cute. Now, Remy,” Pen hooked her arm through mine, “show us something, anything that isn’t related to shopping.”
I was on the same wavelength as both Pen and Stella. We’d been in and out of shops for the last two hours and had to listen to them squeal at every little thing they saw. I wasn’t sure they actually thought the items were cute, or they were doing it because Scout and I were with them. Either way, I was happy to be with Stella and her friend.
“Do you think they’d be mad if we ate lunch without them? I mean, we can say we tried to find them and couldn’t,” Stella asked hopefully.
“Scout can call me on the walkie at any time, so I don’t think we can play that.”
“We should have told him to pretend like he was trying to get ahold of us and just met us on the ship at a certain time.”
“These are your friends.” I laughed at them.
“Ones I’m ready to not see for a year at least,” Pen huffed. “All except Stella, here. I can’t wait to get her moved up by me.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t offered to move me into your house until I find something of my own,” Stella laughed.
“Sometimes a girl needs her privacy,” Pen stated.
“I knew you were hiding something from me,” Stella yelled, causing everyone around us to stop and stare.
“And you said we’d talk about it later.”
“Fine.” This time it was Stella’s turn to huff.
They were fun to watch, and I could tell they loved each other.
“We can grab something to eat, and if Scout radios me, it will be up to them to decide if they want to join you for lunch or not.”
“I hope or not, is what they pick. I need a break from Reagan with her ugly looks and jabs.” She turned to Pen. “This is the last vacation I go on with her. You’ll be lucky to find me in the same room as her after this.”
“And I don’t blame you. She’s being a huge bitch to you, but really I think she’s just jealous.”
“Of what?” Stella threw her arms in the air. “That I’m thirty-seven, divorced, and starting my life over?”
Thirty-seven?
It was hard to believe the woman who stood in front of me was eleven years older than me. If I was to guess, I’d say we were the same age.
“She’s jealous because she’s in a shit marriage to a man who cheats on her all the time and doesn’t have the guts to divorce his sorry ass. Plus, you’ve got this young hottie drooling all over you.”
“Hey! I am not drooling,” I defended myself.
“Whatever you want to tell yourself,” Pen laughed at me. “Now, take us to lunch before we get hangry and turn on you.”
“We can’t have that now, can we?” Instead of giving Stella my other elbow, I reached down and laced our fingers together. Her fingers were stiff in mine for a couple of seconds before they relaxed and folded around mine.
“What are you ladies in the mood for?”
“You pick. We’ll trust your judgment,” Pen said and started walking off.
I looked down at Stella to see if that was okay with her. She gave me a small nod.
Giving her hand a squeeze, I decided on something a little different to eat. I wasn’t sure if the chef was only planning to serve Spanish food while they were on the boat, but I was going to take them to this little cafe that served the best French food.
“This island is beautiful. I wish we could stay longer and explore,” Stella commented as she looked up at one of the old buildings. It was beautiful here. That was why we ported here for a vast majority of the chartered clients.
“Are you headed back to California immediately?” I asked, thinking of getting away from the boat for a night and staying in a hotel with her. Someplace where we could truly be alone.
“Unfortunately. If I would have known the beauty here,” she peeked up at me with a smile, letting me know she didn’t only mean the island with its architecture and water. “I would have booked a hotel for an extra day or two, but…” She shrugged and looked down at the sidewalk we were traveling on.
“It was kind of last-minute,” Pen added. “Zelda didn’t give us much time to prepare. Otherwise, one of us would have looked up where we were going and probably wanted to live here.”
“Maybe I’ll move here instead of LA,” Stella laughed when Pen stopped in her tracks and began to stare her down.
“Don’t even joke about it. I’d never see you then. We’re finally free to see each other as much as we want, and you want to move halfway across the world. I don’t think so. We’ll find you a beach house not far from me, and you’ll be perfectly content.”
Penelope started walking as if she hadn’t spoken.
“Don’t you just love how bossy she is? I guess I won’t be moving here.” She winked.
“Why couldn’t you see each other before?” I asked, unable to push down my curiosity to know more about Stella, even knowing she was leaving in a matter of days.
“Because of her asshole ex-husband. He said I was a bad influence on her when in reality, it was because I saw through his shit excuses and tried to wake her up to the man she was married to. In the end, it didn’t matter, he got caught with his pants down, and now Stella can finally live her life.”
With them talking, we arrived at the café quickly, and luckily for us, they weren’t too busy. I spotted a table outside that was tucked away so we’d be safe from the wind and would be perfect for us to sit and afford them the luxury of seeing the water and the city.
“Let’s sit here, ladies.” I guided them over to the table.
Only a few seconds later, a busy worker dropped off waters and menus for us to peruse. Since I’d been here before, it didn’t take me long to decide on what I wanted to eat. It gave me plenty of time to digest what I’d heard on our walk here.
I wasn’t sure how Stella couldn’t have a life while she was married and was afraid to ask. I was merely a stranger who had an intense attraction to her. What right did I have to ask her all the personal questions that were burning inside of me? One thing I did know was Stella’s husband sounded like an asshole, and whatever he’d done to her, I was sure she still had to be raw over it. I needed to keep that in mind when dealing with her.
“Once I find a new place, I can start to live, that is.” Stella set her menu down and stared across the table at her friend. “I have a feeling if I take too long, Pen will find me the house and furnish it for me, which doesn’t sound too bad now that I think about it.”
“I might have to if you never finish writing your book, but seriously, don’t test me. I think if you have some new scenery, it will get your writing juices flowing.”
“Ew,” Stella scrunched up her nose. “Please don’t ever refer to my stalled writing as juices again.” She paused for a minute while looking out at the water. “But I think you’re right. I need to get out of Oasis, away from all the pitiful looks and whispers and Brock. Most definitely away from him. Although he’s a great villain muse.”