Stalling, I take another spoonful of the creamy rice dessert infused with tropical fruit. This food is crazy amazing.

I dare to meet his penetrating gaze, which feels like it sees everything.

“That’s if I were to go,” I demur.

His countenance darkens a little, but he doesn’t look too hurt that I’m declining his invitation.

“What’s stopping you?” he inquires.

“What I listed before—school, work.”

He leans back in his chair and props an ankle on the opposite knee. “People call in sick to work on short notice.”

“But I’m not sick.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never lied before.”

I balk. “Not on something like this.”

He studies me like I’m some strange insect he’s never seen before. “Who’s going to get hurt if you lie? It’s a victimless crime, and it’s not even a crime.”

“It doesn’t matter. Actually, my conscience would be the victim. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in Phuket knowing I had lied to go.”

He shakes his head. “Fine. But if you were sick, you wouldn’t have a problem calling in sick without any notice, right?”

“Sure.”

“And your job would make do without your presence, right?”

“Yeah.”

“They aren’t going to fall to pieces because you were absent a week.”

“’Course not.”

“So tell them you’ll be gone a week. You just agreed your job would survive without you.”

“It’s not that easy,” I argue. “Getting sick isn’t the same thing as flying off to Thailand. If I’m sick, I’m physically incapacitated and possibly contagious. And it’s not my choice to get sick. Taking a vacation is selfish and might be viewed as irresponsible.”

“Might. How do you know it’ll be seen as irresponsible? Maybe your boss will tell you you should jump at the chance to go on your first international trip.”

I hadn’t considered that possibility.

“What’s your job anyway?” he asks.

“I work at one of the campus libraries processing returns and re-shelving books.”

“So no one’s going to die if you miss a week of work.”

“A mountain of unprocessed books could fall on top of someone.”

He grins. “And that would be the worst thing to happen.”

“I guess. Sure.”

“You’re not the only one who works at the library.”

“I’m not.”

“What if you got someone else to cover your shift?”

“Okay, that could work. But I have an internship.”

“What’s the worst that could happen there?”

“Personally, I could get fired.”

“So how much income would you lose from that?”

“None. It’s unpaid. But I like my internship. And we’re in the midst of a major fundraising effort. Plus, we’re short-staffed because one of the program coordinators is out on maternity leave.”

“Can you do any of that work remotely?”

It’s my turn to study him. Does he really want me to go to Phuket that badly, or is he just giving me a hard time? I think it’s the latter.

“So tell me more about this wedding in Phuket,” I stall, because even though Darren makes it sound simple, I’m not convinced. “Is it a younger or older sister of JD’s who’s getting married?”