“What’s that?”

“Wes doesn’t get to know where we are or that you’re even with me.”

“I can handle that.” She held up a finger. “Wait here, let me go get my things and make sure Mr. Sparky is taken care of.”

“Mr. Sparky?”

“The cat.”

“I don’t even want to know,” I told her, even though I did wonder how a cat got that moniker.

“Oh, but you do. It’s a fun story, though probably not for the cat.”

That was how I found myself, an hour later, on the way to Destin, Florida to soak up some sunshine, get a tan, and enjoy the rest of the weekend away with my new friend. I was nervous about spending time with a woman who was basically a total stranger, but that little niggling worry that was usually present with other people, didn’t seem to exist for her. I just hoped that my instinct wasn’t wrong again.

Chapter 11

As it turned out, the beach was just the thing I needed to kick the damn writer’s block to the curb. I woke early on Sunday, took my iPad down to the beach, and managed to get three chapters written as the sun came up. I had just packed it back into my bag when Luna made her way down to sit beside me. “It’s beautiful here,” she said as she plopped down on the lounger.

“It is. Makes me mad that I spent part of my spring break stuck at home and the rest of it marrying an asshole in Vegas.”

Luna laughed. “Yeah, but could you have afforded this excursion without the trip to Vegas?” I had explained to her where the money for our impromptu getaway had come from, so that she wouldn’t feel guilty when I wouldn’t let her contribute her own money.

“That is true. Thank you, Mr. Poker Chip!” I added to the thanks by making it a toast as I held my Mimosa up to the brightening sky.

“Damn, I need one of those,” she declared and then hopped up to go get her own drink as I soaked up the early morning sun on the beach.

While she was gone, I took a chance and turned my phone back on. My sister was already aware of where I was, who I was with, and when I would be back, so Bea was thankfully keeping my family off my back. There were however messages from my husband. A lot of them, apparently. I didn’t even look, though I was tempted. Instead, I did something worse. I googled his name.

Apparently, one of the ‘snow patrol’ women, as Luna had referred to them, had sold her story to the press. Venla Couri, the woman who had been pictured with Tucker, was said to have previously dated my husband. Venla’s friend, who sold her story, claimed they were serious for a while until Venla screwed it up, and when she found out he was back in Helsinki, she took the chance to try to seduce him, and hopefully win him back. When asked how she knew he was back, the woman explained that Ms. Couri received a message from one of Tucker’s family members informing her that he would be there, and that maybe there was a chance they could reconcile things.