Pretending in Paradise Read online

  Emma stared back at him.

  Caroline let out a small cough. “I suppose now may be a time for me to mention I’m not much of a traveler.”

  Emma closed her eyes and questioned what God she had scorned to deserve this.

  Ronaldo smiled. “You work for a travel website, surely you expected a bit of travel to come up.”

  “Honestly? No, not so much.” For the first time, Caroline sounded a little unsure of herself.

  Emma felt a fraction of satisfaction knowing the trip would be equally, if not more, torturous for Caroline. “We’ll be flying out Friday morning and back Monday afternoon. That’ll give us ten days.” She looked at Ronaldo and received a nod of approval.

  “That’s eleven days,” Caroline said.

  Emma rubbed her forehead. “I never count the last day because it’s mostly a travel day.”

  “Okay,” Ronaldo said, interrupting them. “Fill out the usual paperwork and have it on my desk in an hour.” He left, and the tension in the room increased.

  Emma was shocked to see Caroline slightly pale and frozen in place. She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to need your full name and date of birth for our plane tickets and reservation.”

  Caroline looked up at Emma with wide eyes. “I, um.” She stopped and formed a straight, tense line with her lips.

  Emma picked up Caroline’s pen and placed it atop the legal pad in front of her. “Write it down if you can’t say it.” She watched Caroline’s hand tremble as she wrote. “I hope you’re more fun than this once we get there.” She frowned when no smart retort came. Caroline seemed deeply shaken.

  “Here,” Caroline said as she ripped the paper from the pad and gave it to Emma. She took three slow breaths and her professional mask fell right back into place. “Hold off on passing that along.” Caroline packed up her briefcase and stood. “I’m going to try to talk some sense into Ronaldo.” She rushed out of the room.

  Emma sat back and laughed. “Good luck with that,” she said to the empty room. She turned the paper around a few times on the smooth tabletop before reading it. She took out her phone and pulled up a message to Christie.

  She snapped a picture of Caroline’s information and started typing after the image was sent. Any way you can secure us a window seat? Emma had a lot of planning to do before they left Friday morning, and most of those plans would be ways to avoid Caroline. Her phone buzzed in her hand.

  Someone special?

  Emma chortled and rubbed her forehead before typing out her response. Far from it. My boss assigned her to me. I’ll explain it all over dinner some time.

  I’ll hold you to it. It’s been too long since you’ve taken me out. Christie punctuated her message with a kissy-face emoji.

  It’s these kinds of messages that make Frankie question our friendship. Emma laughed out loud when Christie’s next message was a string of the same emoji. Put the reservations in. I’ll talk to you later.

  Emma rested her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes. She had to focus on the positives of heading to Miami. With that thought she smiled. She had a wardrobe of bikinis to pack.

  Chapter Three

  Caroline had such little travel experience, airports overwhelmed her. She had taken no family trips as a kid and made sure her career kept her mostly in one place. If she did have to travel, she figured it’d be for a reason so great her excitement would outweigh her nerves. Turns out that wasn’t the case for her first trip to Florida. She had tried to reason with Ronaldo. She’d tried to explain how she wouldn’t make an adequate travel companion because she’d be too worried about herself to get any work done. Her words went in one of Ronaldo’s ears and right out the other.

  A hurried traveler bumped into Caroline’s back, and a rolling suitcase caught her toe when she stepped out of his way. She bit back a curse and rushed off to the nearest wall to check the damage. Sliding off her ballet flat, she was happy to see her black pedicure remained perfect. She put her shoe back on and checked the clock. Their flight was leaving in forty-five minutes, and Emma was nowhere to be seen. She decided to check in with her family one last time.

  She dialed and held the phone to her ear. The ringing was hard to hear over the surrounding noise. Caroline could barely make out her mother’s voice when she answered. “Mom? Hi.” She clapped her free hand over her ear.

  “What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be in the air?”

  “My flight isn’t for a little while. I just wanted to call before I boarded.”

  “Well, your father’s mowing the lawn, and I’m getting lunch ready. I don’t have much time to talk.”

  Caroline lowered her head. She tried so hard to not feel guilty about this trip, but her mother wasn’t making it easy. “I’m really sorry about leaving so suddenly. I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Your boss made you, I know.”

  “Is Kyle around?” A quick conversation with her brother would be good. When Kyle was doing well, he was Caroline’s rock, so Caroline was determined to be his when he wasn’t. “I’d like to talk to him for a minute.”

  “He’s in the shower. Remember what I told you about his routine. I can’t have you messing that up just because you came back into his life.”

  Caroline bit the inside of her cheek. She wasn’t in the mood to have this fight again and not in an airport. She called home in hopes of calming her travel nerves but should not have. “It was good talking to you. I’ll let you know when I land.”

  “Good-bye, Caroline.”

  As she hung up, Caroline could hear her mother yelling at her dad to wipe his feet. She stared at her phone for a moment before noticing the time and checking for Emma.

  She should’ve forced Emma to exchange phone numbers before she left the office Wednesday afternoon, but everything had happened so quickly. Caroline could still feel her head spinning.

  “You’ll need to pack for a beach vacation,” Emma had said as she typed on her phone. She’d been seated on the edge of the conference table beside Caroline. “Maybe one or two outfits for nice restaurants and something appropriate for going out.”

  Caroline handwrote her list. “What kind of nice restaurants?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “How do you not know?”

  Emma didn’t respond but kept typing. Once she finished, she placed her phone on the desk and looked at Caroline. “I didn’t study the website, and I honestly prefer to go in a little blind. Just pack and plan for a fun trip.” Emma picked up her phone again but kept her eyes on Caroline. “You do know how to have fun, right?”

  “Of course I—” Caroline went silent. She wasn’t going to let Emma bait her. “What time should I meet you at the airport?”

  “Our flight leaves at nine.”

  “And how much earlier should we get there?” Caroline watched as Emma took three selfies before answering her.

  “Airports recommend two hours.”

  “Seven o’clock it is,” Caroline said to herself as she wrote the time down. “Should we exchange phone numbers before we go?”

  “I have to get going right now,” Emma said, standing and gathering her purse. “I have a vlog post about packing to get started. See you at the airport.”

  Caroline watched Emma as she strode through the office, head held high and sandy blond hair cascading effortlessly down her back. Women like Emma had always captivated her with their confidence. One thing Caroline was grateful for, however, was how infuriating Emma was. She could never find someone like that attractive.

  Caroline was jolted back to the present by a gruff gentleman waving his hand in front of her face. “Are you going to use that outlet or what?” he said, pointing at the wall.

  “No, I’m not.” Caroline gathered her bag and moved out of his way. Newark Airport at its finest.

  She decided to head to security and wait for Emma at the gate. If Emma missed the flight, that was her problem, not Caroline’s. She placed her carry-on on the conveyer and followed secur
ity’s clear instructions. She took off her shoes and stepped through the metal detector. Pulling up her boarding pass on her phone, she felt like an accomplished rookie traveler. She was able to make it to the gate with little to no issue, and much to her surprise, Emma was already there.

  Emma stood so cavalier and unaffected as she waited to board the plane. She was scrolling through her phone, oblivious to Caroline watching her. Caroline stared and felt her anxiety be slowly replaced with annoyance. She cleared her throat loudly as she stepped up to Emma.

  “Oh, hey, you made it. I thought for sure you would’ve beaten me here.”

  Caroline clenched her teeth. “I’ve been here for two hours.”

  “Where?” Emma checked the time on her phone. “I’ve been here for forty-five minutes.”

  “I was waiting for you up front by where I checked my luggage.”

  “You checked your luggage?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  Emma’s head fell back. “That’s going to waste so much time when we get there.”

  “You’re the one who told me what to pack!” Caroline blew out a long breath and ran her fingers through her hair. She could feel her bangs standing up comically. She looked up to the speaker overhead as it announced their flight was boarding. “You fit everything you needed into your carry-on?”

  Emma held up her small, worn piece of luggage. “Everything.”

  “You said we needed to pack for dinners, going out, and beach days,” Caroline said in a near growl. The crowd jostled her as they started for the gate. She tried to make her nervous legs move smoothly as she followed Emma. “I barely had room for shoes and sunscreen.”

  Emma laughed loudly. “I didn’t realize I’d have to teach you Packing 101. You should’ve watched my vlog.” She showed her boarding pass to the ticket agent and motioned for Caroline to do the same. “You pack the bare necessities and buy toiletries and sunscreen when you get there.”

  “Isn’t that more expensive?”

  Emma actually stopped in line and turned. “We’re going to Florida, not Jamaica. There’s a Target by the airport.”

  The people behind them bumped into Caroline and sent her into Emma’s body. She smelled of lavender. Caroline pushed away quickly and whispered a flustered apology. They continued their slow walk onto the plane, and Caroline’s heart started to speed up. She had only flown one other time in her life, fifteen years ago. The rows of seats grew narrower with every second she stared.

  “We are…” Emma led the way and pointed. “Right here.” Emma took the window seat, which left Caroline to take the middle.

  Caroline copied Emma and stowed her carry-on after unpacking her earbuds and the book she chose to travel with. She knew she’d be much too nervous to read, but having a tangible distraction in her hands was helpful. She counted through her breathing as people filed past their row. Caroline crossed her fingers and toes and hoped the seat beside her would remain empty. All hopes were dashed a second later as a husky man plopped down with a grunt. Caroline looked forward and swallowed hard.

  Just as the passengers settled, a video started to play on the screens in front of them. An attendant at the front of the plane echoed the video. Caroline half listened to the announcement while the rest of her concentration was on the smells and the sounds of people chatting and groaning all around her. Her palms began to sweat, and she wiped them on her black yoga pants.

  “Not a fan of flying, huh?” Emma slid her oversized sunglasses on her face and laid her head back.

  Caroline hated how relaxed she looked. “It’s just been a while.”

  “It’s more than that. I can sense traveler’s fear a mile away. The woman in front of us, the guy across the aisle, and you. You all ping my radar.”

  Caroline sighed. “Fine. You’re right. I don’t like confined spaces or planes.”

  “Flying is easy.” Just as the words left Emma’s mouth, the plane jolted into motion. “Here we go.”

  Caroline wanted to know how Emma could be calm. Her chest tightened as they ascended. She kept her eyes closed until the plane leveled out and remained steady. Caroline looked at Emma again and wondered how she could seem so blissful. She shifted her gaze to the window and wished she could get lost in the expansive skies instead of the heavy breathing of the guy next to her.

  “Maybe we should talk about our game plan,” Caroline blurted out. She was desperate for a distraction.

  “I’m used to traveling alone and prefer to listen to music.”

  “Well, we can’t have electronics on yet, so humor me. What’s the plan?”

  Emma lolled her head to the side and looked at Caroline. She pursed her full lips, appearing deep in thought. “We get to the resort and have a good time.”

  Caroline’s frown deepened. “That’s it?”

  “That’s how I do what I do.” Emma looked up as the Fasten Seat Belts light went off. She unfastened the buckle and was about to pop in her earbuds when Caroline reached out to stop her.

  “You don’t think this trip should be treated a little differently considering the circumstances?”

  “No.”

  Caroline’s eyes nearly bulged out. “No?”

  “I have a system, a way of doing things, and I plan on sticking to it because that’s what my followers expect of me.”

  “The people who read your reviews don’t know what to expect of you right now.”

  “They’re not my followers.” Emma didn’t elaborate until Caroline shot her a pointed look. “I blog, vlog, post on every social media outlet, and take a lot of destination photos I sell on my website. People follow me everywhere I go from their little screens,” Emma said, holding up her phone for emphasis. “I have clothing and jewelry companies who send me free products just to drop their names in a post or two while I’m away. Believe it or not, I’m working from minute one.”

  Caroline fell silent. She should know more about Emma, her new work partner, but she didn’t have time to research a trip and a person before leaving. “I didn’t know that about you.”

  The look of smug satisfaction on Emma’s face fueled Caroline’s immature side.

  “But what about Marisol?” Caroline quirked an eyebrow, the sharp arch turning dangerous.

  Emma chuckled and turned her head to look forward. “I make sure to have some personal time.”

  “There will be no personal time of that nature during this trip. Got it?” Caroline didn’t mean to sound so disgusted.

  Emma pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. “Is this you being a professional, or are you being judgmental?”

  Caroline gawked. “A professional, of course. I don’t care what you do with your life.”

  “Sure sounds like you do.”

  “I care about how your actions affect the company. That’s it. And this time around, your every action could have a direct consequence. So please, keep it in your pants.” Caroline flipped her paperback open to chapter one, turning the pages loudly. She wanted to play a video game, but she knew Emma would pick on her if she did. She unbuckled her seat belt with a huff and started to read. Barely three words in, and she had something more to say.

  “Especially on this trip where we’ll be surrounded by couples. The last thing Ronaldo needs is a claim that you’re a home-wrecker.”

  “A home-wrecker?”

  “I’m sure you’re familiar with the term.”

  “Yes, I am.” Emma’s expression turned incredulous. “If I were to hook up with a married person on this trip, I’d be the bad guy?”

  “To the public eye? Yes.”

  “And to you?” Emma waited a beat for Caroline to answer. “Of course, you’d blame the mistresses.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The person they cheat with could say no, sure, but the one who breaks the vow is the guilty party.”

  “Speaking from experience as a mistress?”

  Emma shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Caroline watched the easy expression on Emma’
s face and her stomach turned. Memories of her ex-girlfriend, Ann, filled her mind. Four years together, the home they built, and the way it all tumbled down the moment she caught Ann with another woman. That pain would never fade.

  “You’ve been cheated on,” Emma said with the same tone game show contestants use when they answer trivia.

  Caroline shook her head. “I’m done talking about this with you. I’ll never understand your point of view, and you definitely won’t understand mine.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine.” Caroline put her book away and made a show of putting in her earbuds and connecting them to her phone. She closed her eyes and started one of four meditation apps she had downloaded for the trip. The mild voice in her ears instructed her to breathe slowly and evenly. She imagined a spring breeze and flexed her toes, ankles, calves, thighs, and hands in time. But Caroline couldn’t keep her attention on the meditation steps when Emma kept shifting and laughing beside her. With a grunt of annoyance, Caroline closed her meditation app and chose to listen to music instead.

  Caroline was three songs into the latest Taylor Swift album when the plane dipped slightly, enough to get the attention of every passenger on the plane. Especially Caroline, who gripped the armrest with such ferocity, her short nails left a mark.

  “It’s fine.” Emma’s voice barely broke through the music. Caroline jumped when Emma touched her arm. She looked at Emma with alarm. “It’s fine,” Emma repeated.

  Caroline pulled one earbud free from her ear before speaking. “How do you know that?” She scanned the rest of her nearby passengers in search of another panicked face, but no one seemed to care.

  “I fly, a lot, and there’s almost always at least one little bump along the way.”

  Caroline’s eyes widened, and she failed to breathe before asking, “At least one? You mean that’ll happen again?” She finally inhaled. “I hate this. I hate flying. Oh my God, I have to do this again to get home.” She started rubbing a firm circle into the center of her forehead. Caroline could feel the panic rising in her chest. Her palms were sweaty and her muscles tense. “Why did this have to be my first assignment? What did I do to deserve this?”