CHAPTER THREE
Rosie
When I woke up the following morning—at exactly 6:00 a.m., just like I had done every weekday for the last five years but didn’t need to anymore—I did so with a certain brown-eyed, smile-wearing man in mind.
And for a split second, I was sure I’d dreamed it all.
Lucas Martín at the door. The disaster that followed.
But as seconds ticked by and awareness returned, I realized none of that had been a product of my subconscious. It had really happened. Lucas had really been here. I had really mistaken him for a burglar. And I had managed to make the worst first impression in the history of first impressions.
We’ll start over. Forget tonight happened.
If only I could be so lucky.
Covering my face with one arm, I groaned loudly.
To make things worse, my much less dumbfounded brain realized now that I’d let him leave—venture into a city he had just arrived in—with barely any resistance on my side. I’d taken the apartment and left him on his own.
God, I was the worst.
I rolled on my side, refusing to get up and leave the comforting safety of my best friend’s bed. My gaze fell on a framed picture of Lina and her grandmother that rested on a shelf, reminding me of how close she’s always been to her family.
But then, why hadn’t Lina said anything about Lucas’s visit? Lina was an oversharer, especially with me. This was something she would have said at least in passing.
In Lina’s defense, ever since Aaron proposed in September last year, she had been swarmed with the wedding preparations. Planning a wedding in Spain from the other side of the world wasn’t exactly easy. And after tying the knot two months ago in a beautiful summer wedding by the sea, she had been overwhelmed by everything that followed, even if they hadn’t left for their honeymoon until now, in October. So, I guessed… I guessed it must have slipped her mind.
Closing my eyes, I decided that either way, it didn’t matter. Now Lucas was in New York, and Aaron and Lina were away, in Peru, enjoying their deserved honeymoon. I had no business feeling hurt.
Especially when I myself wasn’t being truthful to those around me. Lina had no idea about my secret crush on her cousin. And that was nothing in comparison to consistently lying to Dad and Olly about my job situation for months. Months.
A surge of courage filled my chest.
All of that ended today. No more lying.
I’d give Lina a heads-up about what had gone down yesterday, and I’d go to Philly to see Dad. Maybe Olly could meet us there. If he stopped dodging our calls, that was.
Rearranging myself so my back rested against the headboard, I reached for my phone, clicked on Lina’s name in the messages app, and started typing.
Hey, I hope Peru is treating you two lovebirds well Listen, last night—
My thumbs hovered over the screen, hesitating.
Last night… I almost had your cousin Lucas arrested. Surprise!
No. That was a definite no.
I deleted it and started again.
Last night… my ceiling cracked open, so I used your spare key to let myself into your place （couldn’t reach you but I knew you wouldn’t mind!）。 Anyway, everything was fine until Lucas showed up and I somehow mistook him for a burglar. Remember Lucas? Your cousin. The one whose Instagram profile you showed me what feels like an eternity ago? Well, I’ve been… checking it out. A few times. More than just a few times. Something like every day? It’s hard to explain but think… Joe Goldberg. Minus the murders.
Yeah, also a no. That was too long for a text.
The word murders was probably a red flag, too.
With a long and noisy sigh, I deleted the text and let the phone drop into my lap.
The truth was that I had kind of stalked Lucas online. In a totally harmless way.
Ever since Lina showed me one of his social posts, I’d been curious. And I hadn’t started checking his profile regularly until Aaron had proposed a year ago and I’d… hoped I’d meet Lucas at the wedding. And just like that, what started as nothing more than curiosity turned into something else.
Every photo he posted, whether he was in it or not, brought butterflies to my stomach. Every short but always funny and honest caption brought me a little closer to him. Every clip he uploaded allowed me to get an insight into his and Taco’s lives. Into the attractive and handsome man he was.
Sure, it hadn’t hurt that as a pro surfer, he’d been shirtless in most of his posts.
Some people had celebrities like Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth or any of the other Chrises, to inject that shot of serotonin before bed. A little daydreaming and a lot of wishful thinking. And I supposed… I supposed I’d had Lucas Martín.