you if I didn’t. Remember how I reamed you out for putting Nair in LaRita’s shampoo in tenth grade? I still loved you, but I told you that you were wrong to get revenge like that. You should have just reported her for bullying you.”
“She never bothered me again, now did she?” Melanie countered, smiling slightly with the memory of how the tables had turned on LaRita. Once half-bald, other students had started bullying her, and Melanie’s life had gotten a lot easier.
“You got what you wanted, but you didn’t do it the right way,” Richelle said. “Just like with Lawrence. If you didn’t want to marry him, fine. But you shouldn’t have stood him up at the altar like that. It was wrong. You can’t turn around and blame him for not trying to talk to you after that.”
Melanie swallowed uncomfortably. She knew that no matter what she said, Richelle was right. Melanie couldn’t shift any blame onto Lawrence for her actions.
It was just that she never expected to see him again. Least of all not here, in Fiji.
“What did he say to you?” Richelle asked.
Melanie sighed. “That he wanted an answer. That I owed him one for how I humiliated him on our wedding day.”
“And you said?”
Melanie hesitated. Then she shook her head.
“You avoided him,” Richelle surmised. “Of course.”
“It’s a big enough shock that he’s here in Fiji, for God’s sake. I’m supposed to have a serious conversation like that on the spot?”
“Mel.” Richelle tsked. “What are you going to do? Avoid him for the rest of the trip?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. I know you. You’re afraid to face him. And I understand why. But please, hon, don’t run scared while you’re in Fiji. If it’s truly over between you and Lawrence, what harm will come from talking to him? And what if it’s not really over....”
Richelle got to her feet, grinning devilishly as she did. Then she pulled off her bathing suit cover, dumped it on the lounge chair and jogged into the water to join Roy.
Leaving Melanie to ponder Richelle’s words.
* * *
“Was that Melanie?” Shemar asked when Lawrence slumped onto the lounge chair beside him.
“Yeah.” Lawrence’s tone was clipped.
“She’s here?” Shemar asked, disbelievingly. “We come all the way to Fiji and she’s here?”
“Tell me about it, bro. That about sums up my luck.”
“Unbelievable.” Shemar made a face. “Guess that’s why you didn’t get our beer.”
“Oh, sorry. I was distracted.”
“So, what’d she have to say for herself?” Shemar asked, his tone sounding cautious.
“That she’s here for a wedding. You remember how her friend Richelle started dating that quarterback who used to play for the Giants?”
“Vaguely.”
“Well, Richelle’s marrying the guy. Here. In Fiji. Of all places.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Shemar said. “If there’s a wedding happening, sounds like Melanie will be busy. And so will we. You probably won’t run into her again.”
Lawrence gritted his teeth as he stared out at the water. This was an island paradise, the exact type of place he would have loved to come with a special woman in his life. But he’d come with Shemar instead to golf, snorkel and scuba dive.
And now Melanie had appeared and had already turned this trip upside down. Lawrence had six more days here—six days he was supposed to be spending purging Melanie from his system. Yet how could that happen now?
Shemar stood and clamped a hand down on Lawrence’s shoulder. “I know that look, Lawrence. But like I said, don’t sweat it. It’s a big resort. You don’t have to see her again if you don’t want to. I’m going to get those beers. You need it.”
Shemar was Lawrence’s best friend. He’d been his best man for the wedding that never happened. He’d been there in the aftermath of Melanie’s no-show and had consoled him with tough talk about how he was better off not having married her because clearly Melanie wasn’t the woman for him. Shemar had assured him that there were many other fish in the sea, and that there were thousands of women in New York City who would appreciate a guy like him.
“We’re stockbrokers, man,” Shemar had told him. “We make a ton of cash. You know how many women appreciate men like us? They’ll be coming out of the woodwork for you, bro. Trust me.”
There were problems with Shemar’s theory, of course. The first one was that Shemar himself was still single, despite the fact that he saw himself as a hot commodity. The second problem was that the women who tended to be interested in them simply because of their careers were shallow. That breed of woman was more intrigued by their healthy bank accounts than by who they really were.
And it was easy to find the gold diggers when out with Shemar. He loved to flaunt like a high roller, buying drinks for beautiful women, waving cash at the bar, the whole nine yards. It was no surprise to Lawrence that women ended up being more interested in what Shemar’s money could buy them, than in the man himself.
None of that fazed Shemar, though. He enjoyed dating a series of beautiful women, enjoyed wining and dining and impressing them. And ultimately, leaving them when he got bored.
It was that kind of mind-set Shemar had tried to impart onto Lawrence, but without luck. Lawrence wasn’t like Shemar. He couldn’t move from one monogamous relationship to the next with ease. Shemar had set him up with a few girls back home after his disastrous wedding day, but Lawrence had ultimately compared all of them to Melanie.
Which was ridiculous. What was the point in comparing any woman to Melanie? She wasn’t the ideal woman. Certainly not the ideal woman for him.
He was still dealing with the pain of heartbreak. Lawrence’s funk was the reason Shemar had suggested they get away. Far away. They both loved the water, and Shemar had suggested Fiji for diving, snorkeling and water sports like kayaking. Lawrence had readily agreed.
Shemar had also joked that maybe they’d find some lovely ladies at the resort whom they could spend time with. He had hoped that would be the answer to Lawrence forgetting about Melanie once and for all.
And now, incredibly, Melanie was at the very same resort. Was fate playing some kind of cruel joke on him?
“Here you go, my man,” Shemar said.
Lawrence looked over his shoulder to see Shemar extending a bottle of Fiji Gold beer.
“Thanks.” Lawrence accepted the bottle and took a pull of the light-tasting ale.
“We’ve got just about an hour before Ratu comes to take us out on the dive,” Shemar said. “I’m gonna head to the room, get changed. You?”
Lawrence stood. “Sounds like a plan.”
And though he didn’t want to, as he started to walk away from the beach with Shemar, Lawrence threw a glance to his right, in the direction where Melanie had run off to.
He saw Richelle and Roy in the water in the distance, but he didn’t see Melanie.
She was gone.
But whether he could physically see her or not, she was back in his thoughts.
There was no doubt about that.
Chapter 4
Try as Melanie did to get a good night’s sleep, she couldn’t. Not with the exchange between her and Lawrence playing