“What do you mean, one of the guests was at the firm?” Blair asked when she picked up.
Eden started from the beginning. By the time she retold that sordid tale – no details from the island included – she was out of breath and hiding beneath the blanket on her loveseat.
“You’re shitting me.” That was Blair’s commentary after a few seconds of silence. “Which one was it? I swear I would have recognized him. God, it wasn’t Perkins, was it? He’s like… girl, I’m sorry. Not a looker.”
Eden swallowed the lump in her throat. “Guess you’ve never seen ‘Smith’ before. He’s younger. Definitely hot.” She squeaked that last bit.
“Smith?” Oh, God, was Blair looking him up? “Benson Smith. Oh, my God. I did see him on the island. Shit, I had no idea!”
“I’m not saying you did.” Eden sucked in her cheeks as she tried not to think of the intimate details ofBenson Smith.“But I don’t know what to do. He asked me out! What do I do?”
“Well, that entirely depends on whether you want to go out with him or not.”
“But that’s not allowed!”
“That’swhat you’re worried about?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. It’s weird, right? Like, what are the odds? And what if he keeps treating me like Butterfly? I’d go mental. This is real life! Have you ever heard of this happening?”
“I’ve heard of Butterflies and guests getting into relationships and dating away from the island. They always find a way to swap contacts if theyreallywant to. I mean, just writing down a phone number, for one thing. But spotting each other in the wild? Going about errands? No. Never heard of it.”
“What do I do?”
“Well…” Blair clearly didn’t know what to say, but with Eden so desperate… could she at least try? “I guess it really depends on whether you think it’s worth taking things off the island, so to speak.”
Eden made a rude gesture of impatience toward her ceiling. “How am I supposed to know?”
“Did you have fun with him?”
“Obviously. I just thought… you know. That was it. I was moving on and putting that fun behind me. Back to being a serious adult with some money. Which was the whole point of today! Figuring out what to do with that money!”
“Dating a bigshot finance guy might be a good way to go about that. And you won’t have to pay for the service.”
“I kinda am! With sex!”
She could practically hear Blair shrugging on the other end of the line.
“Honestly, I’m not sure why I called. I guess because I’m so new to this. I’m afraid of regretting going out with him. He’s like… older than me.”
“How much older?”
“He’s at least forty.”
“So, what I’m hearing is that he’s stable.”
“You’re not helping.”
“I thought I was?”
“Right.” Eden sighed. Energy drained from her. Talking about this – about Benson, the island, money – was more than she could handle, apparently.I wish I could start the whole dayover.She would cancel the appointment and pretend it never happened. Bryce would never have a real name. He’d just be a seductive enigma in linen clothing, swinging his ego around like he owned the place. And Eden.
I mean… Brim.
Whoever Benson thought he was asking out, it wasn’t Eden. It was Brim, the Butterfly, who was available anywhere, anytime, for whatever fun he wanted. Eden was a woman with her own life, her own opinions, and her own goals. Who knew if they were compatible out here? They might ruin their memories of one another by having a spat about politics or, heaven forbid,religion.
Why couldn’t he have stayed a memory? A recent one, no less?
She thanked Blair for hearing her out and giving her some advice. When they hung up, Eden remained on her couch, pulling the blanket up to her chin and attempting not to think about her weekend.