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“Emily, please don’t shut the door!” Claudia blurted out.
She had knocked on Emily’s cabin door, not really expecting her friend to be there in the middle of the day. But she was. Claudia was caught off guard. All she could think was that Emily had better not slam the door in her face before she had a chance to share her worrying suspicions about Kyle.
The door closed in Claudia’s face.
For a moment, she felt the sting of rejection.
Then she heard Emily unlatch the chain. The door swung open again, and Claudia was face to face with one very unhappy looking newlywed.
“What is it?” Emily asked, clearly on the defense.
“Can we talk? Please? I know you’re mad at me, but it’s important.”
Emily hesitated. She looked tired; there were dark circles under her eyes. Finally, she let out a deep, exhausted-sounding sigh. “Okay,” she relented. She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll get Kyle. He’s sitting on the balcony. One second.”
“Kyle is here? Wait -” Claudia blurted out, trying to stop her friend. But it was too late.
“Claudia,” Kyle said as he came in from the balcony. “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you were in a hurry to meet Scott for that chocolate buffet thing?”
“Chocolate buffet?” Emily repeated, sounding intrigued. “Why didn’t I know about that?”
“Oh, right. Scott. Meeting him slipped my mind,” Claudia admitted. “I should text him.”
“Why don’t we all go down there together?” Kyle suggested, slipping his feet into a pair of casual loafers. “We can sample some gourmet chocolate and maybe you two can talk,” he added, looking hopeful.
“Chocolate does sound good,” Emily said, eyeing Claudia warily.
“Yeah,” Claudia agreed. At least she and Emily could agree on one thing. That was a start.
As expected, the Chocolate Extravaganza event was a big hit. The place was packed. People were lined up all over the place, piling their plates high with brownies, fudge, cupcakes and cookies. The sheer variety of items was truly impressive, and everything looked mouth-wateringly delicious. It was a chocolate-lover’s dream.
“There you are,” Scott said, walking over to Claudia. “I was starting to think you’d stood me up.”
“Sorry. I got delayed.” She took a closer look at Scott’s face. “I think you have chocolate on your chin.”
“Oh, probably.” He laughed and wiped the back of his hand across his face. “The salted caramel and chocolate cheesecake is amazing,” he informed her. “I’ve already been back for seconds. I’m so full. I shouldn’t have thirds, but I’m awfully tempted.”
“I’m eyeing that peanut butter and chocolate cake,” Claudia replied, licking her lips. “It looks so rich and decadent. I think I need to try it.” She still felt shaken up from her encounter with Kyle. It was a relief to put it out of her mind and pretend it had never happened, even if only for a minute.
As they got into line, Scott leaned in close. “I couldn’t help but notice you came down here with Emily and Kyle. Has there been progress?”
“Not yet.”
“Ah, but that sounds like you’re open to reconciliation. Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
“Scott, that’s actually not the most pressing matter on my mind. I found out something about Kyle. It turns out he lied about when he last saw Chad. They didn’t part ways after their fistfight. Well, technically they did...but then Chad caught back up with Kyle again. I think maybe -”
“Should I grab us a table?” Kyle suggested, interrupting the conversation as he walked over. “I see one over there by the window. What do you think?”
“Sounds good,” Scott replied.
Claudia didn’t respond. She was deeply unnerved by how close Kyle had come to overhearing her conversation. There was no telling how things might go if he were to find out she knew he was lying.
