Sophie Love - Love Like Theirs

“We’re sending her on a cruise of Scandinavia. This time, the assignment is to prove that someone suffering from a breakup can avoid a knee-jerk rebound affair. This time, we want our Guru to not fall in love.”

Keira was stunned. She’d had the words I quit waiting on the tip of her tongue, but now she had to swallow them down.

“Impossible,” the fresh-faced joker from before said. “She’ll fall for the tour guide, and you all know it.”

He was teasing, of course, but Keira was in too much shock to pay him any attention at all.

“Which is why we’re not having a tour guide,” Elliot added. He looked at Keira. “You have fifteen days. Other than the course of the ship – which will take you through Denmark, Finland, and Sweden – the rest is up to you. You’ll be navigating yourself entirely.”

Keira was lost for words. As it began to sink in, she felt her worries melt away. She wasn’t going to be expected to bruise her heart this time! Sure, she would still have to dig deep and make her article personal, but she wouldn’t need to put herself on the line.

The joker had one last quip to make. “So, basically she’s just writing a travel article?”

Everyone laughed. But Keira only had one thing to say, only one word to describe what her mind was imagining; the Northern Lights, fjords, snow-capped mountains, and meatballs galore! Finally, she managed to untie her tongue. “Wow.”

Keira was filled with excitement as she hurried into Bryn’s apartment after work that evening. Her sister wasn’t yet home, so there was no one to tell her news to. Instead, she rummaged beneath Bryn’s bed for her trusty suitcase, surprised that she was so pleased to be packing it once again. She’d been utterly convinced she never wanted to do this again, and yet here she was, thrilled to be traveling abroad for work once more.

Her phone pinged a message then, and she looked to see it was from her mom.

What’s the difference between a cortado and a flat-white?

Keira laughed and called Mallory’s number. As soon as Mallory answered, she began talking about coffee, clearly assuming that to be the purpose of her daughter’s call.

“I mean is it just the cup size? It has to be more than that, doesn’t it?” she mused aloud.

“Mom, I’m going abroad again,” Keira said, paying no attention to the coffee conversation.

“You are?” Mallory said, sounding surprised. “But I thought you were putting your foot down about the Romance Guru articles.”

“I was,” Keira said, sitting on the edge of Bryn’s bed with a light sigh. “But this one is different.”

“In what way?”

“The whole point is to not rebound this time. I mean, it’s exactly what I need, don’t you think? A chance to work on myself. To be alone. I’ve jumped from one guy to the next for too long now.”

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow. Typical Viatorum can’t give me more than a day’s notice of anything.”

There was a slight pause. “Well, I’m happy for you, darling,” Mallory finally said.

Keira distinctly caught the edge in her voice. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Mallory protested. “I just said I was happy for you.”

“There’s a but coming…” Keira said.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Yes, there is. Mom, I’ve been your daughter for twenty-eight years. I know when there’s a but coming.”

Mallory sighed. “Fine. I was going to say, ‘But what about Christmas?’”

“Ohh,” Keira said, relieved. She’d thought Mallory was going to make some comment about how Keira would fail her assignment, how she was always destined to fall for the wrong man, never marry, never make her a grandma, all that stuff. With a chuckle, Keira assured her, “I’ll be back for Christmas.”

“So it’s only a short trip this time?”

“Just over two weeks. You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be there dutifully on Christmas Eve like always.”

“Good,” Mallory replied. “So back to my question. What is the difference between a cortado and a flat-white?”

Keira laughed. “Bye, Mom. I love you.”

She ended the call and went about packing her case. She piled inside of it all her warmest clothing, sweaters and scarves, extra-thick socks and thermal-lined leggings. Then she added her makeup bag, toiletries, some waterproof boots, and a fresh supply of notebooks and pens.

The door opened then, and she heard Bryn call out, “I’m home!”

Keira jumped up and ran to meet her sister.

“Guess what?” she exclaimed, as Bryn flung her keys into the bowl by the door and kicked off her shoes.

Her sister looked up. “What?”

“I’m going to Scandinavia ! On a cruise ship!”

Bryn’s eyes widened. “Really? Wow! That’s awesome.”

“And I don’t have to fall in love with anyone either.”

“Oh good. That’s exactly what you need.”

She seemed genuinely thrilled for Keira, and again Keira saw a more mature side to her sister, as if the edges of her competitiveness had begun to soften.

“But what about your apartment?” Bryn asked. “Won’t there be a lease to sign before you leave?”

“Good point,” Keira said, feeling reality bring her back down from her fantasy land. “I’ll have to call the real estate agent now and arrange it.”

She went into the bedroom and fetched her cell phone, then called the number. The real estate agent answered in her raspy smoker’s voice and Keira instantly recalled her fuchsia-pink suit.

“Kid, I was about to call you,” she said. “I need you to make an appointment to come in and sign the lease.”

Keira laughed. “That’s exactly what I was calling for. I’ve got to go abroad for work, for fifteen days. So I’ll have to get the paperwork signed before I go, or it will have to wait until I get back.”

The agent sighed loudly. “Kid, you’re killing me. You’re telling me I’ve got to drop everything so I can get it sorted out for you? I usually need a week to get the paperwork arranged.”

Keira felt her heart sink. She felt terrible for being an imposition, but at the same time the real estate agent was being pretty rude, making it seem like her simple request was completely unacceptable. “Maybe it would be easier to wait until I’m back, in that case?” she suggested. Then she added, slightly sarcastically, “I’d hate to put you out.”

“I can speak to the landlord,” the woman replied with a huge sigh. “See what he thinks. But I know he wanted to move fast with this and if you’re dragging your heels…”

Keira grew even more frustrated. “I can come in now and sign the paperwork. But you said it would take a week to prepare. But fifteen days is too slow? Seems like you have a pretty inflexible schedule.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Keira felt shocked with herself. It wasn’t often that she was so outspoken. But if it all fell through, what were the chances of her finding another apartment like that one? The only reason she’d been able to afford the rent in the first place was because of the small bedroom. But there must be other short people out there who’d snap it up while she was away! To lose it now would be too cruel a twist of fate.

“Fine,” the agent said. “I’ll bust my balls to get everything ready in time for your trip abroad.” Her voice dripped with disdain.

Through gritted teeth, Keira muttered, “Thank you.”

She ended the call, stressed by the conversation. Then she became acutely aware of voices coming from the living area of Bryn’s apartment. Someone was there. She peered out the bedroom door.

Keira’s mouth dropped open. There, standing in Bryn’s kitchen, was Zach. His nose was still bandaged from when Cristiano had broken it, and faded bruises were still visible beneath his eyes.