Page 38 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

My hair was still wet from my shower when I fell into bed. I didn’t have the energy to blow it dry. It was only ten o’clock, but it felt like two a.m.

Today we’d had Villa Wars, at least that was what we dubbed them. It was a friendly, and sometimes not-so-friendly, competition among the four villas. Miraculously, we’d taken second.

Thinking back to the games, Annie, despite being one of the oldest participants, held her own and performed like someone a decade younger, while Dana, just like me, was a natural athlete.

It was the other three who doomed our team to defeat.

Normally, our loss would have irritated me, but here I was lying in bed grinning at the thought.

We’d at least been able to talk Katlynn into changing out of her flowing dress into something more appropriate for the games.

Not that it helped since competition appeared to be a foreign concept to her.

At least, she’d been able to support Helena, whose frustration might have boiled over without Katlynn’s steady hand.

Helena was a former athlete, so she was unaccustomed to her body failing her.

Several times, I witnessed the resolve burning in her eyes, only for her body to betray her.

My heart went out to her when I saw the determination turn to defeat.

Despite her limitations, Helena had done well.

It was Emma who’d ensured our team’s defeat.

I laughed at the memory. Emma could have been a formidable athlete, like me, but she never prioritized winning.

Twice today, she’d stopped in the middle of the race to help one of her opponents.

Who does that? My sister. Even Dana had laughed about it when I’d expected her to rip into Emma.

Dana appeared to have forgiven me, and we’d had fun during the games.

She didn’t know I’d overheard her conversation with Robyn, but I knew my less guarded reactions to her helped ease the tension between us.

I wanted to thank her for what she’d said to Robyn, at least at the end of their talk, but I didn’t want to upset the fragile peace.

Then tonight, I’d become the most popular person at the retreat.

Word had gotten out of how I’d helped my villa mates with their finances.

As I suspected, Katlynn’s financial adviser had been engaged in questionable practices.

I’d referred her to someone I trusted, who was already on top of getting her funds transferred.

Before this was over, there’d likely be a lawsuit.

Good. Unethical financial practitioners made the rest of us look bad.

I’d had a string of women approaching me with questions.

I’d been wary at first since Emma insisted no work, but when I’d glanced over at her, she’d given me a big smile and a thumbs up.

After that, I’d spent the next few hours fielding questions from the group. It was exhilarating yet still tiring.

Who was I kidding? It wasn’t the games or the consultations that had me exhausted.

It was Robyn. A day and a half had passed since I’d stomped from the villa.

When I’d returned from the woods after talking with Emma, I was rejuvenated and ready to tackle the world.

I’d hoped to see Robyn that day but hadn’t.

While disappointed, I assumed I’d see her today, but she’d not shown.

Since no classes were scheduled, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but I’d hoped she’d come to cheer us on.

I’d begun to get edgy. Was she avoiding me, or was I just being paranoid? I wanted to make it right, but I couldn’t until she showed up. Would she be here tomorrow? I’d already decided if she wasn’t, I’d drive into Madison. Show up at her bookstore if I had to.

I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was I wanted to spend more time with her, even if she didn’t remotely resemble anyone I’d ever dated.

Emma had pointed out she was as beautiful as any of my other girlfriends.

She just wasn’t plastic and superficial.

Ouch. I recognized the truth in Emma’s words.

Enough. I didn’t need to just lie here thinking about Robyn. My emails weren’t going to answer themselves. I grabbed my phone and plopped back onto my bed.

After opening a few, I found my mind wandering. I never had trouble concentrating on business, but I seemed to now. I narrowed my focus, deciding not to read them in order. Instead, I’d pick the most interesting—the ones with the most promise.

I read through the first one and realized once I’d finished, I’d not been paying attention. If asked, I couldn’t summarize the key points. My thoughts had drifted to Marta and then further back to other women I’d dated. All much different from Robyn.

Emma was right, Robyn was pretty. I smiled as I remembered how beautiful she looked in her dress the night of the play, but she was just as beautiful without makeup in her jeans and T- shirt. She wasn’t flashy eye candy like Marta and most of the others, but thinking of her now made my heart race.

Even though she was running a tiny bookstore in Madison, not a high-powered corporation like Marta, it didn’t seem to matter to me.

At least, not right now. Maybe dating someone with less drive and ambition would be good for me, someone who exuded peace and tranquility.

I’d never describe anyone I’d dated before as peaceful or tranquil.

Intense and hard-nosed were better descriptors.

I scrolled through a few more emails, hoping to find one that’d hold my interest. I skimmed through one from a headhunter, discussing the educational opportunities the company they represented offered to their executive team.

Education. I leaned against the pillow behind me.

Marta held a master’s degree from MIT, so there was no questioning her intellect, but Robyn had a different intelligence.

She could read people—situations. In the past, I wouldn’t have considered it a talent, but I’d seen her work her magic in groups.

She knew when to draw people out and when to back off.

It was an art, but I suspected there was more science behind it than I understood.

No, there was no doubting Robyn’s intelligence.

Why was I comparing her to my previous girlfriends? It wasn’t fair to her. Besides, we had three weeks, so we couldn’t have anything more than a fling. If she even wanted one, which I’d doubted since she’d been MIA.

I tossed my phone to the opposite side of the bed before I lay back and closed my eyes. My emails could wait. I wanted to be rested in the morning for when I saw Robyn. I reiterated to myself, when not if.

I closed my eyes, and Robyn’s smiling face filled my mind. With a contented sigh, I rolled onto my side.