Mad, Bad and Blonde - Cathie Linz [5]
“Yes, I’m sure. Megan will stay with me, right?”
“Of course I will.”
“See, I’ll be fine.”
“Of course you will . . . in time.” Gram patted her hand again. “A year or two should do it.”
When they finally left, Megan looked at her with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Not yet. But after a few mojitos I will be. Now please help me get me out of this damn dress!”
Faith woke with a hammering headache and the sound of intense roaring in her ears. Her eyelids didn’t seem to want to open, but she was able to sneak a peek through a narrow slit. The limited view was not enough to tell her where she was.
“This is your captain speaking. We’ll be landing in Naples in about an hour.”
Her eyes flew open.
“The flight attendants will be going through the cabin . . .”
Faith didn’t pay attention to the rest of the announcement as the events of the day and night before came rushing back. Left at the altar. Humiliated, brokenhearted, angry. She and Megan downing several mojitos at a neighborhood bar before heading to Faith’s Streeterville condo only to trip over Faith’s suitcases just inside the door. A matched set of luggage packed with carefully chosen outfits for her dream honeymoon to the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
Alan wanted to spend their honeymoon elephant riding in India because his boss at the bank had done that and raved about it. Personally, Faith was not that fond of pachyderms. Had he left her because of that? Because she didn’t want to boogie with the elephants?
It wasn’t like her choice was dull or boring. Who didn’t like sunny Italy? Faith had longed to go to the Amalfi Coast ever since she’d seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun and watched Diane Lane get swept off her feet in the beautiful town of Positano.
She distinctly remembered shouting at her living room wall last night, “Alan ruined my wedding, but he’s not going to ruin this too! I refuse to allow him to mess up any more of my life! I’ll show you exciting and adventurous! I’m going to Italy! Solo! Solo mio!”
Faith spent the last two years trying to please Alan. This trip was one of the few times she’d stood her ground and refused to back down. Once he didn’t get his way, Alan had completely lost interest and told her to handle all the arrangements. Gladly, she had—which was why she had possession of the nonrefundable tickets and the rest of the travel reservations.
Megan had been supportive as always. “Go for it! I’d come with you, but I can’t get away from work right now.”
Sitting on the plane, Faith felt as if she’d just woken up from a long, drugged sleep. Unlike Sleeping Beauty, she hadn’t been brought back to life by a kiss from a handsome prince. Instead, she’d been brought back to reality by the handsome prince screwing her over.
The ironic thing was that Faith was usually a worst-case scenario specialist, always prepared in case things went wrong. One of her dad’s favorite mottos was, “Expect the worst, and if it doesn’t happen, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Her relationship with Alan was the one time she’d allowed herself to believe . . . and look what happened.
She ended up on a flight to Italy. Alone. Her first solo trip ever. But it was better than moping in her condo, crying her eyes out. She’d taken action. She’d left the mayhem behind in Chicago, calling her dad and telling him she was fleeing the country.
There was no time to reflect further on her actions as the flight attendants prepared for their landing. Her arrival in Naples went smoothly as she cleared customs with no problem. Two aspirins and a bottle of Pellegrino water took care of the headache. Her rental car was ready . . . and so was she.
She was ready, right? She wasn’t going to let fear hold her back, right?
She could do this. She would do this.
Faith put her iPod into the sound system and moments later Gnarls Barkley’s song “Crazy” blared out of the sporty little red Italian convertible’s speakers. She’d had to put her smaller suitcase in the passenger seat next to her, since it didn’t fit anywhere else.
The instant she hit the road, all the