I paused. I’d be out of here tomorrow. The chance of me running into this guy again or having him blow my cover was nil. And I’d come here to have some fun. Why shouldn’t I allow myself to have a good time when a good time walked up to me and asked me out to dinner?
I nodded again, still grinning. “I guess so.” The way he spoke to me was so different, so refreshing. The thought of spending a whole evening sitting opposite him, letting him chat me up was way too tempting to walk away from.
“I know a place in the center of town,” he said. “Maybe we could—”
“I’d like somewhere a little more intimate,” I said, cutting him off, knowing full well if I let him take me to some crowded, fancy restaurant, someone was bound to recognize me and reveal my identity. It was the last thing I wanted right now.
“I’m sure I could manage that,” he said and stood up again, much to Betsy’s chagrin. “I’ll text you later, and we can figure something out. How’s that?”
“Sounds good.”
He paused, as though he didn’t want to walk away from me quite yet. I knew how he felt. Even though the conversation had no place else to go, I found myself wanting to hang around just a bit longer, to wring the last few drops of his company from the morning. But I knew as well as anyone who’d spent their adolescence reading teen magazines, that leaving them wanting more was always the best way to go about it. So I turned on my heel and headed back up to the house. Betsy followed close behind, actually doing what I wanted for a change.
I could sense his gaze on me as I walked away, and it was a serious trial not to look over my shoulder and shoot him one last look before he carried on with his run down the beach. But I made it back into the house, and as soon as I was there, I found myself confronted with an instant distraction.
“That was the dude from last night, wasn’t it?” Floundy asked as soon as I was through the door. He’d been lurking by the window, and it was clear he was watching what happened between us.
“Yeah, it was.”
“And he just so happened to turn up outside the house the morning after?” His brows drew up in a frown, and it was clear he had serious doubts about his story. I got it. Floundy was always the one looking out for me in situations like this, but I could also have done without his interference in everything I was trying to do here. Claude was here and always getting in the way, and I didn’t need someone else on my back to keep an eye on me.
“No, he was running down here yesterday,” I said. “And he just happened to be running again this morning when I went to take Betsy out for her walk.”
“He just so happened, did he?” Floundy looked me up and down. “Because I know you don’t roll out of bed looking like that.”
“Thanks for ruining my fantasy.” I waved my hand, silencing him, as though Elliott might have somehow been able to hear him.
“What did he want?” Floundy planted his hands on his hips and looked at me anxiously.
“He…uhm…” I trailed off, a smile on my lips as I thought about the encounter we’d just had. “He actually asked me out to dinner. Tonight.”
“And you said?”
“I said yes, dork.”
Floundy tossed his hands in the air. “I got a bad feeling about this guy, Aria.”
“Well, you don’t have to go out to dinner with him,” I said. He was just looking out for me, and he was probably right to be so thrown by what I’d just told him, but for once, I wanted to have a little fun without any of the men in my life trying to get in the way of things.
“You know what I’m saying.” He pouted, which meant his stubborn streak was coming out. “He doesn’t know who you are?”
“Apparently not,” I said, shrugging. “Or if he does, he’s not letting me know anything about it.”
“And you don’t find that weird?”
“I guess,” I said. “It’s not a big deal, really. I just want to have some fun with someone who doesn’t treat me like a china doll they’re scared of breaking, all right? Just one night.”
“We’re still going back tomorrow, right?”
Floundy seemed to soften a little, and I nodded to assure him.
“You don’t mind if I go out tonight?” I asked.
“I actually met someone last night,” he said, trying to play it cool and failing dismally. “I guess I could text him and see if he wants to get together.”
“Yes, you should totally do that,” I said and grinned. “You’ll have the place to yourself, and Claude will be out watching me, so you’ll actually have some privacy for a change.”
“Are you planning on staying out all night, young lady?” he teased, and I held my hands up.
“I haven’t decided quite yet,” I said with a playful skip over to the kitchen. “We’ll see how dinner goes first.”
“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” Floundy asked as he went to make us some coffee. “I’m going to keep my phone on. Call if something happens.”
“Okay!” I fought the urge to roll my eyes because I didn’t want him to think his worries weren’t important to me. And he meant well, even if he was trying to kill my vibe.
“Come on, let’s have a coffee and breakfast.” I nudged him, pulling his mind from Elliott and me and back into fun mode. “And tell me about this guy you met last night. I want to hear all about him.”
Chapter Seven
Elliott
I slipped my hand into hers as we walked down the beach. So far, the night was fucking perfect, and there was nothing I would’ve changed about it.
I picked Aria up at seven, ignoring the slightly suspicious look her friend gave me, and we headed down the beach for dinner at this tiny beachside bistro I’d found during my search.
It was the ideal place, small enough to be intimate but not so small I felt like the rest of the diners around us would invade our space. If my father ever let me pursue the whole cooking thing I was so desperate to try, this was precisely the kind of place I would open.
We’d spent the night talking about ourselves, about the places where we’d grown up, our families, and the stories neither of us had told each other yet. It was just enough to make me feel like I was actually bonding with Aria, but not too revealing. I was worried she might figure out who I was.
Still, she was holding back, but considering I was doing the same thing, I couldn’t blame her. The food was good, and the wine was plentiful, and soon, the two of us were howling with laughter over some ridiculous stories we shared about our lives. It felt good. Normal. Plus, she finally told me where she lived. Los Angeles, which was only an hour or so from Sand Dollar Beach.
After dinner, she looked at me with an expectant expression on her face, as if she was waiting for me to ask for more.
“Can I walk you back to your place?” I asked softly, and she nodded.
And that was how I found myself on the beach, hand-in-hand with the sexiest woman I’d ever met, looking up at the dark blue sky above us. I made a point of walking slowly, so I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to her yet. Because after this, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see her again. I just wanted to enjoy her while I had her.