AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I giggle.
“Sure,” I say, offering him the gelato. The man takes a generous lick. “Hey, that’s so much.”
“It’s so good,” he replies.
“Yep. A million times, yes. It is.”
We continue our stroll back to the nearby hotel. The streets are practically deserted around us – making it feel like we’re stumbling through a ghost town – but I like the relaxing vibe.
And I’m happy...
“Victor?”
I’m wrong – there is someone else on these dimly lit streets with us. Both my fake boyfriend and I spin our heads to whoever is calling out his name.
She’s tall – that’s the first thing I notice about her. Waves of healthy chestnut hair flow down around her. Her expressive eyes are green. She’s smiling.
She clearly knows Victor.
And my heart surprisingly skips a beat.
How does she know him?
God, I’m protective like a real girlfriend.
The woman comes skipping over us. She’s so beautiful, in the same way that Victor is. That otherworldly Hollywood beauty. I bet she’s an actress. God, I mean anyone can just tell by observing her grace and beauty and confidence.
“Hayley?” Victor recognizes her too, it seems.
“It’s lovely to catch you here like this,” she exclaims.
Victor takes a step away from me to embrace her. Then he remembers I exist and turns toward me.
“Hayley, this is Josie.”
The pretty woman turns her smile in my direction, and I realize she must be a nice person. I can just gauge it by her sweet energy.
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be so protective.
“Hi, Hayley.”
“Hello, Josie,” she says warmly. “I saw something about you online just then. About you both.”
Victor rolls his eyes. “You know better than to believe all that crap,” he says.
Hayley laughs.
“Of course I do. I read that you’re from Crystal River, right?” she asks me.
I nod.
“Yep.”
“I’ve been there,” she says.
“Really?”
“Well, I went through it, not in it,” Hayley confirms. “I was driving to a short film a few years ago and passed through Crystal River. I can’t remember it much except it seemed like a sweet small town.”
