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“Two. One older, one younger. I’ve got that middle-child syndrome, where you play peacekeeper and secretly feel neglected.”
“How could you get neglected? You’re clever, nice, and beautiful. You looked like some kinda Hollywood starlet from another era over there sunbathing.”
“You saw me sunbathing?”
“Yeah. You caught my eye.”
And just like that, my disappointment lifts.
Maybe he is interested in me…
I’m grateful for the heat rising off the water. This flush on my cheeks hopefully looks like it could be due to the hundred-and-two-degree temps.
But really, my blushing has nothing to do with the heat and everything to do with the fact that I haven’t had a guy talk to me like this in quite a while.
Working from home cuts back on the exchanges that occur in the world. I mean, I’m not a hermit, but I don’t rub shoulders with the public on a regular basis, either.
More specifically, I don’t rub shoulders with guys my age on a regular basis—guys who can make me melt like this one just did.
He noticed me.
He was watching me.
I feel so desired, in a way I never feel back in New Hampshire, when I log marathon work sessions at my desk, dressed in sweats.
Thank goodness I had the good sense to order a new bikini before this trip. It’s way more modest than a lot of get-ups I’ve seen out here by the pool, but I feel comfortable in it. And, maybe, it’s even sort of flattering.
I mean, this guy seems to think it looks good on me.
I study the teeny tiny bubbles on the water’s surface. Suddenly, I’m too tongue-tied to speak.
Thankfully, he picks up the ball I dropped and runs with it. “I’m the youngest. One older brother. He knows me better than I know myself. Anyway, back to my request. So, the situation is about my ex. It’d be great to post some of these happy-couple photos we’re gonna take to make a point.”
“You’re trying to get her back?” I try to sound neutral, as though my mood doesn’t hang on his answer.
I’m on a rollercoaster, and he’s about to send me up or make me plummet downward.
“Nah. That ship has sailed.”
A sigh of relief whooshes out of me. My giddiness ramps up.
Of course, it would be right in line with my typically lousy luck to meet a hunk and then find out he’s pining over an ex and scheming to win her back.
My bad luck must be on vacation, too, because his answer seems genuine.
He meets my eye. “Is it weird for me to tell you this stuff? You don’t want to hear it.”
“Are you kidding me? This is more fun than napping on my own. I’m all ears.”
“Okay, really? Because you’re scary easy to talk to. The kind of person I could way overshare with. If I am, just stop me.”
I flash a quick grin. “I will. I promise.”
“Right. Yeah, we’re definitely over. I was just too stubborn to admit it to myself. We kept talking on social media, and that twisted up my head about the whole thing. I thought we were on track to maybe start up again, but she was on a different page. She’s tying the knot with some guy soon. Maybe if I post some pics of you and me, she’ll know I moved on, just like she did. I wouldn’t mind getting some dignity back. I think the last thing I sent her was a cat meme.”
“A cat meme?”
He reaches a wet hand up to scrub the stubble on his chin. “She likes cats. I used to send them to her whenever I saw a good one, one I thought might make her laugh.”
