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My hands involuntarily begin to play with the ends of my hair. “Yes, we established that.”
“It’s rather interesting, don’t you think?”
“How so?”
“De Ja Vu. It’s the Lex, Charlie, and Julian love triangle all over again.”
In front of us, Andy dunks Jessa in the pool which causes her to scream. I turn my attention back onto Eric.
“How do you even know about that?”
“Um, hello! I was there from the beginning. When your mother lied through her teeth that nothing was going on, but her office reeked of sex.”
I scrunch my nose, not needing to know that my parents had sex inside an office.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Right, okay?” Eric nods his head with his lips pressed. “We’re in the denial phase.”
“I am not in the denial phase!”
My raised voice catches my dad’s attention from across the pool. I lower my head, sinking back into the chair.
“Austin is in LA with family, and Will is on some business trip. They are not here for two very different reasons. As for your love triangle assumption, you must be in love with two men for it to be a love triangle. I’m marrying one man, end of story.”
“Hmmm…your mother once said that.”
“Must you remember everything?”
“Listen.” Eric sits up and places his hand on my leg. “You can fight it and tell yourself it’s nothing, but in the end, the heart only want’s what it wants. And no other person will ever fill the shoes of the man you’re in love with.”
I don’t respond to what Eric says, keeping my thoughts private. Everyone seems to have an opinion on my life and how I feel. The more I think about it, the more it angers me. Why doesn’t anyone believe my love for Austin? And why does everyone assume I am just like my mother? Sure, we have similarities, but she chose a certain path, and it doesn’t mean I will follow the same.
The rest of the afternoon is spent by the pool drinking mimosas and margaritas, courtesy of Mom. Ava hired chefs to serve us food, which of course—tasted amazing.
The sun becomes too much for my skin, forcing me to dive into the pool to cool myself down. It is only us younger ones now aside from Mom and Aunt Adriana who retreated to the kitchen. The older men opted to hit the golf course though Uncle Rocky looked too excited to be playing golf. I suspected something raunchier, but I wasn’t even sure if it were possible given the time of day.
Nikki isn’t one to care, mentioning to us that no matter what Rocky does, he is always the dog who waits at the front door for their owner. It’s comical—to say the least.
The music had been cranked up, the vibe mellow and chilled. Andy and Nash are still hovering around Gigi and Kylie like a bad smell, despite Jessa and Luna’s attempts to embarrass them.
Ava tried to start a game of volleyball, but it ended within a few minutes when the ball went flat.
The jar of mojitos is empty, so I offer to grab more from the kitchen. Unable to juggle my towel, I throw it back on the lounge and grab the jug along with an empty bowl of crisps. My hair has finally dried, still in a tangled mess as I walk back inside while humming the tune to the song which last played. I turn the hallway only to crash into a body; hands gripping my arms as the shock stills me.
Before I can even comprehend anything, the electric current runs through every part of my body, forcing me to breathe and glance upwards.
The ocean blue eyes are staring at me, deep and climbing into my soul where it once called home. Every nerve is firing all at once, unable to calm down amongst the frenzy building within me.
“Amelia,” Will murmurs, his voice so deep and etched in my memory. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head while swallowing the lump which formed inside my throat. My heart is racing like a pack of animals released into the wild, but I beg of myself to compose my actions in front of the one man I never expected to see at this moment.
“I’m fine, just surprised to run into someone,” I say, trying to even my tone and appear unaffected. “And that someone being you. What are you doing here? I thought you had some meeting in Hong Kong?”
Will lets go of my arms, and instantly—I feel the loss. He takes the bowl from my arms, until his eyes fall toward my chest. I’m unsure what to say, given I’m wearing a white bikini and suddenly feel very exposed. Will’s eyebrows pull together as he struggles to keep his expression hidden. The torment is evident in his eyes, but I can’t blame him—I would be the same if he walked out almost naked in front of me.
And then just like that, the memory of just how delicious this man looks naked comes rushing to my mind. My body begins to react, but I’m unable to cover my chest as my nipples harden. I raise the jug to cover my chest, the irony not lost on me.
