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CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Aurelia
I hugAna so tightly my arms ache. “I miss you so much,” I breathe into her hair. It smells of Ana, all clean and fresh, of watermelon and lime, her favorite soap.
“I miss you too, Ray,” she says. “Promise me you’ll come home as soon as the residency ends?”
“I promise. And I’ll call you, ok? Now I have your new number.”
“Yes, you must.”
I pull away reluctantly and wrap my arms around Billy.
“And you,” I whisper into his ear. “I want you to kill it at Yale, ok? You are the brightest guy I know; you deserve to be there.”
“Thanks Ray. You take care of yourself, ok?”
“I will. I’ll be fine.”
He pulls back and puts his hands to my cheeks. “I think you will be too. Isaac is a good guy. He didn’t need to do this—track us down and fly us here. It makes me feel a hell of a lot better knowing you have him.”
My smile is bittersweet. “Yeah, for a couple more months anyway.”
“I think he’d like it to be for longer than that,” Billy says, narrowing his eyes.
I shake my head. They don’t know Isaac like I do. “No, it’s not like that. We’ve gotten close, but…”
“Ray,” he stops me. “I’m a guy, right? I don’t know if you’ve noticed. We’re not all good, but I know a good guy when I see one. He’s as good as they come. And I think you mean more to him than just a job.”
“Maybe. We’ve just become really good friends, that’s all. But I know I’m lucky to have him. I really am.”
“Come on, that guy Luca is waiting for us,” Ana says, tugging at Billy’s sleeve.
“Yeah, I can see he means a lot to you.”
“He does.” I smile, weakly.
“It’s a shame he isn’t just a little bit younger,” Billy winks.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you could mean way more to him then, couldn’t you?”
I wish that were true, but even if he were younger or I were older, I’m pretty sure I still wouldn’t measure up. Not when are the likes of Paris Navitsky parading their impeccably manicured, sexually experienced selves around the resort every day.
“It isn’t like that,” I frown, pushing Billy away with a smile. “Now, go. Enjoy that helicopter ride.”
Billy rubs his hands together. “Oh, I will. This is one more item I can tick off my bucket list.”
Not another word is said as Ana plants a giant kiss on my cheek and drags Billy away down the boardwalk. They both turn back and wave, and I watch them reach the gate then climb into a golf buggy bound for the helipad.
I wipe a hand across my face and it’s wet. I didn’t even know I’d been crying, but it would make sense. I’ve missed my best friends more than I’d admitted to myself. The only person who’d stood up and done something about it, was Isaac.
Luca doesn’t drive the buggy away until he’s seen me turn around and let myself inside the villa. I expect to see Isaac hunched over his computer at the kitchen counter like usual, but he isn’t there. I walk through the villa but he’s not there either. I look out to the deck, but still there’s no sign of Isaac. I go to his suite and knock tentatively on the door. There’s no answer. I carefully open the door and peer round the corner.
I’ve never before stepped foot in Isaac’s suite but it’s pretty much the same as mine. White, pristine, airy. But his suite smells of him—a mixture of woody spice and freshly washed clothes. Out of all the security guys, Isaac is by far the most fastidious about his appearance. Connor is not far behind but his floppy dark blonde hair and the obvious prey bird tattoo across his back betray a certain rebelliousness. Carter looks disheveled at best, barely functioning at worst, probably the result of being a new dad. Luca is the epitome of a laidback surfer with the requisite beach-tousled, sun-kissed hair and boyish tan. Jaxon is quietly tidy, but a scar across his scalp gives him an obvious edge. Hudson, well, he’s a barbarian if ever I saw one. All long hair, muscles, tats and tight tanks. Isaac, in comparison, is neat, slick and understated. Even his tattoos are tidy. Everything about him is well-groomed, everything except his eyes. His eyes are like Wuthering Heights. Dark and stormy, raging even. Whatever secrets lie behind them, he works hard to conceal.
I crane my neck, not wanting to venture too far; Isaac deserves his privacy too. Then I see him, sprawled across the bed, sleeping deeply. I gaze at him for a few moments, allowing my eyes to roam his entire form, voyeuristically. Eventually, I tiptoe into the room, pull a blanket from the box at the foot of the bed and cover him from the chill of the conditioned air. Then I tiptoe out of his suite, closing the door quietly behind me. I walk out onto the deck and immediately pull out my phone. I don’t wait for the person at the other end to speak.
