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Chapter Two
Aria
I woke up early the next morning to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the seagulls screeching in their usual high-pitched way, reminding me that I was on a beach holiday and not in my Brooklyn apartment. I squinted against the sunlight peeking its way between the partially open blinds. Once my eyes had adjusted, I stared out at the blue sky. It looked like it would be a fine day. The perfect beach day.
But that wasn’t what was on my mind.
My thoughts were stuck on last night. How the fright turned into peacefulness. I enjoyed my dinner so much, but it wasn’t only the food that I enjoyed. I also loved talking and dining with Logan. A bloody Navy SEAL.
I sat up in my bed and shook some sense into myself. This holiday was supposed to be about seeing a different part of the East Coast, not about a man.
I walked into the kitchenette of our little holiday apartment decorated tastefully with blue and white, beachy colours and furniture, and started up the coffee pod machine. I made myself some toast and carried my breakfast out to the two-seater outdoor setting on the small balcony. I watched people out for early morning walks along the beach, either alone, with their dogs, or their families. Some people were already hitting the waves.
I cherished moments like this, where I could find the calm in my own little bubble and watch everything that went by without them realising how much I took on board. Sometimes the beauty of being the outcast meant that I could see people for exactly who they were. These highly honed powers of observation served me well in my work as a veterinarian. It was why I’d received distinctions in almost every subject in university, and it meant that I was a hot commodity—I was employable the world over.
Now, what had I observed in my friends last night?
Before I could answer the question, Lily dashed out onto the balcony and threw her skinny arms around me. “Aria! Holy shit, where did you go last night? I was so worried. I left a million messages on your phone!”
Taken aback, I looked at my smartphone and found texts and voice message notifications a mile long, all from Lily.
Guilt burned within me. “Oh, crap. I’m so sorry, Lily. I didn’t mean to ignore you, but I was so upset about what happened at the Hot Tuna. Logan followed me out and we ended up going to this steak and seafood restaurant for some food.”
Lily cocked her head to one side. “Logan?”
“The guy who helped me.”
“I see.”
There was no mistaking the coy smirk on my friend’s face.
“It’s not what you think. We didn’t hook up; we simply got out of that shithole of a bar and went somewhere nice where I could calm down. It took a complete stranger to care enough to do that for me.”
Lily froze. “Wait, what?”
“You and Zoey abandoned me. Neither of you had my back at all. You were both so focused on finding people to fuck that you left me alone in a bar I didn’t want to go to in the first place. I’m so pissed off at the both of you!” I got to my feet and stormed over to the kitchen to put my crockery away.
Lily followed me. “Aria, I tried to find you.”
Zoey chose that moment to return. She’d clearly been out all night and was doing the walk of shame. Though, if her self-satisfied smirk was anything to go by, maybe she wasn’t that ashamed after all. “Is that coffee I can smell? I need it after the fucking amazing night I had.”
I fumed.
“Zoey,” Lily warned.
“No, seriously. The Navy nurse, the SEAL, and the quirky New Yorker. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Zoey asked as she poured some coffee into a white mug.
“It sounds like a porno,” I grumbled.
Zoey frowned at me.
Lily, as always, started damage control. “Zoey, Aria was harassed last night at the Hot Tuna.”
“What the hell? Holy shit, are you okay?”
“No,” I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice but failed miserably. “I mean, I will be, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.”
“We left her all alone and some guy came onto her in a not so nice way,” Lily informed Zoey.
