AllFreeNovel
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There’s a knock on my door. Tossing my phone on the bed, I cross the room almost normally, with only a slight limp. Dr. Aris wasn’t wrong when he looked at my ankle on the dock a couple of days ago. My slip in the waterfall was only a minor setback. With lots of icing and ibuprofen, the swelling has already gone down, and I’m feeling much better. At least physically. Emotionally, I’m not so sure.
I would have thought I’d be excited about Grant’s growing interest in me. After all this time pining over his ridiculous abs, his uncanny skill at rolling a car, and his blunt sexuality, here he is, directing it all at me. And at Anna’s Instagram account. He’s such an idiot, posting all that stuff on her page, knowing he’s commenting about me. I’d have expected to be floating off the ground with excitement that he’s finally, definitely, into me, but I’m annoyed instead. I shouldn’t have told him I was posing as her on this trip, or that I’d be posting on her Instagram.
When I swing open the door, Sebastian stares into my room. His shoulders are tight, and he’s bunched his hands into visible fists inside his pockets.
“Sebastian, hi.” I press my fingers over my lips like this will prevent me from smiling too wide at the mere sight of him. “Everything okay?” I thought he went into Cozumel with the guys today. I was trying to stay out of his way.
“No,” Sebastian says. “No, it’s not okay!” He shoves a hand into his hair, looking as shocked at his own words as I am. “I mean, uh, you still owe me that drink in port.” He attempts a crooked smile, and I can’t help but laugh. He’s asking me out and being awkward as hell about it. “And, well, Cozumel is the last port of our trip. So, you have to, um, I mean, would you come to town with me today?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” I step aside to let Sebastian follow me into the room. For a moment, he looks like a kid on Christmas. But then he grows serious.
“So, uh, did you wind up posting those photos from the boat yesterday?” He bites his lip. “After all Jamie and Oscar’s efforts, I’m sure they’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”
“Oh, yeah, I posted a couple of them.” Apparently, every man in a thousand-mile radius is interested in those photos.
“Does it ever bother you at all, being such a, erm, public figure?”
“I’m not that.” I shrug.
“Well, nine-thousand followers say differently.”
“It’s not like I’m an influencer or something. I’m not Meghan Marconi level. She has two million followers and counting.” But Sebastian’s words remind me how sketchy Anna and I are being. Nine-thousand people believe she’s on this cruise. Including her own husband, and the man standing in front of me.
“Sebastian, I should tell you something,” I say, sitting on the couch and staring out at San Miguel, the main town on Cozumel, willing my nerves to level out.
“What is it?” Sebastian sits on the couch beside me. When I turn to him, my mouth goes dry. I want to lay a hand on his thigh, like the connection would make this easier.
“I’m not very good at this kind of thing,” I start. Sebastian nods but says nothing. “I don’t trust men easily. And I—" I press my lips together. How can I say this? I took my sister’s place on the cruise so she could go spy on her husband, who might be cheating. I want to trust you enough to tell you. Will you hate me for lying about who I am?
“Is this about your Instagram?” Sebastian asks, his forehead furrowing. He pulls his phone out and pulls up Anna’s page on the screen, holding it up for me to look at.
“It’s not about that.” Of course, he’d be confused. I haven’t changed the subject yet. Come on, say it, Zoey. Tell him you’re not Anna. Tell him who you are.
“Oh, wow,” he says, scrolling through Anna’s posts. “Some of these comments are wild.”
“What?” My heart sinks when I see where he’s stopping. Fucking Grant.
“That guy?” I point at Grant’s handle. “I work with him. Gets a lot of ladies, and he thinks a lot of himself. You know the type.”
“Tall, dark, and dangerous, huh?” Sebastian has now flipped to Grant’s Instagram. Seeing Grant’s brooding fuck-me stare right in Sebastian’s hand makes my insides snarl up on themselves, like a giant knitting project gone wrong. Sebastian’s earnest green eyes explore my face with such a mixture of care and concern that my throat closes up. What is with me today?
“Grant is a lot,” I say, swallowing hard. “Bad boy bullshit.” I shake my head. Less than a week ago, Grant Kevlar made me weak-kneed. Now he’s making me nauseous.
“And he’s so obviously hitting on a married woman.”
“He’s like this with a lot of women. Don’t pay attention to it.” The truth of it hits like a punch in the gut.
“His comments are an open invitation.” Sebastian looks at me with an intensity I’m not sure I can handle.
“Right. Well, he’s wasting his time.” I laugh, uncomfortably.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian gestures to my stomach, where I’m clutching at my shirt.
“The motion of the ship on the dock is getting to me.”
“Maybe we should go to shore now.” Sebastian stands, smoothing his shorts and glancing around the room. “Need any help getting ready?”
My phone vibrates from the bed.
