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Chapter One
My ears perked up at the laughter floating across the Japanese restaurant. The hairs on my arm tingled as my brain frantically tried to process what I was hearing. What were the odds that I would come across the one person that I didn’t want to see in the entire world? The universe was playing an awful trick on me.
I closed my eyes for a brief second hoping that I had imagined the sound. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
“Yoo-hoo!” I heard a familiar voice call out from behind me.
No, it can’t be! I shook my head to erase the figure that popped into my mind. That sounded like Annisa, and there was no way that she could be here. There’s no way that she could be here to interrupt my lunch date with Aiden. But I knew that the voice I heard was real, and it belonged to Annisa Choi, my nemesis and Julia’s other best friend.
Aiden lifted his dark eyebrow and gave me a concerned look when he saw that I had stiffened my shoulders and stopped talking to listen to the voice behind me.
“Is something wrong?” he asked as he covered my hand with his. His hand was warm, but it wasn’t very soothing.
I didn’t answer him. Instead, I swiveled around to observe Annisa approaching our table. As usual, her clothes made a statement. She wore a skintight black mini-dress more appropriate for a nightclub than a restaurant. In addition to her form-fitting dress, her five-inch platform sandals made her tower over the seated dining patrons. Annisa had a wide smile plastered on her face as she weaved her way through the tables and chairs. I felt bad for the ladies whose dates were giving Annisa admiring glances as she strutted by.
I realized that my date might also be checking out Annisa. I turned back around to see if Aiden was looking at me or the woman walking toward us, and I was pleasantly pleased to find that he was looking back at me.
I smiled at his handsome face and said, “Julia’s friend is making her way over here.” I squeezed his hand back to let him know that everything was okay before I placed both of my hands on my lap. Despite my reassurance, I really wanted to grab the glass of chardonnay in front of me and take a big gulp.
“She looks familiar.” Aiden scrunched his eyebrows together to recall where he had seen her before.
“She was in Cozumel with the bachelorette party,” I said. It was strange that I had only met Aiden a few days ago when we both went to the island on vacation because it seemed as though I had known him longer than that. While Aiden and his friend Ryan went to Cozumel to finish their open water scuba diving certification, I was there to celebrate my best friend Julia’s bachelorette party. And, of course, diving was a perk of that trip.
Aiden’s eyes lit up in familiarity when he remembered meeting her briefly at the hotel bar. I already knew he had met Annisa previously because Julia told me he left shortly after the ladies arrived.
“Oh yeah…” Aiden’s voice faded as Annisa arrived. She was stunning, to say the least. Her long, black hair was blown out in soft waves, and her makeup was expertly applied to show off her flawless complexion.
“Claire, what are you doing here?” Annisa asked by way of a greeting. Her voice was friendly, but her enlarged eyes betrayed her astonishment at seeing me on a date, especially with a man as good-looking as Aiden.
Annisa’s surprise turned into amusement as she surveyed my outfit. Her eyes traveled from my hair down to the boots that I was wearing. Her lips curled in a slight smirk.
“I like your boots. Prada?”
Fortunately, I had heard of the name, so I knew she was talking about the designer and not some type of food dish.
“No.” I had no idea what brand my boots were. When Julia and I went shopping for clothes to wear on my date with Aiden, I bought the first pair of shoes that looked stylish but more importantly, was comfortable.
I didn’t recall the brand name, but I figured the pair of boots were acceptable because there was no way Julia would let me buy anything that wasn’t stylish. Being a fashionista, my best friend was up to date on the latest trends. She even nodded in approval when I showed her the boots before I tried them on.
At the time, I was pleased the black knee-high boots complemented the black leggings and the ivory tunic that I had bought to wear.
Now seeing how Annisa was dressed, I thought I was underdressed. Oh well. Too late now. I tried to push the comparison aside and cleared my throat.
“I’m having lunch with a friend. Annisa, this is Aiden Filipowski. Aiden, this is Annisa Choi.” I briefly made the introductions as I figured they would remember they had already met. At least I knew Aiden remembered her.
Annisa turned and stared at Aiden, trying to place his face. She twisted her face from side to side a few times before she exclaimed, “I remember now! You were in Cozumel too!” She clapped her hands together. “It’s so good to see you again.” Annisa let out an amused laugh.
“It’s nice to meet you again as well,” Aiden replied in his low and smooth voice. I really loved the sound of his voice. It had an air of authority. I’d noticed it when we went with Antonio to the police station in Cozumel. Although Antonio and I were nervous and barely managed to give coherent answers, Aiden talked to the police officers without being intimidated by them.
“So, what are we talking about?” Annisa asked conspiratorially and leaned against the table with her hip.
I didn’t want her to join us but having her continue to stand at the table would draw attention from the other people in the restaurant. She was already blocking the narrow space between our table and the table next to us. The waiter had to go around the other side because there wasn’t enough room for him to squeeze the tray through.
I looked at Aiden and raised an eyebrow. Aiden quickly understood that I wanted to know if it was okay for Annisa to join us. He met my questioning look and winked back.
“Would you like to have a seat?” Always courteous, Aiden pulled out a chair.
“Aren’t you a gentleman?” She gave him a coquettish smile, sizing him up. I could see the wheels spinning in her head as she wondered what he did for a living and if he was successful.
