Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98345 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“I will admit, being around you has slightly made me regret my social media stance, actually. You’re so good about snapping photos and videos, posting, and then putting your phone away. It’s not like you’re on it twenty-four seven, even if it is your job.”
She gets a strange look on her face as she starts to sit up. “Well, funny you should say that—”
“Sienna! Casey!”
Javier’s voice surprises us both, but I’m the first to recover.
“Javier, hey!” I say with a welcoming wave. I peek at Sienna out of the corner of my eye to see she’s ever so casually adjusting her position on her lounge chair, creating better angles, subtly arching her back to draw Javier’s attention to her red bikini top. I can’t help but smile to myself.
“How’ve you been? Did you recover from that jellyfish sting?”
God, my jellyfish sting? That feels like it was ages ago. I’m telling you, cruise ships are funny. I swear we’re in a time warp, so an hour on board is like a week on land.
“All good,” I say with a reassuring smile. “What have you been up to? Busy day?”
He looks even tanner than when I last saw him, like he’s part of the sun now, so handsome with that thick dark hair and brilliant white smile. Sienna knows how to pick them, I’ll just say that.
“Yeah, I went off on a hike that lasted much longer than I thought it would. I looked for you guys in the dining room when I got back, but lunch was pretty much over by then.” He rocks back on his heels, stealing a glance at Sienna, who’s yet to say a word to him, not even a greeting.
She doesn’t look bitchy, per se, just aloof. Cool in a way I’ve never been able to affect. It’s probably not in my DNA. You see, Sienna has these beautiful green eyes that seem to be ever so slightly hooded, giving the effect that she’s perpetually bored with everything she’s looking at. Now, for instance, she could be watching paint dry, for all the enthusiasm written across her face.
Poor Javier! He’s really done himself no favors by waiting this long to approach her. She’s been wanting this for days! Sure, she put up a good front with me today, trying hard to support me through my tears and self-indulgent wallowing. I’m sure she didn’t want to seem selfish, shifting the focus back onto her and her dating problems, but she still slipped up and mentioned Javier a time or two. The first time, I remember, she asked out of the blue when I’d last seen him around the ship. The second time, a few hours later, she said—wholly unprompted, mind you—that she was perfectly fine with where things stood with Javier and she didn’t really mind that he hadn’t made a move or anything. “I prefer being single” were her exact words, which everyone knows is universally translated to Please, god, send that man to my bed tonight!
“Oh, a hike? That sounds fun! Sienna and I did a hike two days ago, and I’m still sore. What about you, Sienna?”
She hums and shrugs. “Not really anymore. I think I might go for a swim.”
Her British accent seems more standoffish, prim, and proper than ever.
She stands, about to step around Javier and really take things up a notch, but he cuts in front of her.
Yes! Go Javier! I mostly resist the urge to throw my fist into the air, but it still lifts off my towel and hovers awkwardly near my shoulder.
“I was hoping you’d be free tonight? To go and have dinner off the ship? I made a reservation at this restaurant all the locals recommended.”
Sienna thinks it over for an excruciatingly long time before replying casually, “A little late in the day for a dinner invite, don’t you think?”
Sienna!
Javier’s eyes narrow at the same time his smile widens. He likes this. He likes her. “I came to your suite. I knocked and knocked, trying to find you.”
“We’ve been off the ship most of the day,” I tell him since Sienna won’t. “Then when we got back, we came straight here.”
“See?” His brow rises. “I couldn’t find you all day.”
Sienna inspects her nails, really putting on a good show here. Even I’m starting to sweat, and I’m not even Javier!
“She’ll go,” I blurt out.
“Casey.” Sienna levels me with an admonishing glare. “I will not. I can’t leave you. Not with everything . . .” She shakes her head. “Not tonight.”
While it’s thoughtful of her to consider my feelings in all this, there is no way I’m letting her skip out on this dinner date with Javier. She helped me when I was at a low point earlier (never mind that I’m still very much there), and so now I’m going to help her.