by Lilly Wilde
“Finally,” she said.
“Finally what?” I asked.
“You’re here silly!”
“I’m glad to see you too,” I replied smiling. “So, who’s your friend?” I asked referring to the guy with whom she was engrossed in conversation a few seconds ago.
“Oh, just some guy I was sitting beside on the plane. We struck up a conversation and ended up sharing a cab here. Isn’t he hot?”
April walked over to him and introduced us. He was actually even more appealing up close. We exchanged friendly conversation until the concierge notified us that the ferry shuttle to the villa had arrived. We said our goodbyes and headed outside. We were both anxious to get to the villa and start our vacation.
The shuttle ride revealed the breathtaking luxuriousness of the beach-fringed volcanic isle. It was a virtual paradise of exotic colors and clear tranquil waters. I was disappointed at the thought of only having a few days here. Our itinerary consisted of snorkeling, soaking up the tropical sun, clubbing and shopping the local boutiques. Oh and of course the hot guys, which was the main reason I initially booked this trip but recent events had proved that motive pointless.
The ferry attendant grabbed our luggage and assisted us off the ferry leading the way once we were safely on the deck. Arriving at the villa, we opened the door to the spacious living room which revealed a welcome bouquet of flowers in the center of the room. We tipped the attendant and he was off.
I darted across the room to the sliding glass doors out onto the patio, which offered a breathtaking view of the Caribbean Sea. The reclining beach chairs were so inviting that I plopped down on one and sighed. This is just what I needed… the serenity of the water gently splashing on the beach, the coconut palm tree-lined view of the sea, the gentle warm breeze washing over me. For the second time in minutes, I longed for an extended vacation here.
“This is beautiful,” April breathed. She had walked past me to the edge of the deck taking in the view of our paradise.
“Let’s get showered, changed and get this vacation started.”
“My thoughts exactly,” April agreed and we started back inside.
We quickly showered and changed into our bikinis and walked out to the patio enjoying the beautiful view. It was a sight only imaginable by describing a postcard. I looked out at the water taking note of the sailboats, swimmers and beach loungers eager to join them. We grabbed our beach bags and stepped off the deck into a warm sandy tropical day.
*****
We dressed and began discussing our plans for the day when my phone chimed. I checked it to see a text from Kellan.
*Good morning beautiful. Hope you can join us for breakfast before we head out to Lorient Beach. We’re downstairs near the pool.*
I was slightly confused.
“What’s wrong?” April asked.
“What?”
“I was asking what’s wrong? Something bad in that text?”
“Oh, no. I guess not. I’m just a little hazy on the details of last night.”
“Did we make plans to go to the beach with anyone last night?”
“Umm. Yupp! Don’t you remember? We’re going with Kellan and Blaine.”
“Damn, how much did I drink last night?”
“A lot,” April added with a giggle.
“Obviously. Well, Kellan just texted asking if we want to join them for breakfast. They’re out by the pool. I guess I’m game if you are.”
“Did you even need to ask? I’m in. I need to pack my bag first.”
“Ok, I’ll text and let him know that we’re headed down. Grab my bag from the bed and I’m ready.”
I replied to Kellan’s text just as April was entering the living area. Grabbing our bags, we exited the patio to start our new day in St. Barts. The instant my feet touched the sand I sighed, reveling in the beauty of the island. I looked at the sand shimmering in the sunlight like thousands of tiny jewels. The sound of the sea gulls directed my attention towards the water; the distant waves were white horses, galloping in unison. The sky was a brilliantly bright baby blue with white silvery clouds gliding almost imperceptibly against it; the sun shining approvingly on the beautiful scene. This was definitely not the place one should go for just four days.
We were approaching the outdoor dining patio when I caught a glimpse of a man walking toward a group seated near the outer tables. A sense of familiarity caused me to squint and focus in a little closer.
“That guy looks like…” I didn’t finish my statement because he looked back toward the waiter and I saw that he was exactly who I thought he was.
“Who?” April asked.
I didn’t answer and took a closer look; there was no way that he could be here. But he was!
“Who?” she demanded, this time more anxiously.
“It’s Aiden!”
“What? Where?”
“There...sitting with those people near the pool,” I motioned my head slightly in his direction.
“Fuck!” she exclaimed.
“What?” I asked looking at her.
“He is fucking gorgeous. That’s the guy that you’re unsure of? Are you crazy? Hey, if you don’t want him, I will gladly take him off of your hands.”
“Why does that not surprise me?”
“But wait, what is he doing here? Do you think he followed you here?” she asked.
“I … I don’t think so.” Did he? He didn’t know I was coming to St Barts…or did he? He couldn’t have, I made certain that I didn’t tell him. But if he didn’t follow me here, what were the odds of both of us being in St Barts this weekend? Oh but there was the mention of my itinerary from Raina. Maybe he did follow me here. But how did he arrange it so quickly? Had Raina helped him?
My shock morphed into anger as the realization of the situation presented itself. This jerk followed me nearly twenty-four hundred miles!
“I think he did…I think he did follow me here. Let’s go before he spots me. Let’s find the guys, have breakfast and get off this island.”
“Are you sure Aria? I mean, if he came all this way, it would be pretty fucked up if you avoided him,” she said, obvious disapproval in her voice.
“Look - what is fucked up is the fact that he followed me here,” I said, angry at myself for not being more careful with my plans.
“Actually, you don’t know why he’s here,” she replied.
“You know, you’re right. I don’t know and I don’t want to know, let’s go.”
“I hope you’re not leaving on my account,” a voice came from behind me. Not just any voice, it was his voice, the voice that could make me do just about anything. I closed my eyes attempting to stake claim on some fragment of calmness. I turned nervously to rest my eyes upon this beautiful man. His dark brown hair was slightly tousled from the gentle breeze, his eyes alive with excitement. He had a bit of stubble; I liked it. He was usually clean-shaven. This look suited him; it was incredibly sexy – more so than usual if that were remotely possible. I unwillingly took him in and realized that my imagination hadn’t done him justice. I found myself in awe of his hard, lean frame as he stood before me, shirtless and barefoot. I tried to tear my gaze from his magnificent form, but it was no use. My visual perception was on overload; darting all over his exposed torso; unable to decide which part I appreciated more. His rounded shoulders led to perfectly toned arms which revealed sexy veins running along his biceps. His muscular chest exposed pecks that begged for my touch. My gaze lingered on the sexiest abs that I had ever seen. The icing on the cake was a defined V made visible thanks to his trunks hanging loosely at his waist. My eyes rested there much longer than they should have as I marveled at his resemblance to one of my favorite David Gandy photos. I forced my glance upward. His devilishly handsome features shifted into a knowing grin as he watched me staring. He was flashing that panty-dropping smile that made me weak in the knees so I could only imagine the effect it had on April.
“Hello Aria.” I loved the way
my name slipped from his lips. Actually I loved the way anything slipped from his lips… hell, I loved his lips.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“Why did you ignore my email?” he countered.
Was he fucking kidding me?
His eyes skimmed my chest. My cover-up was open - exposing my barely-there bikini top. “You’re looking well,” he said, his eyes flashing back to mine. “I was sitting with my family and noticed you and decided to come say hello,” he stated.
“Oh, so you just happened to notice me? Just like you just happened to be here in St. Barts?”
“I would like to introduce you to my family,” he replied, disregarding my questions.
“Why?” I asked.
He smiled and reached to take hold of my hand, lifting it to his lips and planting a soft kiss; his mesmeric touch momentarily interrupting my anger. “Because I would like for you to, because it’s the polite thing to do especially since they are boring holes into my back staring over here.”
I glanced around him and noticed that all eyes were on us. They didn’t look very friendly. Curious yes, but definitely not friendly. “I don’t think so, we have plans.”
“It will only take a moment.” He glanced at April as if suddenly aware of her presence and reached out to shake her hand.
“Where are my manners? Hi, I’m Aiden Wyatt.”
April stared at him as if he were the only man on earth. I could see that she had lost her voice and quite frankly, she looked dumbfounded.
“This is April Jensen,” I interjected, sparing her the look of idiocy. Ugh...why did men have this type of effect on her?
“Hi Aiden. It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
Well what do you know, it talks.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you April,” he extended and immediately returned his attention to me.
“So…my parents, will you walk over to meet them?” he asked.
“Well, we sort of have people waiting for us Aiden and if we don’t hurry we’ll miss the ferry.”
“It will only take a second. He turned to April.” You wouldn’t mind would you?” he asked.
“Uh, no. It’s no problem,” April responded.
I glanced at her and mouthed traitor. She looked at me and shrugged apologetically. She was such a sucker for a good looking man.
“Ladies are you still up for breakfast before we head to Lorient?” I looked behind me to see that Blaine and Kellan had joined us. So these were the guys April and I met at the bar last night. Hot! Seeing them without the veil of alcohol jarred my memory…at least in small increments. After April and I left the villa yesterday, we had walked along the beach. During the course of our island exploration, we followed the sound of loud music and came across a club where we met these two guys. After a few drinks and dancing, we somehow agreed to hang out with them today. Actually it was a much-needed distraction for me…for April, it was probably something entirely different.
“Hi guys. We were actually planning to join you for breakfast but we were...uh detained,” I replied.
“No problem, we haven’t ordered anything. It was starting to get a little noisy so we decided to come up closer to the villas. Are you ready?” Kellan asked, glancing at Aiden. “We’re not interrupting anything are we?”
I looked up at Aiden whose expression had totally frosted. His eyes, the twinkle dissipated.
“Of course not, this is my…er… we work together. This is Aiden. Aiden, these are Blaine and Kellan.”
Aiden subtly nodded hello and directed his glare at me. Oh shit. What is this? It isn’t like we’re an item; we’re nothing shy of fuck buddies…plain and simple. We really hadn’t established that to be honest.
“Can you excuse us for a second?” Aiden asked, pulling me away without awaiting a reply.
“So is this why you rushed out of town?” he asked, gesturing toward Blaine and Kellan, his temples flaring.
“What?”
“I think you know what I’m asking,” he said.
His reaction caught me off guard. “Aiden, I don’t know what you mean. I’m on vacation with a friend- not that I owe you an explanation. So whatever else you are insinuating- don’t!”
“You’re absolutely right; you don’t owe me an explanation,” he stated, his calm resurfacing. “I would still like for you to meet my family and you can return to your friends.”
I turned to look at April but she was engrossed in conversation with the fellas so I complied. “Sure, I’d love to,” I lied.
“Thank you,” he said as our eyes locked. I started to feel that familiar heat that consumed me whenever I was near him. I knew he felt it too because that hungry look was back. I wouldn’t do this here.
“Shall we?” I motioned toward his parents. He gave me an exasperated look; not moving. I started walking toward his family and he followed, in two short strides catching up with me.
“We need to have a talk,” he stated.
“You’re certainly right about that,” I retorted.
As we neared the table with his family, I felt extremely self-conscious. They were smartly dressed, even for the beach. And here I was bursting forth with my boobs flashing. These people had a look of affluence and arrogance; much like the look I sometimes saw on Aiden.
“I would like for you to meet Aria Cason. Aria these are my mother and father; Sienna and Connor- my sister and brother; Sloan and Nicholas.”
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” I said.
“Lovely to meet you Aria” his mother said, smiling at me. Maybe I was wrong, she seemed nice.
“Aiden, don’t be rude, invite her to sit,” she instructed.
“Yes, Mother,” Aiden replied, offering a seat to me.
“Thank you but I have plans with some friends and we’re slightly behind schedule. We were actually about to have breakfast when Aiden spotted me.”
I looked over at Aiden; his temples pulsing as he eyed me.
“This is a lovely island, are you all here for a family vacation?” I asked. Perhaps this would be the way to find out if he really had followed me here.
“It’s actually a mixture of business and pleasure. I’m here on business and we decided to make a vacation of it as well. Aiden had initially declined our invitation but surprised us a couple of days ago when he called saying that he would join us after all. And you?” Connor asked.
“I’m here for pleasure. I needed to escape Boston for a while,” I replied, glancing at Aiden.
“Aria’s the President of Communications at Raine Publishing,” Aiden offered.
Sienna looked toward Connor. “Raine Publishing… isn’t that where you’ve-”
Aiden quickly interrupted, “I’ve been interning under her excellent leadership for the last couple of months.”
A look of knowing seeped into both Connor and Sienna’s expressions.
“Oh, so you’re the Miss Cason that Aiden has spoken of? He speaks very highly of you and the inner workings of Raine Publishing,” said Nicholas.
“Does he?” I asked, astounded.
“He can be quite challenging at times so I’m rather surprised to hear that Nicholas.” Nicholas was quite handsome; not as drop dead gorgeous as Aiden but extremely excellent eye candy none-the-less. If his eyes, being glued to my chest, were any indication, he approved of me also. He looked at his brother who was throwing him a warning look.
“Yes, Aiden has always been the challenging one of the bunch,” Sloan piped in with a smile and again, it was as though I was missing out on some private joke.
“Well it was lovely to meet you all but I really must go if I’m going to catch the ferry. I hope you enjoy your vacation and Sir I hope the business end of your trip is productive.”
“Yes, it was lovely meeting you Aria,” Sienna added, appraising my attire, and there it was… that conceited look that I knew I saw earlier. I returned her fake smile and turned to leave.
Aiden followed me.
&nb
sp; “That wasn’t so bad, now was it? And what do you know, you have enough time to run along and play with your new friends.”
“Play with my new friends? What the f-”
“I need to see you later,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“I’ll call you when we return from our play date,” I said.
“See that you do.”
Not having time for his bullshit, I turned to leave. I felt his eyes on me as I walked away; a small part of me wanted to turn around to catch one last glance at his body but I was not about to give him the satisfaction. His audacity was unbelievable. It was as though he was ordering me to meet him, as if no wasn’t an option. What made him think he had the right to demand or expect anything from me? And why did he suddenly decide to join his family here? Yes, we certainly needed to talk later. There were a few things I needed answers to and we definitely needed to iron out some shit if he expected me to go along with his little arrangement.
“Hey, what's wrong? You look upset. What happened?”April asked. I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t noticed where I was walking. I ended up heading toward the entrance of the main building and literally ran directly into April.
“Oh, it's nothing,” I replied.
“Quite frankly I don't understand why you would be upset for anything at all. It's obvious he’s really into you. And he's absolutely gorgeous. So what’s the problem?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes, April you would say that,” I replied, a little more harshly than I had intended.
I think I hurt her feelings and quickly apologized. “April I’m sorry. You were right, I am a little upset.”
“Well don't take it out on me. I’m just trying to be supportive. Besides I don't know all the details since you have failed to tell me what's really going on between the two of you,” she accused. “But I can say this much, it's obvious that something is going on...regardless of whether or not you want to admit it.”