Anger and resentment.
Anger, and resentment, and the desire to kiss his stupid face so hard, his head exploded.
Stop it, she chastised herself. He’s not even that hot anymore. Except he was. He looked exactly like the boy she remembered, only older, scruffier, and world-wearier. There was something different in his eyes, a sadness that had never been there before. Those huge hazel eyes that used to look straight through to her soul every time he walked through the door.
“Hey, angel. I’m not late, am I?”
“You can’t be late for forever.”
The words stung as she remembered them. He was supposed to be in her life forever, the one constant she never had to question in a world gone mad. Not long after he’d left for the military, Aria’s parents had gotten a divorce. From her perspective, it was sudden. They had always seemed happy, but she found out through other people in town that her father had an entire other family in another city, in another state. He’d been hiding them from her for her entire life, and she had a half-sister she’d never even met who was almost exactly the same age as her.
By the time she’d found out, and written Reid for support, or advice, he’d already stopped responding to her letters. It was one heartbreak compounded by another, and she hadn’t been sure she’d survive it. Her entire life felt like it was in shatters, and she had nothing to anchor her to the ground. It was only when she’d gone away to school and tried to focus on creating her own life that things had gotten reasonably better. Eventually, her mother remarried to a nice man with a son around Aria’s age, and they’d become fast friends. But all these years later, she still hadn’t been able to bring herself to talk to her father.
So, in one swoop, she’d lost two of the most important men in her life. And her heart still felt like it was in pieces over it. She’d glued the pieces back together, but the cracks were still there. Yet now, seeing Reid’s face again, it was like shattering it all over again.
Aria looked around the beach, and she wondered if Reid was watching her. Could he be somewhere near by? In the room next to hers? And dear god, how did he end up one of her matches? Based on the percentages, the Bear Ridge dating app seemed to think he was 99% match for her.
She snorted. “Little do they know,” she said out loud, hoping no one heard her talking to herself.
All of that initial panic she felt started to melt into anger. Pure, white hot rage. How dare he come to that island, and try to ruin her vacation? Maybe he didn’t know he was doing anything wrong, but he sure as hell was. And he had some nerve getting over her like that. Just moving on, and showing up at a matchmaking resort like she never even existed.
Well, I’ll show him, she thought as she gathered up her stuff from the beach to head back to her room. She only made it about three steps before a short man suffering from severe tiny man syndrome walked up to her. He was maybe an inch taller than her, and so inundated with muscle, he almost had trouble walking. Aria took several steps back, hoping she could avoid him, but he followed her.
“Hey, sexy. Wanna get a drink?”
He didn’t even have to say anything else. She guessed from his inflection and tone that he was Mark, and she was not in the mood.
“No, thanks.” Aria tried to walk around him, but he blocked her exit.
“Aww, you should smile, little lady. You’d look so much prettier if you smiled.”
Those particular words strung together in a sentence were like poison to Aria. They made her instantly angry, and many a man in her hometown had learned the hard way that if she wanted to smile, she’d be smiling. And that was on a good day. Today was decidedly not a good day.
Aria put on a giant, forced, smile, then got right in Mark’s face.
“And you’d be a lot prettier if you weren’t such a raging douchebag, so it looks like no one is going to be particularly pretty today, Mark.” The way she said his name put a fear in his eyes that gave her immense satisfaction, then she stalked around him and back to her room. For a minute, she felt slightly guilty about taking out her bad mood on some random gym rat, but then she remembered the initial message he sent her and she felt less bad about it.
When Aria got back to her room, she threw the phone on the couch and screamed at it. She used every curse word she knew, and some she didn’t, including a few she made up on the spot, and it helped her feel a little bit better. Then she dropped the rest of her stuff on the chair in the corner, and stomped over to the mirror. Her hair was a mess from the beach breeze, and her cheeks were red from the sun despite her extreme layer of sunscreen. She crossed her arms and harrumphed.
“We’ll have to clean this disaster up before we go back out there,” she said out loud as she brushed her white hair from her face. Then she jumped in the shower, washing the sand and sun out of her hair, and relished the hot water and significantly better water pressure than she had in her own house. Then she picked out her favorite dress from her carry on: it was a gift from her mother, a designer dress neither of them could have normally afforded if not for a major discount and a small tear in the seam they had to sew up. It was made of shiny silk, and covered in a beautiful floral pattern, atop a creamy yellow. The top had both halter and straps, and it fell down just below her knees in cascades of silk. Aria felt beautiful in it, and it gave her just the confidence she needed in case she ran in to Reid.
Once her dress was zipped, she swept up her hair into a high bun, and let a few pieces fall down to accentuate her cheekbones. Then she put on some light makeup, since she still had that “sun-kissed” appearance thanks to her time on the beach. As soon as she was confident in her look, she started for the door. But once her hand touched the doorknob, she froze in place.
Oh, god. What if he’s out there? Like, right out there? Just standing around, chatting up girls who aren’t me, and having the time of his damn life?
Aria started to feel queasy again. She had to force herself not to tear off her dress, let down her hair, and crawl into the king-sized bed, then stay there until the week was up. She had everything she needed; food, a private pool, a view. There was no reason to leave the room, right?
She paced back and forth, her flat sandals clicking on the floor in a monotonous tone that started to drive her as crazy as the thought of seeing Reid. Every time she’d be on the verge of walking out, she’d feel sick again and turn around. But then, a thought popped in her head.
Why am I the one who should be scared? He’s the one who disappeared on me without so much as a word. If anything, he should be embarrassed when and if I run into him. He’s the one who started this mess. He should have to finish it, and if it finally forces him to be a man? So be it.
With a final deep breath, Aria grabbed her shawl and her bag, checked her hair one last time, and stalked out into the sand.
He’s not going to hurt me. Not this time. Not ever again.
Chapter 8
Reid
Reid sat at a table in the corner of the bar, his sunglasses on and his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. He had a feeling he looked like kind of an asshole, but he didn’t care. The only thing he wanted was to be left alone, and if that meant giving off a “don’t look at me vibe,” he was fine with it.
Frank walked up to the table carrying three drinks, and handed one to Reid.
“You look like asshole,” Frank said.
Yup, nailed it.
“I just need a night to settle in to this, man. I’m not really feeling it, and it’s going to take me some time. So, get off my ass.”
Brendan laughed. “If you keep acting like that, you’re not going to get anyone on your ass, let alone Frank.”
“Yeah, yeah, just let me drink my… Midori sour… in peace. You’re a dick, Frank.”
Frank and Brendan laughed hysterically as Reid drank the cloyingly sweet drink and scowled. The guys took their beers, and Brendan saluted Reid with it.
“We’re going to go check out the buffet, if you know what I mean. Are
you going to stay here and play James Dean?”
Reid hoped his middle finger was enough of an answer, and Frank and Brendan wandered off into the fray, leaving Reid alone at the table. For a moment, things were quiet, and Reid thought his plan to get everyone to stay away from him was working. But it didn’t take long for him to realize…
It was having the opposite effect.
Women were buzzing around him like flies, and they seemed intent on being the one to break through his steely exterior. No matter how intently he looked as his lap, or the ceiling of the bar, it felt like a new woman wandered past him, and gave him the eye, every two minutes. About the time he considered going back to his room to watching one of the five channels on the TV, a woman walked up to him, and this time, she stopped.
“Reid, right?”
Reid looked up over his sunglasses, and surveyed the woman standing in front of him. She was definitely older than him, by at least ten years, but he didn’t actually care. She was lovely; she had long reddish-blonde hair, huge blue eyes, full lips, and cute chipmunk cheeks. There was something soothing about her, like she had a calming spirit within her that gave his bear peace. It didn’t feel romantic, but like running into an old friend.
“I’m Reid. And you are?”
“Daisy. The app matched us, but I feel like I know you. Do I know you? Have we met before?”
Reid leaned forward and looked at her. Really looked at her. Then it clicked. “Are you a shifter?”
Female shifters were a lot less common in the community, because the mutation hadn’t existed long enough to pass on to women who were grown. The only way a woman could be a shifter was if she’d been turned by the military too, and not a lot of women were in the unit that was recruited for the experimental program. But Daisy hadn’t been in Reid’s unit.
She’d been in the support group he joined when he first got back to civilian life.
He’d struggled when he’d returned to “normal” life with his new shifter abilities, and had been lucky enough to find a group of other people who were in the same situation. Eventually, he’d been accepted into the Colorado clan, and had drifted away from the support group. But now that he looked deep into her sparkling blue eyes, it all came back.
She nodded with a smile. “You were in the group in Colorado. I thought I remembered you. I think you left before I did. My husband got transferred to New York, so I went with him a few months after you stopped coming.”
Reid looked around, confused. “If you’re married, then what the hell are you doing here?”
“He thought he could handle the shifter thing,” she said dropping her eyes. “But he was wrong. We only made it a few months in New York before he skedaddled.”
Reid shook his head. “Then he was a first-class jerk, Daisy. I’m sorry. So, you’re here looking for romance, I take it?”
Daisy sat down next to Reid and waved over for a waitress. She looked at Reid’s drink suspiciously. “I’ll take a beer, and he’ll take another… Midori sour?”
Reid groaned. “Dear god, no. I’ll have whatever she is having.” The waitress giggled as she walked away, and Reid shoved the fruity drink across the table away from him. Daisy sighed as she picked up the conversation again.
“I don’t know about romance. Just someone to talk to would be nice. What about you? I can’t say I remember much from group, but you had a girl before you left for the Army, right?”
Reid ran his hands through his hair and forced a smile. “I did. But I haven’t in a long time. I’m only here because of the whole… mate frenzy thing? Have you dealt with that?”
“I don’t think it’s as much of a problem for the women shifters as the men. We get a little antsy without mates but I haven’t heard anything about women shifting permanently or going mate mad like you guys do. Seriously. What did they do to you?”
Reid laughed. “If I knew, I’d do something about it. It is really good to see you again, Daisy.” And Reid was almost shocked to realize that he meant it. The connection he felt with her wasn’t something that would translate into an affair, but he had so few women in his life that weren’t his brothers’ mates. The idea of fostering a friendship with Daisy made him happier than he expected it would.
“It’s good to see you too, Reid. I’m really glad we ran into each other. I’m actually moving back to Colorado in a few months, so it would be awesome to get together for a drink or dinner, catch up and whatnot?”
He leaned over and gave Daisy a hug. “You bet.” He jotted down his number on a napkin, then gave it to her. “Call me when you get in town! We’ll paint the town… well, I hate red. So, maybe turquoise?”
“You’re a nerd,” she said with an eye roll. “Well, I’m off to see if any of these big manly shifters can handle a woman with twice their upper body strength and three times their stamina.”
Reid laughed, then wolf-whistled at her. “Get it, girl.”
Daisy had only been gone for a moment when Frank and Brendan walked back over. Frank had saucers for eyes, and he was looking in Daisy’s direction.
“Holy shit, man. Who was that and did I see you give her your number? I hate you. Like, officially.”
“Nah, dude, it’s not like that,” Reid said with a chuckle. “I know her. Sort of, anyway. We met in a group for shifters transitioning out of military life. She left for Manhattan but is moving back to Colorado soon. I thought it would be nice to have a friend that isn’t you goons.”
Frank’s jaw dropped. “She’s a shifter too? I’ve never met a female shifter before. I didn’t even realize…”
“That women got just as screwed over as we did?” Brendan said, drinking his beer and watching a leggy brunette at the bar.
“Something like that. What’s her name?”
“Daisy. You should go talk to her,” Reid said, as he pushed Frank in Daisy’s direction. But Frank shook his head intently.
“No way. I’m shy.”
Brendan and Reid both turned and looked at Frank, then burst out laughing.
“Since when are you shy about anything? I once saw you walk up to a woman with a boyfriend and ask if she wanted to be your hibernation buddy,” Brendan said, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. But Frank just bristled.
“Forget it. She’s too cool for me. I’ll just keeping drinking until I pass out alone in a sand dune and the ocean puts me out of my misery.”
Reid was just about to make fun of Frank again, when he suddenly felt incredibly dizzy. It was like he’d had too much to drink, or he’d been drugged. There was a pressure in the room that made him feel like the entire island was bearing down on him. It was unlike anything he’d experienced in his life, and he started to worry that he’d ingested something that was making him sick.
Or maybe an asteroid was about to hit.
Reid grabbed Brendan’s arm, and Brendan looked at him like he was crazy. “Are you okay, man? What’s going on? Did that Midori go to your head?”
“Do you not feel that?” Reid asked, scanning the room. “Like the barometric pressure suddenly changed. I feel like I’m being suffocated. I can’t believe you don’t feel that.”
Frank and Brendan both looked around the room, as if they were expecting to see something, but came up empty. “I don’t know, dude. It feels all right to me. Did you eat something weird?”
“I haven’t eaten anything since we got here. But that’s not it. It’s more like…”
And then, he saw her. Standing at the entrance to the bar. It was Aria. His Aria. She was just there, like a vision, out of nowhere. She didn’t look like he remembered her; she looked better. Grown-up. Beautiful. Self-assured and confident in a way she never was when they were kids. She’d barely aged a day; the only difference was she looked more mature, like she’d lived an entire life in the time they’d been apart.
And he knew she had. He’d read every letter she’d sent him, even if he hadn’t answered. He knew about her father, and everything she and her mother went through.
He knew how devastated she’d been, and how hard it had been for her to move on. Reid had hated himself for compounding her pain, but he’d been so sure that him coming home a shifter would have only made it worse.
But as he looked at her, his heart beat faster. He broke out in a cold sweat. And he felt like his whole world was crashing down around him. And yet, at the same time, it felt like everything else around him was drifting away, and the only people left in the room were him, and Aria.
Reid fought the desire to dive over the railing and run down the beach, as far away from the bar as he could get. He wanted to hide from all of his past mistakes, which he could see reflected back at him in Aria’s sparkling blue eyes. He wanted to run…
But the bear was having none of it. They were staying right where they were, whether Reid liked it or not.
And he didn’t like it.
Not. One. Bit.
Chapter 9
Aria
Aria took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as she walked into the bar. She felt goose bumps spring up all over her arms, even though the night breeze was warm and heady. She could smell salt on the air, and the intoxicating aroma of coconut, and mint from the mojitos being muddled at the bar next to her. She tried to calm herself down, and focus on enjoying the night, but all she could do was worry about where Reid was. Whether he was close by. And if he was going to try and talk to her.
She kind of hoped he didn’t, but then Aria realized, she’d also be pissed if he ignored her.
What is wrong with me?
Aria chastised herself as she took another hesitant step into the bar, trying not to look like she was obviously scanning for anyone. But whether she wanted to or not, it was as if her heart led her eyes directly to Reid. He was sitting in the corner of the bar, sunglasses on, and chatting with two other guys. It was very clearly Reid, but now she could see all the things that were different about him.
Furever Always (Furever Series) Page 38