Page 14

ASH

I don’t find out that we’re vacationing with Vanessa, Loren, Roxie, and Olivia until we are literally in the driveway of the beach house. This is so not the vacation I imagined, and even though I’m okay with it, I have a strong feeling it’s going to make things awkward for Liv.

Liv? Olivia? I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to call her, so I’m just going to follow everyone else’s lead.

We’re climbing out of Zayne’s car when I ask, “So, um…how is this all going to work?”

“Don’t worry, you have your own room,” Mike assures me. “Loren and I have a room, then Van and Zayne are sharing a room, I guess. Liv and Roxie are sharing a room, and you’ll have one for yourself. If you ask me, you got the sweetest deal.”

“Nah, you and I get to have sex,” Zayne casually mentions and then bursts out laughing. “I mean, not with each other!” More laughing. “I meant with our girlfriends!”

Mike looks over at me with amusement. “Okay, so maybe you don’t have the sweetest deal, but it’s pretty close.”

“Something you should know before we go inside is that this house is seriously outdated,” Zayne warns. “Like…imagine what a beach house looked like in the nineties, and this is it.”

“O-kay…” I’m not really sure what to say to that, so I just grab my luggage and follow the guys up the stairs to the front door.

Mike knocks even as he opens the door and calls out that we’re here.

In the distance, I hear Loren squeal happily before she comes running toward us.

I step inside and then freeze, momentarily blinded by the brightness.

Once my eyes adjust, I realize Zayne wasn’t kidding.

This house is like going back in time. I’m not complaining, though.

It’s essentially a free place to stay. As long as I have a bed to sleep in, I’m going to be fine.

The rest of the time, I plan on being out on the beach surfing or playing volleyball, or even…

“Is that a pool out there?” I ask, glancing beyond the entryway.

“It is!” Loren replies as she hugs me. “I used to think it was crazy to have a pool when you’re only yards away from the ocean, but it’s great when you want to go for a night swim.”

“And there’s a hot tub,” Mike tells me. “Seats eight and it’s sort of the perfect way to end every day. I highly recommend it.”

I nod and move away from them and slowly make my way toward the living room.

The floors are like a dingy off white, but the furniture is white, and the entire back of the house is glass.

It feels a little like being ants under a magnifying glass and I wonder if there’s any relief from the heat and brightness.

I shield my eyes the closer I get to the windows and try to see if there are blinds or shades or…

“You’ll get used to it.”

It’s crazy how I already recognize her voice.

Turning, I lower my hand away from my eyes and smile. “We need to stop meeting like this,” I tease, and fortunately, she smiles.

She stops just a few feet away and studies me. “In a million years, I never would have thought Ash was short for Sebastian.”

That…wasn’t what I was expecting her to say, but I’m glad she’s not angry about me being here.

“It never was until I met Matt in college. He used it and it just stuck.”

Her smile fades slightly, and I want to kick myself. It’s probably not the smartest thing to be mentioning the dead ex as soon as I walk in the door.

“So, um…this is weird, huh?” I say, raking a hand through my hair because I have no idea what to do with myself.

“My guess is the universe must really want us to be friends if it keeps throwing us together this much.”

A smile tugs at her glossy lips and I home in on them for a moment.

In the last three days, I’ve seen three very different versions of this woman.

The woman on the plane was a bit of a casual, comfortable mess—and not just her emotions.

I was mildly enamored by the casual hoodie and leggings, the sneakers, and the messy bun.

The woman at the funeral was understated elegance, with the saddest green eyes I’d ever seen.

But today’s version? This one may be my favorite because I can already tell she is comfortable in her own skin. Her hair is loose and wavy, she’s dressed casually in a pair of shorts and a tank top—which reveals some serious curves—and she just looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her.

You know, in the three days I’ve known her.

Behind us, everyone’s talking and moving toward what I’m guessing is the kitchen, so I know we’re not going to have a lot of privacy. If I’m going to say anything without an audience, it needs to be now.

“Look, I honestly had no idea who you were on the plane, and I want to apologize for what I said at the funeral yesterday. I was really just trying to lighten the mood.”

“It was a funeral, Sebastian,” she quietly reminds me. “That’s not a mood that gets lightened.”

“Okay, so…I panicked. Either way, I’m sorry. I never should have approached you while you were saying goodbye. It was insensitive of me and kind of a dick move.”

Her head tilts as she just continues to stare at me until I start to feel super uncomfortable. Between the heat radiating through the glass and the weight of her stare, I’m pretty sure I’m going to burst into flames any second.

“I guess we can both agree that maybe yesterday we weren’t at our best,” she finally says.

“And now we’re on vacation together with our mutual friends that we didn’t know we had.

” Sighing, she glances over her shoulder towards where everyone is congregated and then back at me.

“I’m not sure if I should be offended that they never mentioned me to you before. ”

“They did, but they always referred to you as Olivia. You introduced yourself as Liv and I didn’t put two and two together.”

That makes her chuckle. “And why would it? I’m sure there are millions of people named Olivia or Liv in the world. It would be super bizarre if the only one you ever heard of was the one you met on a plane.”

“And yet…I did,” I say lightly, giving her a simple grin. “Are we good? I mean, is this going to be too weird? Because I can totally leave. It’s much easier for me to go back to Raleigh to my place. You’re here on a legit vacation with your friends. I don’t want to ruin that for you.”

“You’re not. I promise. I was a little upset when the girls told me—which wasn’t until we got here—but…

it is what it is. And to be clear, it wasn’t just because you were going to be here.

I was upset because I thought this was a girls’ trip and now it’s not.

But…we’re not all joined at the hip, and I’m sure it’s not going to be awkward at all.

Please don’t feel like you need to leave. ”

“Come on, you guys! We’re toasting to the official start of this trip!” Loren calls out.

“So we’re good?” I ask because I’m a stickler for genuine consent in all things.

“We’re good,” she assures me before turning to walk away. But she immediately stops and faces me again. “Do you prefer to be called Ash or Sebastian?”

“What?”

“You know, your name,” she teases. “When you introduced yourself to me on the plane, you said Sebastian. I’m just curious which name you actually prefer.”

Wow. I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that.

“Um…I use Sebastian more in my work world. With friends, Ash is fine.”

She gives me a quick nod. “Okay, then, Ash. Let’s go and join everyone.”

“Wait,” I blurt out. “What about you?”

Her confused look is kind of adorable.

“Liv or Olivia?”

She takes a moment to consider the question. “Depends on my mood. I’m not fussy. So whichever name you’re comfortable with, I’ll answer to.” Another half turn before she looks at me again. “And the glasses looked good on you. You sort of have a Clark Kent and Superman thing going on. I like it.”

This time she walks away, and I follow. Mike immediately puts a glass of wine in my hand, and I see Loren do the same for Olivia.

Liv.

Ugh, I’m going to struggle with that every damn time, I just know it.

After that, things sort of go by in a bit of a blur.

We’re toasting the start of the trip, we’re putting away the groceries that just got delivered, and already working on a second order since Mike, Zayne, and I didn’t get any input into the original one.

I head up to the third floor where my bedroom is.

This house is a little bizarre. From the outside, it looks like the house was cut in half down the middle, separated, and then a two-story extension put in the middle.

Inside, the first and second floor are normal, but on the third floor, you can’t get from my bedroom to the one Van and Zayne are staying in.

It’s great for privacy, but overall, strange.

And the windows.

So many windows.

The views are freaking fantastic, but I nearly sag with relief when I see my bedroom has blinds and curtains.

“Thank God,” I murmur as I unpack.

Not only do I have my own bedroom with a king-size bed, but I have my own bathroom too. So while I won’t be having sex on this trip, I am certainly the one with the most privacy.

Oddly though, it doesn’t really matter. I spend so much time on my own when I travel for work that I am genuinely only going to be up here while I sleep.

The rest of the time I plan on getting up early and making the most of every single day.

I haven’t been to a beach in probably fifteen years.

My family likes to tell me I was always an “indoor cat” when I was growing up.

Something about me always being inside and sitting in front of a computer, so I guess I’m going to try to make up for it now.