As well as brown hair, I had dark circles under my eyes. I had spent a good while making sure make-up covered everything.

"So, how is it going with lover boy?" I started a conversation to stop myself from thinking.

"It is going fine." She replied, "Brennan is really sweet and he is handsome."

I laughed "I want to be the maid of honour at your wedding."

"Only if I get to be yours."

Shaking my head as we walked onto the sand, I told her "I will need to find someone that wants to marry me. Before that, I need to find a guy that wants to stick around."

"Ella, loads of guys have shown interest in you and you have always tried to scare them away." She laughed gently while pointing out "Which you always succeed at."

"They did not want to date me. They wanted to sleep with me. There is a massive difference. I have never had someone that wants to stick around." I explained while pulling at a thread on my jean shorts "Plus, I’m not good at picking up on social cues so I will probably end up an old cat lady."

As we got nearer to the water, I did not even have enough time to register how much I hated this place because something else caught my eye.

Stone looked in his element. His muscles were visible as he gripped onto the board with one hand. He rode the waves effortlessly as he kept balance on the board. The deadly combination of the sun and the water made the tattoos on his chest glisten.

Lana sent me a smile. It felt secretive and it was full of hidden meaning.

The two men made their way towards us, surfboards underarm. They neared closer and closer until Stone was towering over me.

I looked anywhere else but his well-built body.

"Lovely Lana." Brennan greeted her with a wink before he smiled at me "Little Ella."

I rolled my eyes before I turned to my best friend and warned "You better take him away before I knock him on his ass."

She giggled but then she stopped suddenly "Are you sure you are going to be okay here yourself?"

"Of course, I am." I reassured her before I hit her arm "Go be with lover boy in the water but keep in mind that this is a family beach."

Brennan chuckled before taking Lana's hand "I can't promise anything."

They both headed towards the water which left me alone with the giant who was currently studying my face like he was looking for something. He looked intent on finding some kind of answer there as he continued to watch me.

I tried to ignore the heat rushing to my cheeks as I laid out a beach towel on the sand and sat down. I adjusted myself on the ground and sat crossed-legged before I looked up to see Stone still watching me.