So, she drifted off to sleep planning to spend the next day relaxing on the beach and doing some binge reading. And she was looking forward to dinner at Nick’s. She was thrilled that her big news didn’t seem to faze him, or Andrea or Marco, either. She enjoyed meeting the other two and thought they made a cute couple—although, she realized that she didn’t know if they actually were a couple or not. They just seemed to fit together, from what she saw.

Chapter 22

Bella had the perfect beach day on Monday. The skies were clear, the air was warm, and no one bothered her. She walked the beach, swam a little and read a lot. She didn’t see any paparazzi in front of the hotel and hoped that meant they’d given up and were onto something else.

She showered, dressed in her oldest, most comfy jeans and a thin white cotton sweater and was drying her hair when the phone in her room rang. It startled her because it was the first time the phone had rung since she’d been there. Everyone she knew just called her cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Bella? It’s Andrea down at the concierge desk. I’m getting off in a few minutes and didn’t know if you wanted to meet me in the lobby and we can walk over to Nick’s together?”

“Oh, sure! I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

She hung up, ran a brush through her hair and grabbed a bottle of wine she’d bought earlier that week. She didn’t want to show up empty-handed.

She donned her dark glasses, grabbed a light jacket and headed down to the lobby to meet Andrea.

They walked the short distance to Nick’s place in less than ten minutes.

“I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. I’m just going to run home and grab a salad I told Nick I’d bring.”

Andrea walked toward the house next door, while Bella knocked on Nick’s front door.

He opened the door a moment later and she tried not to stare. Nick looked amazing. He was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but his arms were lean and muscled and Bella had noticed on the beach that he had some impressive abs. His hair was slightly damp, and she guessed he’d recently showered. He grinned when he saw her.

“Come on in.”

“Andrea ran home to get a salad she’d made.” She handed him the bottle of wine.

“Great, thanks. Everything is just about done, so once they get here, we can eat.” He opened the wine, poured her a glass and got a bottle of beer for himself. Marco arrived a few minutes later and Andrea was right behind him. They ate on the back patio and the fish was just as good as she remembered.