𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨?
Newly graduated accountant Cordelia Ashling has come to terms with the fact that her life is destined to be absolutely uneventful. That is until her parents gift her wi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The slide of paper against wood has me turning toward my bedroom door. A neatly folded letter with my name scrolled across it rests on the floor. I set my brush down on the dresser and pull my robe tighter around my body as I pad across the room. As if someone is watching me, I look both ways, ensuring the coast is clear, and retrieve the note.
Opening it, I read:
Cordelia,
Meet me at the pool at sundown. Come hungry and wearing a swimsuit.
Yours Truly,
Elias
The simple letter brings a smile to my face. It turns out that he didn't forget his promise to make up for his absence today. I find that very endearing. My ex was full of promises, and more than half of them went unfulfilled.
Slipping the note into my pocket, I return to the dresser and continue brushing my hair. I spent the day with Lorelai after my quick run-in with Elias. We must have sampled everyone's drinks. Most were tolerable, but a few were downright disgusting. By the time the staff packed up the bar, we were reduced to drunken fits of laughter while sitting on the top step of the pool.
I enjoy Lorelai's company. She is funny, smart, and not afraid to call something as it is. More than once she let her guard down about Elias, giving me a little more insight into him. According to his best friend, he has a talent for baking breakfast pastries, and he fluently speaks nine languages. I could tell by the way she spoke about him that she is excited at the prospect of him dating someone. It is sweet that she is so supportive of him.
And I do have to admit that I'm glad he finds her support just the tiniest bit overbearing, because that put me in the situation we are in now—fake dating with a side of overprotective bodyguard. I can't say it's a disappointment.
Checking the clock, I find I have a little free time before dinner. I root through my dresser drawers to see if I happened to bring another bikini Elias hasn't seen me in yet, but I come up empty.
"Damnit," I groan, pushing the bottom drawer shut. Crossing my arms over my stomach, I purse my lips and look around the room, trying to remember where I may have stashed another suit.
My eyes lock onto the wardrobe in the far corner of the room and I snatch the doors open. When I shove my hand into the duffel bag at the bottom of the wardrobe, my pulse quickens as my fingers brush over the bright red satin. It's the bikini I have never dared to wear in front of another living soul. I don't even remember packing this; if I had to guess, this was my mom's doing. Damn, she really wanted me to find a guy on this trip.
If I thought the rose gold bikini was small, this one is microscopic. It's not a string bikini, but the bottoms are so high cut that they leave nothing to the imagination, and they cover almost none of my ass. The top has an underwire but is so low-cut that the triangles are more like halves of tiny sandwiches. I take a deep breath and put it on, throwing a black sundress over it before I have any time to second guess myself. By the time I put on makeup and pull my hair into a French braid that flows over my shoulder, it's time to meet Elias.
