"What's in it?" she inquired as Mandy handed her a glass of the blended concoction.
"A little bit of everything," Mandy answered.
Emma's nose wrinkled as she sniffed at the drink, but the sip she took tasted delicious.
"Are you ready to go?" Jill inquired.
Her braids clacked as she bounced on her toes and danced around the kitchen. Thankfully, she stopped butchering Bob Marley, but she began to hum some other tune Emma did not want to hear.
Emma took a big gulp of her drink to get rid of it before Jill launched into her newest rendition of an unsuspecting reggae song. One drunken night, a guy had told Jill she should be on The Voice to get in her pants. Jill hadn't left with him, but that night was the closest she and Mandy ever came to choking Jill as she continued to sing, loudly and badly, until three in the morning. Thankfully, sobriety brought sanity with it, but Jill still loved to sing her out of tune songs.
The cold rushing to her head caused Emma to wince. She placed the glass down and rubbed at her temples to ease the headache the chill caused. "Ready," she muttered.
Jill looped her arm through Emma's and took Mandy's. "Let's go then!" she said excitedly.
"We're not going to see the wizard, Jill," Mandy said with a laugh as she extricated her arm from Jill's.
"I think someone has a crush." Emma tried to keep her tone airy and teasing, but she knew she failed miserably.
"No, I don't," Jill protested. "I'm just looking to have some fun. I don't," she insisted at Emma's pointed look.
Jill smiled even more as she exchanged a look with Mandy. Emma felt a trickle of foreboding slide down her spine as she got the distinct feeling they were plotting against her. The thought drifted away though as they walked down the hill to the small bar on the beach. She tried not to let excitement get the best of her, but she found herself eagerly hoping he was there.
Her excitement faded when they stepped into the nearly empty building. Jill's face scrunched up; her shoulders slumped as she headed over to a table next to the open windows. The tangy sea breeze picked up strands of her hair as Emma settled next to the window and placed her order.
The waiter turned away when the door opened, and Ethan stepped inside with the couple he'd been with last night. Emma's fingers clenched on the table; she sat straighter in her chair. She didn't want to look in case he caught her staring, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. His head turned toward them, his eyes latched onto hers, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He was mouthwateringly gorgeous with his tousled hair and endearing smile. Emma shifted in her chair, and heat crept into her cheeks. Her blush wasn't just from her embarrassment over staring but also from the desire she felt growing within her. She'd never experienced anything like this before, but just looking at him made her heart race and her palms sweat. She wiped her hands on her dress as she averted her gaze.
Jill and Mandy grinned annoyingly at her when she picked up her drink and took a sip. She couldn't stop her gaze from going back to him as the couple he was with settled onto stools at the bar. Ethan crossed his legs, rested his elbow on the bar and leaned against it. She felt it when his eyes came to rest on her, but she didn't look in his direction again.
"I think it's you who has the crush," Jill teased.
Emma shot her a look, but she didn't say anything as she took another sip of her drink. She was looking for something to cool her off, but it didn't have the effect she'd intended. Taking a deep breath, she placed her glass on the table and focused on the dazzling array of pinks, oranges, and reds the setting sun cast over the ocean.
His approach was so discreet, she wasn't aware he’d left the bar until a chair from the table next to them, settled beside her.
"Do you mind?" he asked when her eyes shot to him.
"Not at all," she managed to get out.
He settled his large frame in the chair and stretched his long legs before him. The muscles in his forearms and biceps rippled when he leaned toward her. Heat seemed to radiate from him; she'd thought her palms were sweaty before, but they were worse now as she was drawn toward him like a magnet to metal.
Jill lifted her glass and chugged it down. "I think I'll get another. Want to come with me, Mandy?"
"Sure," Mandy said and pushed herself to her feet. "You need anything, Emma?"
She reluctantly tore her eyes away from Ethan and shook her head. "No, I'm fine."
Ethan folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair as her not so subtle, but extremely astute friends hurried to the bar. Emma gulped when she spotted Isabelle and Stefan watching them raptly from the bar.
"Just ignore them," Ethan told her, hoping to ease her discomfort. Her eyes came back to him. "My sister is just nosy."
"That's your sister?"
"My younger and highly annoying sister, Isabelle, and her even more annoying husband, Stefan."
He grinned as the couple at the bar scowled at him before turning away. She thought they were too far away to hear his words, but their reaction to what he'd said made her wonder if perhaps they had.
"I don't have any siblings," she said.
"You can take a few of mine."
She laughed as she began to relax a little. "How many do you have?"
"Nine."
"Nine?" she blurted.
He chuckled. "Yep, nine. It's quite the brood."
"Sounds like it."
"My brothers Aiden and Ian will be joining us in a couple of weeks. They decided to return home after they finished college before coming here."
"They graduated?"
His hair fell over his forehead as he shook his
