Page 30 of Winter Glam in Amsterdam

I’m just… annoyed. There's a heavy feeling forming in my stomach as I watch Tanner walk off with a new girl on his arm, not sparing me another glance.

I take a deep breath. Everything is fine. We agreed to one night. It was never going to be more, and it’s not like I will be losing sleep over imagining our wedding.

But seriously? Flirting with another girl in front of me only hours after fucking me? That seems a bit low.

I blow a strand of hair away from my face. I figured he was a playboy when he tried to hit me up in that lobby with his godawful pick-up line. I should have expected this, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

"Come on, honey.” Mom’s voice tears me from my thoughts. “Let's have a coffee and write this god-awful postcard for your dad."

I can't believe him.

For the drive back, I purposefully chose a seat at the very back of the bus, hoping to catch some sleep, since, well, I didn’t catch too much of that last night. Mom is sitting in the front, admitting she gets motion sickness sitting in the back, so now Millie and Luca are keeping her company so I can have some quiet time to myself.

But alas. The squeaky giggles from seven rows in front of me is grating at my nerves. It’s the very same giggle I'd heard in town as that girl latched onto Tanner.

I should have known she was on the same bus as us. And now she's claimed her seat next to Tanner, batting her eyelashes and flipping her admittedly extremely pretty hair over her shoulder again, giggling at every word that leaves Tanner’s mouth.

Not even my headphones can save me from that acoustic torture, and I have my noise-cancellation activated.

"For fuck's sake," I whisper under my breath and turn my music louder. I’m sure some Taylor Swift blasted at full volume will help my case.

I know I've got no right to be angry at him. It was one night, nothing more. Exactly what I wanted. I repeat this in my head over and over again and take a deep breath.

I’m sure he's not doing this to rile me up. He's a grown man, and if he found another girl to spend the night with, good for him. It has nothing to do with me.

So I turn to the window, watching the scenery as we drive by, when suddenly someone sits down beside me, nudging my elbow as they do. I turn around, startled.

"Sorry."

At least, that's what I think he's saying, because my headphones are still on full blast. I lift my index finger, motioning for him to wait a moment as I turn my headphones off and pull them off my head.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" the man asks, and I feel a blush creep into my cheeks.

He's handsome, alright. How come I didn’t notice him on the drive here?

He looks a bit older than me, early thirties I would guess, ashy blonde hair framing his tanned face that has a hint of freckles like he's just come back from a Caribbean vacation.

"No, of course," I assure him quickly and change my position a bit to make more space for him. Sitting in this two-seater bench alone, I’d manspread quite a bit to get comfortable.

"Thanks." His lips stretch into a cute smile. "I was sitting in the front, but it's a bit loud there so I thought I’d search for refuge."

"Right," I agree with a faint smile, my eyes unwillingly darting to the flirting couple ahead. "I get it."

"I'm Adrian," he introduces himself and awkwardly twists his torso to extend his hand to me.

"Summer," I answer and shake his hand. God, I just know my face is beet red.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Summer." He grins and gives my hand a squeeze. "It's a beautiful name."

"Thank you."

"What are you doing in Amsterdam?"

I tell him a bit about this intended family trip and how my brother and future sister-in-law picked this vacation instead oftheir bachelor and bachelorette party, without mentioning their names of course. No use in them pulling out all the stops like sunglasses, masks and hats to disguise themselves in public to not be recognized when I can’t keep my mouth shut.

He's easy to talk to—nice, with a regular deep voice. A voice that feels like a warm breeze gently caressing my skin, not like a flaming hot tsunami crashing over me, like a certain someone.

I can't help it when my eyes dart over to where Tanner is sitting, freezing when I catch him looking at me over his shoulder.

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