Page 7 of Keep Me Close

“Have you met my dear friend, Aria?”

He smiles. “I have not. I’m James.” He shakes my hand. His is large and warm and not too soft. Good grip, too. Not one of those flimsy things guys do sometimes. I hate those.

“It’s nice to meet you, James. I’ve always liked that name.”

“Where’s your friend off to?”

“Hmm?”

He tips his head toward where Jeanette had stood, and when I look, she’s not there. In fact, she’s with Olive and Isla, and the three of them wave mischievously at me.

I sigh and shake my head. “Jeanette is an instigator. Sometimes, she sticks around, sometimes she doesn’t. But she always starts shit.”

He laughs. “I’m something of an instigator myself.”

“The man, who sits by himself in a singles’ bar with a book on…” I glance at the cover, “the Andes, is an instigator?”

“Well, Iwasan instigator. Now, I’m in a transition phase. Instigator to traveler. Why don’t you have a seat?”

I have been standing for a while now, and my day was longer than I care to remember. So, I take the empty seat next to him. “You plan to go to the Andes?”

“Indeed.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

I laugh. “Really?”

He nods. “That’s why I’m in Somerset Harbor. I wanted to visit my folks one more time before I left. I’ll be down there for a few months. Possibly longer. Have you ever been?”

I can’t help but smile and sigh. “No. I’ve always wanted to go. I love to travel, but ever since I graduated, I haven’t been able to make the time. Used to travel a lot back in college, though. It was amazing. As much as Jeanette is a troublemaker, she’s also very generous and likes to take her friends with her around the world on her family’s jet. In college, we hit Greece, Italy, Switzerland, and she thought we were going to Bali, when there was a mix-up, and we ended up in Mali for all of twenty minutes, before the mix-up was cleared, and we took off.”

He’s too handsome, and I’m babbling. I didn’t quite realize just how hot he is until I was up close, and now I’m nervous. This is silly. I have to calm down. He’s just a guy. He’s going to give me the brush off any second now.

“Why’d you leave Mali?”

He’s not brushing me off? He’s asking questions? Weird.

“It’s not exactly the safest country in the world, and it’s a far cry from the lush, tropical spa resort she had wanted.”

He nods and sips his coffee. “The Andes are going to be a far cry from that, too. We’re camping—"

“Oh wow! I haven’t been camping since I was a kid.”

“Me either. I’m looking forward to it.” He pauses, and I cannot get a read on him. “So, Aria, what do you do that has you so busy that you can’t travel?”

“I teach preschool.”

“No summers off?”

I laugh. “Uh, no money for travel. Not yet, anyway. Takes a long time to get your feet under you when you’re just starting out as a teacher. But I love it. Working with little kids, shaping their minds, helping them…” I grin. I can’t help it. “It’s what I love. Even more than travel.”

He catches my eyes, and I could get lost in his. Deep blue, like the darkest parts of the ocean. “You have the sweetest smile.”

It’s a line. I know it’s a line. But my cheeks burn all the same. “Thank you.” I clear my throat, trying to ignore the warmth in my core. “Um, what do you do?”

“Besides travel? Not much. Not yet. Still sorting out my ambition, much to my family’s chagrin.”

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