Island Dreams - Evangeline Kelly Page 0,2

and squared my shoulders, refusing to let them get the best of me. “If you think I want this jerk’s attention, you are sorely mistaken. I don’t want anything to do with your boyfriend.”

His eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected me to say that. “I’m not her—”

“Save it.” I stormed off, not caring what he was about to say. It wasn’t often that I got into conflicts with random people I didn’t know, but those two were trouble. If this was any indication of the sort of vacation I was about to have, I might as well pack up and go home.

Perhaps too much time off was a bad thing. So much for my island dreams.

About an hour later, I calmed down from my weird run-in with Mr. Arrogant, and stood on the wet sand, soft foamy waves flowing past my ankles. The water was slightly warm, and the bluish-green color was so bright, it made the perfect backdrop for a postcard. Too bad I didn’t have anyone to send a postcard to, but that was another story. It was an unintended consequence of being so busy.

I was still fuming over what had happened earlier when I glanced over at a guy with blond floppy hair introducing himself to a group of women nearby. They talked for a while and then he moved on to three other women sitting on the sand. He was obviously making his rounds and handsome enough to get away with it, but he wasn’t really my type.

I laughed, wishing I had the boldness to introduce myself to new people. If I did, I might have a few friends to hang out with for the next two weeks. What happened earlier still frustrated me, but I decided right then and there that life was too short to let rude people ruin my day. I was lonely, but I would make the best of this trip and enjoy every second. Receiving a free vacation was a blessing, and I didn’t want to complain just because I didn’t have anyone to experience it with. I stood taller, feeling better already.

As if God were rewarding me for coming to that decision, the blond-haired guy jogged over to me with a grin. “What’s up?” He extended a hand, and I hesitantly shook it. “Name’s Joey,” he said. “Haven’t seen you around. Did you just get here?” He shot me a goofy smile, and I stifled a giggle. Despite the blond hair, he reminded me of Joey Tribbiani from the sitcom, “Friends.” He was cute, but in an adorable puppy dog way.

“Hi, I’m Tara. I flew in from L.A. this morning.”

He leaned back on his heels and grinned. “Awesome-sauce. I knew I hadn’t seen you before. It would be hard to miss a pretty face like yours.”

Flattery usually didn’t work on me, but after being spurned by that other guy, I smiled widely. “Thanks.”

We chatted for almost forty-five minutes, and I enjoyed his company even though I was slightly annoyed that he threw in “awesome-sauce” every chance he got. It didn’t take long to figure out I wasn’t interested in him, but I wouldn’t mind hanging out with the guy. He pointed to a huge mansion up on a mossy green cliff to our right. “See that house?”

“Yeah…”

“There’s a party there this evening. The girl who lives there invited me yesterday, and she said I could bring a date. Would you like to go with me?” He cleared his throat as if slightly nervous all of a sudden. “It’s not really a date. I’m not tying myself down right now, but we could go together. If that bothers you…”

I smothered a smile. If I’d been interested in the guy, that sort of clarification might have annoyed me, but I couldn’t picture us becoming more than friends, so it was actually a relief that he didn’t want to be tied down. “Sure, I’d love to go with you, and I get it. Feel free to mingle. Doesn’t bother me at all.” I tilted my head to the side and glanced at him curiously. “Why me? I saw you talking to a lot of women earlier.”

He shrugged matter-of-factly. “They’re all in groups, and as soon as you single one out, people assume it means something special.” He cleared his throat again. “You were on your own, so…”

“You figured I wouldn’t read into the invitation.”

“Exactly.” He smiled widely and crossed his arms over his chest. “And you seem like a genuinely nice person,