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He snorts, but he doesn’t shut me down immediately. “What do you have up your sleeve? I swear, every time in the past you’ve said that, I end up more stressed than I was before.”

“I’ll pick you up at ten. I’m going to try and get some rest,” I say before Bash can back out.

“Don’t make me regret tomorrow. Try getting some actual sleep, Thalia.”

There will be no sleep if he continues saying my name like that.

Fuck me.

Wrong words to use right now.

I’m screwed?

Nope, that doesn’t work either.

Damn.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Sebastian

I CAN’T HIDE the smile on my face as I watch Thalia run straight into the ocean immediately after throwing all her things in the sand. She didn’t even think twice.

I quickly pull my shirt off, following her to the water as she pops up, a beaming smile on her pretty face. Thalia’s joy about being at the beach is infectious.Thalia is infectious.

She goes under the water again, before reappearing further out. “Are you coming in?” Thalia calls out, and I don’t need to be told twice. Despite the warm air, the water is a cold chill that goes straight to my bones.

“Fuck, it’s freezing,” I swear, wading deeper into the waves.

“Dunk your head under. You’ll get used to it faster,” Lia suggests, laughing as a wave propels her forward toward me.

“Well no shit. You’re acting like this is my first time at the beach,” I reply sarcastically, submerging myself to swim forward. Everything is peaceful under here. No wonder Thalia is always pretending she’s a mermaid.

When I come back up for air, Thalia immediately splashes me. “Sorry, didn’t see you there,” she teases, causing me to shake my head.

I wipe the saltwater off my face. “Sure you didn’t.”

Thalia’s grinning as the waves lap at her shoulders. Her eyes seem especially green today with the reflection of the water, and I know I shouldn’t be thinking it, but she’s so goddamn pretty. She tips her head back, wetting her hair, exposing her neck and collarbones. I’m going insane. I shouldn’t even consider looking at another woman right now—let alone Thalia—but the sight of her skin is sending my head into a tailspin.

“I love it out here. Maybe one day I’ll buy a house right on the beach. There’s a never-ending demand for pictures of sunrises and sunsets on the ocean,” she thinks out loud, forcing me to look away from her goddamn collarbones.

“You should do it,” I say, clearing my throat.

Thalia glances over at me with a shy smile. “You think so?”

“Life is too short to have any regrets.” Lord knows I have enough of them—the worst ones all surrounding the woman standing in front of me.

She swims closer, poking my chest with her finger. “No, we’re not getting all sentimental today! This is meant to be a break from everything going on in your life. Stop being so uptight, and let it go for the day,” Lia says determinedly.

I roll my eyes just like she would if I were to say something like that to her. “Me? Uptight?” I joke, and she raises her eyebrows.

“Bash, I think you’re the most uptight person I know. Going with the flow is impossible for you.”

I look down at where her finger still rests on my chest, and her cheeks flush as she realizes she was still touching me. This was an awful idea. I have a hard enough time doing my best to not cross any lines in our friendship when we talk over the phone. Now we’re at the beach wearing minimal clothing, and I have to pretend like I’m not affected by Thalia.

“I was joking, but I can go with the flow. I’ll feel better when things calm down and I don’t constantly feel like I have to be on the lookout for people waiting to catch me doing something wrong—even more so now, thanks to Nina.” A sour taste forms in my mouth at the thought of Nina, Kiera, and the press.

Thalia nods, smiling sadly. “You’ll feel better if you stop thinking so much about what other people think. I know that’s easier said than done, but the only people who are going to judge you today are the fish.”

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