Ayden Read online

  We separate as soon as we step inside the bar, and Trey calls to me from a nearby table. As I wave at him, Jenny leaps off her barstool and tackles Ayden like she hasn’t seen him in months.

  “You came!” she squeals. “I thought you said you were busy.”

  He immediately flips his baseball cap around from back to front, one of his tells that he doesn’t want to be seen. He smiles a flirty, meaningless smile at Jenny, the kind of smile he never sends my way. It’s a truth that both settles me and crushes me, the way that Ayden shows me all of himself except for the part he seems to share with every other woman in town.

  And I know he and I made a pact a long time ago to never cross the line, but sometimes my hormones get the best of me. Maybe if my best friend in the world weren’t so freaking gorgeous, with a sex appeal that should be illegal, I wouldn’t get hit with the green-eyed monster now and again. Ayden is the hottest guy in here hands down, and there’s not a woman in the bar who would disagree with me.

  I nod at him quickly. “See you.”

  Ayden’s beautiful eyes that never quite mask his pain buried somewhere in the Atlantic, zero in on me. “Bella. Give me half an hour.”

  I gesture toward Trey. “Same here.”

  His gaze shifts to Trey, and if looks could kill…

  The wine definitely went to my head because I nearly grab Ayden and ask him why he’s always hated everyone I date, but I know the answer already. He thinks I can do better. And the problem is he’s always been right.

  I wave and head for Trey’s table.

  A while later, Ayden and I take seats on the same side of a private booth in the very back of the bar. Trey left for another bar, and I didn’t ask Ayden how he shed Jenny. Now it’s just the two of us again, and Ayden’s news is sitting between us like a broken piñata after all the candies have spilled out. Neither one of us is exactly sure what to do with it.

  Ayden’s already ordered us more drinks. I’m definitely buzzing, and my mouth is looser than it should be for sure. But it’s Ayden who speaks first.

  “I can’t believe you did this at eighteen, B. Seven years later, I’m going to give it a try. But here’s the thing—I know this news must hurt you. Not just that I’m leaving Lucky Bay, but that I’m going to L.A.”

  I wave away his comment with a flick of my hand, but Ayden catches my wrist in mid-move and holds on.

  “Bella. You can’t lie to me. I know you’re happy for me, but I also know what L.A. means to you. And it kills me to hurt you. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do. And I promise I’ll tell you everything…soon.”

  I swallow hard. Yes, the idea of Ayden going to the place I felt driven away from—where I left behind all my dreams and hopes—stings.

  But Ayden Wild and I are always there for each other. Always. And I won’t let my own pain change that.

  “I’m fine,” I say. “I’m so, so happy for you, Ayd. Anything you need, just ask me.”

  Relief floods his face, and the tension in his jaw disappears. “That means everything to me, Bella.”

  The waitress drops off a round of shots, and Ayden clinks his glass to mine. “You don’t work until tomorrow afternoon, right?” he confirms.

  “Right, but you have to be up in the morning,” I laugh.

  “Not anymore,” he says with a grin as he empties the amber liquid from his glass into his mouth.

  A few drinks later, and I pull out Trevor’s wedding invitation and toss it unceremoniously onto the table between us.

  As Ayden picks it up and reads it, his relaxed expression turns to thunderclouds.

  “That fucker invited you?”

  I try to respond casually. “You know he probably thinks he’s being nice. We still keep in touch intermittently.”

  “I get that, but to invite you to the wedding for him and the guy he cheated on you with? That asshole was your manager! That’s fucked up.” Ayden drops the invite back onto the table like it’s poisonous.

  I point shakily to the “plus one.”

  “This—” I say. “This part makes me nuts.”

  He jerks his head back, almost like he’s startled. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what am I doing, Ayden?” I look at him helplessly. “I sit in a cashier’s booth all week. I’m as single as I’ve ever been. Trey may be my…” I don’t even know what to call the guy I’m really only dating because we’re on the same page, the page called casual with zero strings. “My whatever. He’s nothing serious. My mother is…” I suck in air. “No better. And none of the above is on the verge of changing.”

  Ayden brushes a stray hair off my face. “Let me help.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I can always help. And I know just what you need.” He raises his eyebrows at me.

  Knowing where he’s going, I say, “I’m not sure a dare will work in this situation.”

  “A dare always works. So let’s put our drunk heads together and figure it out. We’ve got all night.” He puts his arm around me. “That’s what you did for me this spring when I told you about the position in L.A. You dared me into reaching for something I didn’t think I could get. Let me repay the favor.”

  I think about it. “Like payback. But the good kind.”

  He kisses my cheek. “The best kind. Okay?”

  I should never agree to drunk dares. Nobody should. And normally, I wouldn’t. But I’m more than thrown off tonight—I’m staggering at the idea of Ayden leaving Lucky Bay. And toss in Trevor’s wedding invite…forget it. I’m not thinking straight at all. So I turn to Ayden and nod.

  “Okay. Dare me.”

  Oh. God. My head. Is pounding.

  And what is that damn beeping sound?

  Shit. It’s my phone.

  Without lifting my head from the pillow, I reach blindly over to my nightstand. I snag my phone and turn it over so I can squint at the far too bright screen.

  Two missed calls and four texts from Ayden.

  I scroll through the texts.

  How fucking drunk were we last night?

  Shit. What is he talking about?

  I dared you to find your forever plus one? And you dared me back?

  I shoot up in my bed. “What?!!”

  Too fast. Searing pain tears through my head. “Crap.”

  I sink back onto my pillows and read Ayden’s next two texts.

  How is either one of us going to win a dare so stupid? I don’t do relationships.

  Very true.

  And you don’t do healthy ones.

  Ouch.

  But he’s right.

  He’s so right.

  OMG. What did I get myself into?

  I drag myself out of bed and head for the shower. Before I go to work this afternoon, I need to figure this mess out. ASAP.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I’m still finishing pulling my long hair up into a bun when I knock on Ayden’s door impatiently.

  When there’s no immediate answer, I raise my hand to knock again, but it opens just in time.

  Ayden and I stare at each other through the open doorway of his one-story cottage. He’s in board shorts and nothing else. His baseball cap’s on backwards, better revealing his piercing blue eyes that look at me like lasers. His day-old scruff just adds to the fact that Ayden’s the hottest guy in Lucky Bay and nothing—not the dark circles underneath his eyes or the way he’s wincing like his head hurts as much as mine does—can diminish that fact. His muscular chest is sprinkled with dark hair that trails downward to the place I always try to avoid looking. But not today.

  Today, I’m apparently so knocked off that ogling my best friend’s junk is something I do unabashedly. My eyes travel down Ayden’s half-naked body and stop right at his crotch.

  Realizing what I’m doing, I jerk my head back up into his amused gaze.

  “Hey.” He shoots me a half-grin and ushers me inside his house.

  I follow him through the foyer and into the open living room to the right. We
take seats on the black leather couch I helped Ayden pick out when I moved back here, his first big purchase after moving out of his mom’s house.

  “Nice shirt.” He reaches over and gently pulls up the loose sleeve that’s slipped off my shoulder, exposing my bra strap. “Sue me for laughing,” he reads off my chest.

  I smile. “One of my little rebellions when I was still living with my parents after I moved back here. Which reminds me, about tonight…”

  He cuts me off. “Don’t finish that thought, Bella.”

  “But Ayden, you obviously feel like shit. You don’t have to help me out every Tuesday. I can go alone sometimes.”

  He shakes his head. “I already hate that I won’t be able to go with you once I move. I’m trying to figure out what to do about that. Maybe once a month, I can work at my job over the weekends and fly back on Monday so that I’m there on Tuesday…”

  “Oh my gosh, absolutely not,” I say, horrified at the very idea. “Do you know how exhausting that would be for you?”

  “What about if we Facetime every Tuesday night after you leave your mom’s? It could almost be like going to coffee together.”

  “That’s a sweet idea. Let’s play it by ear, okay?”

  “I just want to be there for you.” Pain passes across his face.

  “You’re always there for me, Ayden. Please. Let’s not talk about this now.”

  He nods toward the adjoining kitchen. “Do you want a glass of water? And I’ve got the best hangover breakfast all ready if you’re interested.”

  “Bacon and eggs?”

  “With hot sauce and hash browns.” He’s moving to the kitchen as soon as I let out a happy squeal. “Stay put. I’ll be right back with our plates.”

  While I wait on the couch, I look out the picture window at the ocean in the distance. The tide is low, which is the perfect match to my mood this morning.

  Through my hungover brain, I strain to remember last night.

  Me. Ayden. So drunk.

  Bit by bit, memories come floating back.

  Ayden saying I needed to skip Trevor’s wedding.

  Me saying he’s right.

  He was right. No way am I attending Trevor’s wedding. I’m not that much of a masochist. But between the invitation, Ayden moving away, and the karaoke station set up for the first time ever in the corner of the bar—it all clearly felt like God was sending me a wakeup call that I need to move forward too.

  The reality of Ayden leaving this summer was more painful than I wanted to admit, and the pleasant numbing of the alcohol was going to burn off soon enough. And then, I knew I’d be stuck with the emptiness.

  Ayden was saying something about maybe he should dare me to start singing and playing guitar again. And while that was a good, solid idea, I didn’t think I was ready for it.

  And Ayden, like always, read my mind.

  “Too much, too soon,” he murmured as he tugged at my ponytail.

  I looked up at the karaoke stage, and then down. Definitely too soon.

  My gaze snagged on the wedding invite again but specifically on the words “plus one.”

  Ayden’s eyes followed mine from the karaoke stage to Trevor’s invitation. Then, he cupped my cheek in his hand and stared into my eyes for a long moment. A long, tense moment filled with an energy so thick I could hardly breathe. Eventually, he sucked in a deep breath and muttered something under his breath. He almost sounded like he was cursing. Before I could ask him about it, he spoke.

  “I’ve got it,” he said slowly. “The perfect dare for you, Bella.”

  “What is it?”

  “I dare you…” he paused. “To find your plus one.”

  I turned away and covered my face with my hands. I was embarrassed to admit to Ayden that I needed help in the romance department. That’s the one area our “I Dare You” game has never ventured into. As much as possible, Ayden and I have always tried to ignore each other’s love lives.

  “It’s brilliant, if I do say so myself,” he said, tapping his drink to mine. “Just to up the stakes, I’ll even give you a deadline—you need to find him before I move to L.A.”

  It was a dare only a very drunk person could come up with. And yet, because I was as drunk as Ayden, I thought it was perfect. It was certainly on target. Because Ayden tapped directly into the heart of what I was feeling in that moment—a deep sense of loneliness. And that’s what makes a drunk idea a drunk idea, right? It doesn’t mean it’s smart; it just means it’s said without a filter. Ayden’s dare was pure and direct, and it hit me exactly where I needed it to. In my soul.

  I dropped my hands back into my lap and slowly turned my head until my eyes found Ayden’s. His were filled with an emotion I couldn’t explain if I were sober, let alone shitfaced. But I abruptly felt an intense need to give him a dare too.

  “You need to make the most of the time you have left in Lucky Bay, right?” I said to him. “Anything you want to do before you move?”

  He swallowed so hard I saw his throat moving. But all that came out was a gruff, “Are you saying you have a dare for me now?”

  I smiled cheekily. “I do. And you’re going to absolutely hate it. Really, it’s a solidarity kind of thing. Your parting gift to me before you leave for bigger and better things.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “What the hell is it, Bella? Spit it out.”

  I picked up Trevor’s wedding invitation and waved it at him. “I dare you to do the same, Ayd. To find your forever plus one. Whoever finds theirs first wins.”

  Ayden jerked back from me like I’d burned him. “What?”

  “Exactly. You and I—we both suck at romantic relationships. Right? We never stay in one for long, and we always pick the wrong partners. So this summer—I dare you to find the right one. Your forever plus one.”

  “That gives me less than two months to find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with,” he said, his tone neutral.

  “You just gave me the same dare!” I said to him.

  “I didn’t say forever,” he murmured. “I said plus one. I didn’t mean to marry him, for Christ’s sake. That’s fucking insane.”

  “Why?” I asked him, waving the invite in his face. “Why is trying to find your life partner insane?”

  “I didn’t say that,” he said, running his hand over his face in that way he does when he’s beyond frustrated about something. “I just…I don’t know, Bella. I don’t want to play in this one.”

  “So you’re admitting defeat then.” I shrugged. “Okay. I win. Before we’ve even started.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say I was quitting.” He stared at me, his eyes turning from deep blue to sea green, letting me know he was feeling far more than he was letting on. “Fine. Dare accepted.”

  I break out of my thoughts as Ayden, now wearing a fitted royal blue t-shirt, steps into the living room and silently hands me a plate of breakfast.

  He takes a seat across from me, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I remember,” I say softly as I grab a slice of bacon off my plate and crunch into it. “All of last night, I mean.”

  “I can tell.” He reaches out and wipes a piece of bacon off my bottom lip.

  “I know it’s not much time for us to carry out the dares,” I say quickly. “But people say when you find the right one, you just know.”

  “You’re forgetting a couple problems. I don’t do serious relationships. Remember? I don’t plan to start either.”

  I clench my jaw, my headache suddenly feeling worse. “Why not again?”

  Ayden’s eyes, which are always so open, shut down. “No reason worth getting into. I’m just not a commitment guy.”

  I don’t believe a word he says, but I’m not going to push him. Because that would give him free rein to push me.

  “And you date idiots.”

  “Hey!”

  I push his chest, and he chuckles.

  “You do. Ask around. You think Tari would disagree with me?”

&n
bsp; “Trevor wasn’t an idiot,” I say.

  “Right.”

  Ayden scowls like he’s still angry with Trevor.

  “You only met him the one time,” I say, not sure why I’m defending someone who hurt me. “He’s really not a bad person.”

  “Once was all it took to know he doesn’t deserve to be within a hundred miles of you.”

  “I’m sure it was hard for him to be with me when he was hiding his sexual…”

  “Hiding his true self I’m sure was incredibly difficult. But being with you should never be a hardship, B.” Ayden takes my chin in his hand and forces me to look at him. “Don’t let his invite keep fucking with your head.”

  “I’m not going to his wedding,” I assure him. “But this whole plus one dare. That I’m serious about. While you’re planning your exit from Lucky Bay, I’m going to try my best to change my habit of dating idiots.”

  He leans closer. God, he always smells so good. Like pine and soap and him. “Okay.”

  “Okay.”

  Our eyes fix on each other. “So you and Jenny seemed cozy last night,” I force out. “How’s that going?”

  Ayden shrugs. “It’s going. There’s also…” He cuts off.

  “Ashley. I know. I remember her name today.”

  There’s always an “also” in Ayden’s world. I’ve never seen him with just one woman. He always dates several women at a time, all casual, nothing exclusive, and none of the women seem to mind. They just want some orbit time with Ayden Wild.

  “Tari said Peter told her Ashley’s getting too clingy. Does that mean she’s not into the casual thing anymore?” I ask him curiously.

  Ayden shrugs, and like usual, he changes the subject. “Speaking of Tari, have you heard from your BFF this morning?”

  I furrow my brow. “No. Why do you ask?”

  He hands me his phone. “Scroll to the text I sent Peter last night.”

  I open Ayden’s text to Peter, who happens to be married to Tari. The four of us have been best friends our entire lives.