back. Instead, she stared into his eyes, and his heart did a stupid thing by twitching. Then his stomach did some knotting. His body was doing strange things around her.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
He received no answer.
What if she can’t speak?
My God, I’m an insensitive ass—
Wait.
She answered before.
She can talk.
Let’s try this again, Julian.
“Blondie, what’s your name?”
She blinked as if she had returned to reality from an off-in-the-distance daydream. “It’s not Blondie, that’s for sure. And I’m not here to make friends,” she bit back.
Oh, I like ‘em snappy.
We’re going to be all right, Blondie.
Mystery-girl-of-his-dreams leant forward and grabbed her beach bag. The idea that she’d leave him and he’d never see her again terrified him. Poof! The possibility of sheer joy would be gone. He couldn’t let it happen. He was desperate, and he wasn’t proud of what he’d do next. His brother and his friends would hang shit over him for not even getting her name.
Julian placed his hand on her arm to stop her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Blondie. Need to be somewhere?”
She looked down at their contact then back at him. He raised his brow at her, challenging her to stay. The shimmer of those bright, blue eyes caused the knotting in his stomach to tighten. Somewhere in his consciousness, he knew that, if he didn’t get her name, he’d embarrass himself. Chucking up or word vomit. One or both. They were both pathetic.
“It’s not Blondie. Okay?” she said, sounding annoyed.
Julian noticed that she loosened her body, and he knew he had her. If annoyance was the trait that’d let him in, it would be the trait he’d continuously use.
“Come on. I have to know the girl behind the mockingbird. You intrigue me,” he stated. Then he released his hold of her arm and sat back.
She turned to face him before she sighed. “You aren’t going to leave me alone, are you?”
His lips tugged upwards in a victorious smile he was unable to stop. He had done it. She had spoken more words.
“Julian,” he said and then held out his hand.
He saw the hesitation in her eyes and the way her body tensed. He knew he’d have to ease her into a conversation and prove he wasn’t some creep. Although, he was starting to believe he was. In order to ease the knots in his stomach and the weird pulls of his heart, he took a deep breath.
“Here’s what we’ll do, Blondie. We’ll be one of those types of friends, the holiday kind. No last names, no pasts or where we come from. We’ll just hang out on this beach. What do you say?”
Julian studied her as he waited for her answer. She appeared to be mulling over her choices. He’d be lying if he said that her rejection wouldn’t hurt. The girl who completely fascinated him in the most irrational of ways was one he wanted around him. He wasn’t sure if he could dust himself off if she rejected him.
He noticed the softness in her eyes. Then her lips parted and she spoke the single name that caused his heart to burst—metaphorically.
“Stephanie.”
Merde! Merde! Merde!
Wait.
Why am I saying ‘shit’ in French?
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I regret it.
I shouldn’t have given this creep my name.
I don’t care how amazing his eyes are or that he can charm my damn name out of me.
Great. I’m stuck with him.
Merde! Merde! Merde!
She shook her head at her own stupidity. This Julian was attractive. Really attractive. And this really attractive male—with his Australian accent, light brown hair, soft, blue eyes, and an impressive body—sat next to her. With a sigh, Stevie took her hat off and set it on top of her bag.
“So, what do we do now?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the clear water.
“Well.” He paused. “What do you want to do today, Stephanie?”
Stevie cringed. No real names. If he ever tried to find her, he’d find it hard. She never used ‘Stephanie,’ so she’d go undetected.
Exhaling, she picked her hat up and put it on before lying back on the hot sand. Then she covered her forehead with the backs of her wrists and stared at the blue sky. After watching a cloud slowly move an inch, she closed her eyes.
“What do you want to do today, Julian?” she asked, enjoying the way the sun warmed her skin.
Julian.
Julian, I don’t want your surname.
We’re ‘holiday’ friends.
He didn’t respond, but she would force it out of him. If they were to stay on the beach all day, then so be it.