Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,108

could change into my swimsuit real quick and do some laps while they all caught up. There was no reason to force my pathetic seventh wheel self on them.

I heard Alina scream as soon as Bryce walked inside. There was a bunch of making out and inappropriate groping as I pulled my one-piece bathing suit out of my suitcase. The guys showing up just made me miss Rob even more. It was just another reminder that I was alone. It almost felt like there was a huge neon sign over my head saying, "Single girl. Avoid at all costs." I quickly changed in the bathroom.

"Ew, Daphne," Tim said. "You should really shower first. You don't want all your dirty germs in the public pool."

This resort was pretty sleazy. I was almost positive that there was a lot worse than my germs in the pools here. "I took a shower last night." Asshole.

"Well, you look like you need another."

Rude. Tim was being way more obnoxious than usual.

"Tim," Kristen hissed. "Why are you being so mean?"

"I just think she could use a nice shower and probably a different swimsuit. Or like, a short dress or something to show off her legs. And some makeup. Girl, put some mascara on."

I laughed. "Okay. I take fashion advice from your girlfriend, not you, Tim. But thanks, I'll take that into consideration. I'm going to go for a swim while you guys catch up."

"Daphne, you don't have to go," Alina said.

"No, go," Tim said. "But at least put a comb through your hair first."

Kristen slapped his arm.

"I'm just trying to help. You should go for a nice long walk to think about everything you've done, young lady," Tim said.

"Okay," I said slowly. "Kristen, Tim's completely lost it. You might want to look into that."

Kristen was just staring at Tim like he was an alien.

I quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt over my bathing suit. "Yep, I'll see you guys later." I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me. What the hell was that?

Chapter 38

Daphne

I sat down on one of the pool chairs to dry off. My heart was still beating fast from my laps, but I could tell it accelerated even more when I reached for my phone. Please have called. Please.

But my screen was blank. I sighed. Maybe he was tired after their flight home last night. It was possible that he was still asleep. It was even possible that I had the wrong number. There was also a time difference between Costa Rica and the east coast! For a fleeting second I let myself get my hopes up, before remembering that Costa Rica was two hours behind, which meant it was even later in New York. It was almost 11 o'clock there. I hadn't slept in that late in ages. But Rob had a different lifestyle than me. He was probably just sleeping still.

Nothing I said truly convinced me, though. The realization that I was never going to hear from him again was slowly dawning on me. One weekend was exactly what I didn't want, and I'm the one that turned it into that. I closed my eyes. I could still picture being back on campus at the University of New Castle and watching him run by while I pretended to study. Even though I had been depressed, I still noticed him. Seeing him almost gave me a little hope. I let myself have a crush on him, knowing that there were no consequences to that. There was no sense of loss if you never had the courage to talk to someone in the first place. When he showed up here, it felt like my second chance. Now I had blown that too. People didn't get third chances.

I thought about what Tim had said. He told me to take a walk to think about what I had done, like I was a little kid who had broken something. I shook my head. Yes, Tim was strange, but I had messed up. Maybe a walk would help. I stood up and pulled my shorts and shirt back on. The fabric clung awkwardly to my wet bathing suit, but I didn't care. I made my way toward the trail.

I went for so many walks after Derek had died. I'd just walk around Newark until I ended up at some place that reminded me of him. It was like my feet had a mind of their own. For the