Page 50 of Killer Summer
She adjusted Lisa’s umbrella and clicked the lock in place. “There. Better?”
“Yeah, but my drink could also use a refresh.” Lisa held up her empty margarita bucket and smiled. “Be a doll and get me one?”
“You got it.” Dani chuckled, grabbed her aunt’s ridiculously-sized margarita mug, and turned toward the tiki bar. It was the beginning of summer and a cool breeze kicked off the Pacific Ocean, fluttering through her hair with the promise of seemingly endless lazy days and nights. It was only their first day of vacation at the Costa Rican beach resort, but Dani couldn’t relax. Even all this time later, she still felt herself looking over her shoulder.
Her phone rang as Dani stepped up to the touristy looking tiki bar. She slid into a stool and caught the attention of the young man mixing drinks. “Two margarita buckets please. For room 302.”
“You got it,” the bartender said.
Dani glanced at her phone. A smiling screensaver of her and Ethan wrapped in an embrace stared back at her. She smirked and answered the phone. “I haven’t even been gone for twenty-four hours.”
“I know, but I still wanted to hear your voice,” Ethan said, a hint of a smile in his voice. “How’s the weather?”
“Perfect. Just what me and Aunt Lisa needed,” she said. “Got all of your finals graded?”
“Yep. I’ll be on my way up to the cabin to see you next week,” he said. “How many students did you finally sign up for the fall workshop?”
“We had over a thousand applications. Only have room for twenty though,” Dani said. “Matt Vickers ended up being better free marketing than we could have imagined.”
“Probably a bunch of weirdos to filter out huh?”
“Yeah, Janet is helping me with background checks,” Dani said. “You can never be too careful. People aren’t always who they say they are.”
“That’s true,” he said. “Dani. I wanna say something.”
“Don’t do it,” she groaned.
“Oh come on,” Ethan said. “I just wanted to say that I hope you have a great vacation, and I can’t wait to see you.”
“Thanks,” Dani smiled into her phone. “I’m excited to see you, too.”
“Tell Lisa I said ‘hi’. You two enjoy yourselves.”
“We will,” she said, the ‘L’ word heavy on the tip of her tongue. Neither of them had said it yet, though she knew he felt the same way too. Ethan’s kneecap was still healing after being shot, and some days, Dani still didn’t entirely feel like she deserved his friendship or the romantic moments they shared. But Ethan was proving to be a devoted, helpful and sensitive partner. She did love him, even if she was still scared to say so.
“Call you tomorrow. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Dani hung up, and like magic, two margarita buckets appeared at the tiki bar. She frowned, expecting to see a ledger for her to sign so that she could add the tip. She gave the bartender a confused glance. “Don’t I need to sign somewhere?”
The bartender gave her a look of disdain and rolled his eyes in the opposite direction. “You have an admirer. They’re on him.”
A warm breeze whipped off the ocean, carrying the melange of spice, musk, and cigar smoke to her nostrils. A familiar, sick sensation tugged at her gut as she met the gaze of a heavily sunburned middle-aged man. He stared at her with glassy grayish blue eyes, his lips pursed and set in a way that told her he was pleased with himself.
“Thanks,” Dani said. “Do you know that guy?”
“His name is Jens Bergen. He’s stupidly rich. Buys any woman that comes up here a drink if he thinks they’re attractive,” the bartender said. “Want my advice? Run.”
“Will do.” Dani lifted the drinks in the air and gave the man the fakest megawatt smile possible.
Dani returned to her beach chair and handed Lisa the margarita. “Here. We’ve got a friend.”
“Oh yeah?” Lisa glanced over her shoulder.
Jens stared daggers at them. His cheeks were flushed, eyes glazed and his mouth set in a sloppy, pouty smile that was supposed to look … sexy? In the past, this sort of situation would have made her feel uncomfortable. After all she had been through, the situation felt nothing short of hilarious.
“He bought our drinks,” Dani said. “The bartender didn’t think too much of him. He gives me a bad vibe.”
