Chapter 2: Unfinished Business
413 Words
Isla’s fingers clenched around the cool glass of her cocktail as she sat at the resort’s beachfront bar, staring at the waves crashing against the shore. The sun had begun to set, painting the sky in brilliant hues of pink and orange, a sight that should have been breathtaking.
Instead, all she could focus on was the man standing a few feet away, laughing at something one of the groomsmen had said. Adrian. He was too close, too familiar, too… him.
“You’re brooding,” Tessa teased as she slid onto the barstool beside her.
“I am not brooding,” Isla huffed, taking a sip of her margarita. “I am… processing.”
Tessa smirked. “Processing the fact that Adrian still looks like something out of a GQ cover shoot?”
Isla shot her a glare. “No. Processing the fact that I have to spend an entire week in the same vicinity as my ex-husband without strangling him.”
Tessa laughed. “Oh, come on. He’s not that bad.”
Isla gave her a pointed look. “Do you need me to remind you how our marriage ended?”
Tessa held up her hands. “Fair. But still, you’re both adults. And if I’m being honest? The way he looks at you… I don’t think he’s as over you as he pretends to be.”
Isla’s stomach flipped at that, but she quickly pushed the thought away. “Irrelevant. The past is the past.”
Before Tessa could respond, a shadow fell over them. Isla knew who it was before she even looked up.
“Ladies,” Adrian greeted smoothly, his voice sending an unwelcome shiver down Isla’s spine. “Mind if I join you?”
“Yes,” Isla said at the same time Tessa chirped, “Of course!”
Adrian smirked, clearly enjoying Isla’s discomfort as he pulled up a chair. “So, Isla. How have you been?”
“Fine,” she said shortly.
He arched a brow. “Just fine?”
She met his gaze head-on. “Yes, Adrian. Contrary to what you might think, my life didn’t fall apart after our divorce.”
His smirk faded slightly, something unreadable flashing in his eyes. “I never thought that.”
A charged silence fell between them, thick with unspoken words and buried emotions.
Isla clenched her glass tighter. This was going to be a long week.
And she wasn’t sure her heart was ready for it.
- Writer
