Sworn to My Heart (Sworn #1)
Prologue
“Orders often aren’t processed sequentially; it’s a system thing,” he grins before disappearing back into serving the crowd of customers.
I lick the dripping chocolate off the sides of the cone, savoring the cold sweetness. It’s one of the things I miss the most about being on land.
As I head toward the exit, cleaning my fingers that got a bit messy from the dripping chocolate, I suddenly bump into a girl who appears out of nowhere in front of me. Of course, my ice cream ends up smeared all over her white dress.
“Nooo, my ice cream!” I shout in frustration. Only then do I look up and meet the girl’s eyes. She’s tall, and being on the petite side, I have to tilt my head back to see her face.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry,” I say. I’ve made a mess. I immediately pull tissues from my small bag and start dabbing at her dress without asking for permission or waiting for her reaction.
After a few quick wipes, it seems the stain is only spreading, and I bow my head. I don’t remember the last time I was this embarrassed. But then, unexpectedly, the girl starts laughing.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay. I have plenty of dresses like this. It seems the ice cream here really is as good as they say if you didn’t even notice me while eating it,” she says with a smile, taking the tissue from my hand and tossing it into a nearby trash can.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat, and she gives me a warm glance.
“It’s okay. Come on, let me make it up to you. I’ll buy you a new ice cream,” she says, heading toward the counter without waiting for my response.
I quickly follow her, trying to stop her, but a tall man in black sunglasses steps in front of me and stands beside her, blocking my way. Before I can figure out what’s happening, another man joins her, hugging her possessively from behind as she stands in line.
“Hey, don’t buy me ice cream. If anything, I should be buying you one. I ruined your dress,” I say loudly from the other side of the man standing between us. Immediately, both men look at me curiously.
The girl examines me with a raised eyebrow.
“I guess you’re not from around here. Most New Yorkers would be looking to start a fight and demand compensation for their lost ice cream,” she says with a grin, “That just made me want to insist on buying you an ice cream even more.” I’m surprised by her directness but laugh at her response. She’s very nice.
“So, let’s make a deal: we both need to make it up to each other. You treat me today, and next time, I’ll treat you somewhere else,” I say and smile affectionately as she is a bit far from me, waiting for her agreement. Maybe I will make friends after all.
She returns my smile and nods. “Sounds like a great deal. I’m Cora, and this is my husband, Mariano,” she points to the man hugging her. It’s hard to ignore her beauty; she’s radiant and to be honest, her husband is also very handsome–quite the perfect match.
A small hope blossoms in my chest. “I’m Alin.” I smile, maybe I won’t be so lonely after all.