Chapter Eleven
LENA
At the southernmost tip of Hilton Head, South Beach hosted the largest open mic on the island.
The tourist-trap of the Salty Dog Café always drew a crowd, and tonight was no different.
Elias hadn’t mentioned it during our date two nights ago, but it was well attended, so I had no doubt he’d be there.
I liked him. And after the past few weeks, I trusted him, which should have scared the hell out of me. But I’d gotten to know him, and found him genuine, empathetic, and sincere.
And sexy, Lena. Don’t forget unlawfully sexy.
Memories of his voice alone began a trembling ache deep inside me. And the way the moonlight highlighted his sun-streaked hair as I ran my fingers through its silky waves. How he’d kissed me, gently at first, but then raw and hungry. How he’d ripped off my thong… I shivered at the memory.
I had a weakness for athletic bodies, but my attraction to Elias went far beyond lust. His passion for life, his energy and positivity, the ease and carefree abandon with which he walked through his days, had dredged my sunken spirit up from the depths.
His bright energy shined like the sun over everyone around him, and I wanted to soak up more of his vitality.
I walked past the swimming pool, across the parking lot, and into a wall of people packed into the shopping and dining complex surrounding the marina. There was a tennis tournament in town, and the restaurants, shops, and bar of the most popular spot on the island bustled with nightlife.
I couldn’t wait to see him. We’d texted a couple of times since our date, but with all the tourists in town, he’d been busy with work, so this would be a nice surprise.
I weaved my way through the throng and wedged myself into a sliver of space at the bar. I ordered a drink and leaned against the sticky surface to people watch.
A sound tech adjusted the mic atop the stage. Long lines of couples and families extended from the entrances of both restaurants. Impatient kids vibrating with excitement awaited their turn with a clown making balloon animals. And my ex-husband…
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
What the hell is he doing here?
I hid my face with my drink and watched him.
He strolled through the crowd with irritating overconfidence and turned his head down and to the side to a young woman in a tennis skirt swinging her hand in his.
A young woman half his age. A young woman who was not the young woman he’d left me for. What an asshole.
He glanced at the bar, and our eyes locked.
Damnit!
My head snapped to the bar to break eye contact, but it was too late.
He’d seen me. And in the heartbeat our eyes met, he’d scowled, only to plaster the fake smile I’d lived with for nearly a decade across his face a moment later.
He bent down to his “friend,” whispered in her ear, and lifted his chin in my direction.
She glanced at me and nodded, then stalked off in a huff, flipping her hair as she went.
I rolled my eyes and slugged down the rest of my drink.
He stopped in front of me, hands shoved into his shorts, and rocked up onto the balls of his feet and back down again. “Lena,” he said.
“Rob.”
“I heard about your grandma. Is that why you’re here?”
I held up the dregs of my drink and plastered “duh” across my face.
He nodded. “Sorry to hear she passed. She always liked me.”
Typical. Always about him. “Until she didn’t.”
He shrugged, and the gesture did not have the same endearing quality it had when Elias did it.
“What are you doing here, Rob?”
“Heidi—” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “—is in the tennis tournament. She invited me down. Decided to make it a vacation.”
“Ah. Heidi, is it?” My voice turned thick with spite.
“Yeah. She’s great.”
I launched an eyebrow into orbit. “Until she isn’t, right?”
He locked his lips together tight, no doubt working hard to cage a biting retort. An awkward silence hung in the air.
“I signed the papers.”
“Did you want an award?”
He folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow.
More silence.
“Well, I guess that’s it then,” he said.
“I guess so.”
He stared at me, and I’d be damned if I broke eye contact first. With a final nod, he spun on his heel and walked away.
I let go of my breath, and my shoulders slumped.
I waved at the bartender for another drink, and thankfully he delivered in record time.
I picked up the brandy and diet with a shaking hand and sucked half of it down in one gulp, trying to wash away the bitterness and doubt resurrected by the chance encounter.
I’d trusted Rob once, believed the facade, and look what happened. Was I doomed to repeat history? Was this thing with Elias just part of some sick pattern I’d learned to play on repeat?
There goes Lena again, setting herself up to be abandoned.
My stomach heaved, and I covered my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Good evening, Sea Pines. Welcome to South Beach.”
A deep voice boomed through the night over the PA, driving my attention toward the stage and out of my downward spiral.
“Welcome, vacationers. Welcome, tennis fans. Welcome, locals!”
A couple of loud whoops sounded from behind me atop sporadic clapping.
“We want to get this night started out right. So, here to kick things off is a local favorite—Elias Georgiou.”
The tourists politely clapped, but the locals whooped even louder. A group of enthusiastic women at a table near the front squealed and clapped their hands overhead.
A pang of jealousy reverberated through my chest. Seeing my ex had dampened my mood and made me question my faith in Elias. His personality didn’t have the same undercurrent of fake as Rob, but I’d been fooled before, and now doubt invaded my trust.
He climbed the steps to the stage, acoustic guitar slung across his shoulder.
He wore a black Grateful Dead t-shirt that hugged his broad chest and thick biceps atop faded jeans that hung low on his narrow hips.
He leaned into the mic. “Hey. I’m Elias.
” More whoops from the crowd. “Hope you’re having a good night. ”
Damn, he was so charming and engaging, and he hadn’t even started singing.
“Sit back, relax, and enjoy.” He flashed his crooked Hollywood smile, and the ladies in the front squealed with delight.
A fresh wave of unease rippled through me. I rolled my shoulders, determined not to let my encounter with Rob ruin my night.
Elias’s voice floated on the warm night air like an enchantment, dancing across the distance to entwine me in its magical embrace. The world fell away—the doubt, my ex, Elias’s fan club—and only his song remained, caressing my soul until it wanted nothing more than to adore him.
His performance ended as quickly as it began, the sudden absence of his music creating a vacuum.
I stood, the pull of his voice drawing me toward him for more.
But I wasn’t the only one he’d bewitched.
The packed marina erupted with applause and cheers—another standing ovation—and I lost Elias when he stepped down from the stage and into the crowd.
I slapped a twenty on the bar and like a magnet drifted mindlessly toward its pole, the echo of his notes on my soul compelling me forward. I needed to hear his voice again and bask in its energy.
The crowd packed in tight trying to get closer to the stage. I squeezed through, creating a path for myself between eager fans until I could see him.
He stood with Niko, the women from the table pressed into a tight circle around them, doe-eyed and shoving hips and breasts into noticeable positions.
One of the women grabbed his bicep and stood on her toes to whisper.
He leaned down to meet her, offering his ear.
After a moment, his eyes went wide, and he threw his head back in laughter.
He wound his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
She rested a palm on his chest, and he placed his hand over hers.
Then he winked at her, and the spell of Elias’s voice shattered with my heart.
I reeled from the visual slap in the face and averted my eyes. I looked past the crowd only to have my gaze land on my ex-husband grabbing his tennis girlfriend’s ass.
The world spun, my past and present colliding in a dizzying hurricane of betrayal. I lost my balance and careened into the body next to me.
“Excuse me,” I muttered to no one.
My attention gravitated back to where my biggest life mistake was playing out on repeat and found Niko staring at me, concern and disappointment evident in the wrinkle of his forehead and hard set of his jaw.
I blinked hard, spun away, and mindlessly pushed through the crowd into the parking lot. I stumbled to my car, moving my body parts like a robot set to automatic. Headlights streamed past me as I drove, blurred streaks through unshed tears.
I got out of my car, walked into the house, and fell into bed still fully clothed. I didn’t care. I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the emptiness surrounding me and willed sleep to rescue me from my waking nightmare.