KARMA COLADA

Chapter Fourteen

"HEY there, if you're hearing this, that means I'm unavailable at the moment—"

Naomi hung up for the third time and stared at her phone dejectedly.

Right about now, it should be four in the evening in Burford. It was odd that Xavier wasn't picking up her calls; he himself made her swear to call him once she arrived safely in Bangkok.

Because of the literal monsoon yesterday, Naomi had been too busy to even glance at her phone. So at seven this morning, she snuck out of the room whilst Leon was asleep to give Xavier a quick call, intending to let him know that she was alive and breathing. Honestly, she was looking forward to hearing his familiar, charming timbre again.

Disappointment crumpled her lungs into a deflated balloon.

She wondered if Xavier missed her calls because the shop was too busy.

Naomi scrunched her nose at the thought. That was highly unlikely.

Then why was he dodging her phone calls?

Troubled, Naomi lifted her face to the sun, hoping the scorching rays would lift her spirits a little. Last night was...a mess. After indecently exposing herself to Leon, she could hardly sleep a wink. The memory made her shiver.

Although not entirely in a bad way.

The sight of Leon's refined form in nothing but black briefs would forever be etched in her mind. He belonged in The Louvre, she thought, where he would easily blend in with the other marble statues of Roman Gods.

Like an artist's vision of the perfect male specimen, Leon's torso was long and sculpted, his shoulders strong and angular enough to accommodate the broadness of his chest. His arms were toned; not overly muscular like a gym rat's, but sufficiently impressive that Naomi ached to run her fingers over each sinewy muscle, each vein.

And just below his defined abs...well, she could hardly bring herself to conjure the image again, for fear of swooning at the recollection.

Naomi shook her head roughly.

Now was not the time to be fantasizing about a man who she couldn't even decide if she liked. And definitely not a man who was engaged to an old friend.

Naomi shoved her iPhone into her leather satchel and began walking back to the hostel. She'd wandered quite a distance while she was trying to call Xavier, treading aimlessly and intuitively.

As she retraced her steps, Naomi wasn't all that bothered by the possibility of getting lost. A light buzzing of excitement lingered in the ether as shops around her began opening up for the day, and Naomi found herself entranced by the unique music of sliding metal shutters and melodic, fast-paced Thai.

On more than one occasion, Naomi would catch locals smiling at her, and naturally she'd return the favor.

Now, Naomi knew why they called Thailand the Land of Smiles.

Having only spent under twenty-four hours in Thailand, Naomi promised herself to return for another visit in the near future. Obviously, under better circumstances — without a missing bride in the equation.

Naomi turned into a narrow alleyway that, if memory serves her right, branched out into the street where Happy Elephant Hostel was. But no sooner had Naomi realized her memory was incorrect, then she found herself in a totally unfamiliar street.

"Whoops," Naomi muttered sheepishly, just about to head back to where she came from when the piercing cry of a child shot through her system.

Her sandals bit into the concrete, her eyes locking onto an alarming scene playing out across the street. Crouching on the ground, a young boy about eight or nine was sobbing his heart out, holding a bunch of colorful bracelets protectively against his chest. He was surrounded by kids twice his size, all jeering and pointing at him, causing Naomi's insides to burn up with righteous flames.