Gold Rush

Chapter 13

"The difference between her and you is he looks at her like she's the prettiest girl in the world, but the way he looks at you... it's like maybe you're magic." —E. Grin

As I stepped out of my apartment building Wednesday morning, the first thing I saw was a leggy brunette barreling toward me, her glossy hair bouncing with every stride.

"Aspen?" I shouted, squinting against the bright sun.

"Oh, thank god I caught you!" she gasped, a grin breaking across her face. "My timing is just impeccable, isn't it?"

I gave her an incredulous look. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Greece."

"I was!" she replied, completely out of breath. "Landed an hour ago and came straight over."

"As much as I love your spontaneity, why?" I asked, eyebrow raised. Aspen rarely made impromptu appearances unless there was something very Aspen to share.

"Because!" she yelled, even though she was now right beside me. "I need to talk to you."

"I have to get to work," I said, already knowing she wouldn't take the hint.

"I'll walk with you." She looped her arm through mine, leaving me no escape.

Sighing, I started walking again. "Okay, what could possibly be so urgent that you're willing to walk at 8:30 in the morning?"

Aspen spun in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. "I met a guy!" Her eyes gleamed.

I tried to feign surprise, but it was too early for acting. "You always meet a guy, Aspen."

"I know," she said, walking again, undeterred. "Believe me, I know. I forgive you for not being whelmed by my news, but I'm telling you, Gigi, this guy is different."

"You realize you said that about the arms dealer two years ago, and he ended up faking his own death, right?" I reminded her.

"Forgive me, I was young!" she waved it off with a laugh. "But I'm serious this time. I know I get excited about a new guy every week, but you have to believe me when I say I think this one's the one."

I gave her a skeptical look. "How did you even meet this one?"

Her face lit up as she launched into the story. "Okay, so picture this. I'm at my resort in Santorini when the concierge tells me the yacht I booked for the day has mechanical issues. I'm standing there, totally deflated because I had my yachting outfit picked out, when suddenly the most gorgeous man you've ever seen comes over and tells me he overheard and invites me to spend the day on his yacht instead. Now, you know I'm not the type to just hop on some strange man's boat—"

"Yes, you are," I interrupted with a smirk.

She ignored me. "But Gigi, he looked like a Greek god! I had no choice but to say yes."

"Naturally."

She grinned. "Gigi, he took me to his private island off the coast of Santorini!"

"Wow, that's—"

"Insane, I know!" she squealed. "We had the best day. I swear, I could talk to him forever and never run out of things to say. And get this—he didn't even stare at my boobs once."

I raised an eyebrow. "A true gentleman."

"Exactly! And then, when he dropped me off at the resort, I was like, 'Why are you staying here when you literally have a private island fifteen minutes away?' And you will never believe this—he owns the resort! And not just that—his family owns over twenty five-star resorts around the world! Can you believe it?"