It had been two weeks since Delaney came back from Aruba. The ice blue water and verdant green palm trees couldn’t take her mind off Spencer the entire trip. Zach, her husband, had brought her there for a conference. While he was busy working on financial strategies in the downtown area she was reading ‘Sun, Sex, and Sand’ on the beach. She sipped her alcoholic beverage and peered out at the rainbowed sails of a sailboat off in the distance.

The nude beach was sparse and there were only a few people off in the distance, laying on their colorful towels with their perfect chests exposed. Delaney’s fingers ran over her pendant that was hanging around her neck. She bit her lip as the story she read reminded her of Forrest. She hadn’t seen or talked to him since their meeting in New York. She had read the story before and was re-reading it again to think of him specifically.

She was trying to keep herself from texting Spencer. Her beach chair was made of bamboo and had a plush red cushion on it that was covered in floral print. She was reclined slightly and was wearing a one-piece pink bathing suit with cut outs that had a low neckline exposing her chest. Her sunhat was white with a navy-blue band wrapping around it and she was drinking a blackberry vodka.

Her phone vibrated.

“I booked reservations for us tonight at Aqua Grill” Zach texted.

Delaney was about ready to leave Boca Catalina beach. She had finished reading the story and painfully imaging the characters were her and Forrest. She dreaded her dinner with Zach. Even though he was betrothed to her, she had fallen out of love with him several years ago and was only committed to him because of their marriage. He was the one that understood her best, but she wasn’t attracted to him anymore.

Clearly, she had really gone off course once she re-connected with Spencer. He was unpredictable and dangerous and with Delany being a spy for the CIA her nervous system was used to his type of drama. As much as she tried to avoid Spencer, the series of adventures they encountered together just brought them closer and closer.

Spencer had started seeing Sarah Ballard since the day that he ran into her at the Art Museum in Denver. Sarah came from an affluent family and had the same educational background as him. She was feminine and confrontational which aroused Spencer’s erratic nature. He was intrigued by her and effortlessly invested. She could take him further and to more exciting places than Delaney who was already committed and couldn’t be available for him.