Fated(5)

“I told you that I'm much too young to be a cougar. I'm a puma.” Georgia raised an eyebrow and quickly shot me a dirty look. “Stop trying to change the subject, Josie. I'm just worried about you, sweetie. You seem so lonely.”

Hot tears pricked at the back of my eyes as I focused out the window for a moment. “I'm fine, Georgia. Honest.”

“That's where I beg to differ. You've been here for a year and Anna and I are your only friends. You don't date, you spend days alone writing and doing yoga. It's not good to shut yourself off from everything.”

Georgia had taken it upon herself to be my unofficial foster mom after she found out I'd been orphaned. My adoptive parents had both died in a car accident four years ago, leaving me with no family. I’d searched extensively for my birth parents but I'd hit a dead end when I found the records had been sealed.

“I've managed to make it 28 years being a loner, Georgia. Let's change the subject, please,” I said crossly.

“You're in luck, sweetheart. We're here,” Georgia said as she pulled into a parking spot near the front of the restaurant. We were walking towards the door when she turned to look at me mischievously. “Josie, let's talk about that fling I think you need to have before we go in.”

“Georgia. Let's have dinner, some drinks and some fun,” I said sharply, cutting her off before she started giving me more relationship advice. I gave her a small shove through the heavy wood doors of the restaurant. “That's more than enough for me.”

“Spoiled sport.” Georgia pouted as her eyes scanned the room. She spotted Anna across the restaurant, waiting for us at a table that was close to the bar and had a fantastic view of the beach. Georgia waved her arm wildly to catch her attention and we crossed the restaurant to join her.

“Anna!” Georgia squealed, leaning over and pulling her up into a tight hug. Anna rolled her eyes at me over Georgia's shoulder as she halfheartedly hugged her back.

“Georgia, I keep forgetting how demure you are,” Anna deadpanned. I coughed and focused on a piece of non-existent piece of lint on my dress so I didn't laugh at the obvious sarcasm in her voice.

Anna Wilson was a tiny, vivacious woman in her early thirties. She had a tumble of shoulder length brown curls, clever brown eyes and had zero tolerance for bullshit. She was a successful realtor in Bali, also a fellow American that originally hailed from the east coast. Anna was the one friend here that knew of my ability and had accepted me with a shoulder shrug and never mentioned it again.

“Come here and give me a hug, bitch,” Anna laughed, extracting herself from Georgia's embrace to tug me in for a brief hug. “Don't get any ideas about the two of us just because I'm happy to see you.”

Laughing at Anna's snark, we sat down at the table and I grabbed a menu. As I flipped through the pages, I felt like someone was intently watching our table. Quickly glancing around the restaurant, I lowered my shields to focus on the crowd. I was instantly bombarded with emotions that ranged from desire, happiness, and angst. Unable to find anyone that had plans on approaching our table, I raised my shields back into place and blamed my nerves on the busy crowd.

The conversation was light and fun, partially due to numerous glasses of wine I consumed during dinner. I felt myself start to relax when I realized my shields were better than I thought they would be. Was the alcohol making me brave or was I underestimating myself? I had a feeling it was the alcohol.

We'd just finished dinner when a DJ started playing music in the bar area. Georgia and Anna pleaded and tried to drag me onto the dance floor with them. I quickly waved them off and motioned to the patio across the room. I walked slowly to the door and stepped out onto the patio, glancing back over my shoulder to watch Georgia as she swayed in time to the music with a dark haired man, not wasting any time in snagging herself a dance partner. Anna was sitting at the bar, deep in conversation with the bartender. I slipped out the door, happy that I wouldn't be missed for a few minutes since they were both occupied.

Smiling to myself, I stepped carefully down the stairs to the beach below and watched as the waves crashed onto the beach. I was actually glad that I'd let Georgia talk me into coming out tonight. There was really no chance I could have convinced Georgia I didn't want to anyway. She would have stomped in, dressing and physically hauling me out if necessary. I let out a loud laugh at the mental image, the sound echoing through the balmy night air.

“May I ask what is so funny?”

Startled by the deep, smooth accented voice, I whirled around to see a man swaggering towards me. He was well over six feet tall and solidly built with blond, Nordic good looks. His face was finely sculpted, with sparkling eyes blue like the ocean. I had the strangest feeling of déjà vu wash over me as I stared at him. He looked exactly like the man from my dreams.