Across the Ocean Read Online Free PDF

too eager. Truth be told, my palms are really sweaty and my pulse is going apeshit. This is a very important moment in my life and I’m really scared it’s not going to go anything like I want it to. I suddenly hear the door to the patio open and know that this is it.

Chapter 2
     
     
    Ari walks out on the patio wearing a red beanie that is covering his hair that goes down to mid neck. His dark denim jeans look comfortable but not too tight and his shirt has a picture of a whale fin with some crude dude statement about killing them all. He is approximately 6 foot 2 (187 cm, if you think like that), with golden-tanned skin from working in the sunny outdoors.
    He has s lightly wavy golden brown hair lightened by the sun. Large, round clear blue eyes accompany a full lower lip. The most adorable V-shaped creases next to his mouth from smiling so much. His strong cheekbones give away his Scandinavian roots, and he reminds me of a Viking with his hair like this. He used to always wear it short.
    He ’s so handsome. I can hardly keep my eyes off of him, but I swear I’m trying my hardest. I feel like one of those bugs that are drawn to the light that kills them. He saunters over to our table with a lazy smirk across his mouth and a twinkle in his blue eyes. He’s not looking at me though. He’s looking at everyone else.
    He places his beer onto our table, grabs a chair from the table beside us, and drags it over next to Lára. I’m not really sure he’s even seen me yet. Although, I imagine that it’s pretty difficult not to notice me, given the circumstances.
    “Ari, I ’d like you to officially meet Brooke, face to face,” Emilia introduces us. I watch as his eyes swing over to me without making direct eye contact, and the grin on his face falters for just a moment before he leans over the table to shake my hand.
    “It ’s so great to finally meet you in person, Brooke,” he sounds like he means it. That’s a good thing.
    “You ’ve gotta be kidding me with the handshake,” I joke. I stand up to grab him in a hug and pat his back noisily to assure everyone around me (and myself) that it’s just a friendly thing. It’s totally not. I’m touching him and my brain is short-circuiting with his proximity, his warmth, and, oh god, his scent.
    In all these years I’ve never been able to smell him. I haven’t given it thought until this moment. Cologne and a clean smelling man are a huge turn on for me. If I had known in advance that Ari was going to smell so goddamn delicious, I might have rethought this whole hug crap .
    This embrace is terribly awkward and I immediately regret instigating it. My head is feeling a little dizzy just from his proximity, but when his eyes swoop down and connect with mine for a second that feels like eternity, warmth fills my entire body. All of this feels so very contradictory.
    We quickly retreat from each other and resume sitting in our chairs. Most of us jump into normal conversation. Well, I try for normal. I’m not really feeling very conversational, so I keep my contribution to really short sentences. After a while, I realize that Ari hasn’t really been saying much either.
    Besides a quick greeting to Valur after he finally arrives too, Ari is mostly silent. He has followed my lead and kept his talking to the basics. There is a slight smile on his face, but I can just feel that something is off somehow. He’s always been a chatterbox. Plus, he won’t look at me or in the direction of my side of the table.
    Part of me wants to stand on top of the table and cause a huge scene, waving my arms and yelling at him to notice me. Sure, that sounds like something a 5 year old might do. Like I said, just part of me wants to do it .
    Who knows ? Maybe I’m completely mistaken, since I’m too busy trying to discreetly look at him out of the corner of my eye without anyone noticing. It could seem as if I don’t want to look at him, either. I can’t even concentrate on what the