Mara was such a sweetheart. She would never do the idiotic things I'd done.
Jane opened the door, and my friends tumbled out of the RV, grinning and laughing.
I heaved my butt off the seat and scuffled out of the vehicle. The sun seemed a lot brighter than it had a few minutes ago. I hunched my shoulders, letting my gaze wander over the people who had gathered to greet us. Eve and Val, of course, stood in front. Ollie and Mara waited just behind them, and Ollie had his arm around his fiancée. Behind them, on the big lawn, senior citizens played miniten in the nude. The game was based on tennis, but designed for and invented by naturists, aka nudists. Instead of tennis rackets, they had wedge-shaped boxes over their hands. Thugs were a bizarre addition to the sporting world, though not many people who weren't nudists knew about miniten.
No miniten for me. I used to love the game, but I wouldn't play it anymore because Mature Heidi did not jump around with a wooden box on her hand.
My friends whipped off their T-shirt dresses and flung them high into the air, whooping with joy.
Part of me still wanted to join them, to be like them, but I couldn't. Revamping my life meant revamping myself too.
So I hid out near the front bumper of the RV and watched them.
While Eve, Val, and Ollie greeted the Kitten Brigade, Mara walked up to me.
"There you are," she said. "I'm glad you came, Heidi. Welcome back to Au Naturel Naturist Resort."
"Uh, hi." I shoved my hands in the pockets of my cargo pants. "It's nice to see you again, Mara."
"Don't be nervous. We're friends, and all that stuff that happened months ago doesn't matter anymore."
"You honestly are the nicest person on earth. I can see why Ollie loves you."
Mara moved closer, smiling a little. "I get that you're embarrassed about what happened last time you were here, but everything's different now. Think of this as a new beginning."
"I want it to be a fresh start, but crawling back to the scene of the crime doesn't feel like a new beginning."
Mara's smile grew bigger. "But it is, Heidi. Au Naturel is your home away from home, and we're all so happy you're with us again."
She pulled me into a firm hug.
When she let go of me, I tried to smile but only managed to kind of sneer or something. I didn't mean to, but my lips just wouldn't form a real smile.
Mara patted my arm and left.
Eve and Val were helping my friends carry their tents and bags to the camping area on the other side of the clearing. I'd arranged to stay in the guest house, which had disappointed the Kittens. They didn't understand my new outlook on life, but they accepted my decision.
Mara joined Ollie where he was chatting with his best friend, Damian Petrescu. Or, as Damian called himself, the Ludar prince. He claimed to have gypsy ancestry or something, but he was just another arrogant man who thought he was God's gift to women. He hadn't tried to give me that gift yet, but if he made a move, I'd have to disappoint him. My new outlook came with a new dictate—no dating, no sex, nothing but self-reflection until I'd gotten my head screwed on straight again. Men, especially hot ones, had no place in my life right now.
And yeah, Damian Petrescu was hot.
I let my gaze travel up and down his body, taking in his gypsy-chic outfit—black jeans, a long-sleeve black shirt with the top three buttons unhooked, and big black boots with bronze clasps. A necklace that looked like intricately braided rope hung around his neck, and a chunky silver ring glistened on his right hand. Damian hadn't been dressed like that the last time he'd been at the resort, but Mara and Ollie had told me Damian quit his job and joined the team at Au Naturel as concierge and resident gypsy. He did palm readings or whatever and had a "gypsy wagon" parked behind the guest house. That was his home base for peddling hooey to tourists.
But damn, that man was fantastic eye candy. Val Silva had the most ripped body I'd ever seen, while Ollie had a more normal type of muscular physique. Damian was somewhere in the middle. He boasted muscles, a fact I knew because I'd seen him naked. Ollie's best friend had dived right into the naturist lifestyle on his first visit to the resort a few months ago. And okay, maybe I'd loved admiring his sexy bod. With that olive skin and dark hair, he looked every bit the gypsy prince. He'd let his hair grow out some since the last time I'd seen him, so now wild curls framed his masculine face.
I did not have the hots for Damian Petrescu. He was man candy, for sure, but also a player. I couldn't verify that assessment with facts, but I sensed it. Having hooked up with one too many players, I'd developed a sixth sense for detecting them.
Tearing my gaze away from Damian, I retrieved my duffel bag from the RV and headed into the guest house. Once I got inside the building, I froze at the bottom of the stairs. My room was on the second floor, but suddenly, I couldn't make my feet budge another inch. A fresh start? How would I get that when I'd come back to the place where I'd always behaved like a foolish flirt? I tipped my head back, staring up at nothing. Maybe coming here had been a huge mistake.
I should go home. Catch the next flight out.
Had seeing Damian again triggered this sudden anxiety? No, of course not. I was not afraid I might succumb to his charms and revert to my old ways. That was just dumb.
"Hey. Remember me?"
I startled, swerving my gaze to the man who'd sneaked up behind me. "Oh, it's you. Damian, right? You're Ollie's friend."
Why was I acting like I barely remembered his name? So he wouldn't get the wrong idea and decide I might be his next target, that's why.