“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I say, laughing.
“If I had a nickel for every time I heard that,” Crosley says.
“You still wouldn’t be able to afford a piece of gum,” Amelia says.
Crosley ignores her and points his attention to me. “So, what’d you do to piss off Colton this morning?”
I duck my head, truly uninterested in rehashing this again.
“She was late and made him run behind,” Amelia says.
“Why didn’t you call?” Crosley asks. “I could’ve covered for you.”
“Because I was sleeping and didn’t know I’d be late.”
“And she’s too fucking proud to explain what happened,” Amelia says, “so Colton thinks it was for bullshit reasons.”
“Late is late,” I say, grabbing my planner and jotting notes for the day in it. “I’m not here to make excuses.”
Crosley drags a hand through his curls. “You ever think maybe you two just need to fuck and get it over with?”
Been there. Done that. I hide my cringe. “First, you offer yourself, and now you’re trying to get her to do the deed with Colt?” Amelia smacks his chest with the back of her hand. “You can’t say shit like that, Cros.”
He holds up both hands and bites back a smile. “I’m sorry, but you know you’ve thought the same thing. There’s tension when they’re in the same room, and it’s not the kind of tension I feel when I’m around folks I hate.”
“Just because you think it doesn’t mean you have to say it. Anyway, as Veronica’s already pointed out, she’s not dumb enough to sleep with her boss.”
I watch them from the corner of my eye but keep my head bowed. “That’s one on the very short list of mistakes I’ve managed to avoid.” Because Colton wasn’t my boss when we slept together. No, I didn’t start working here until later—after the coffee shop cut my hours and my sister asked Colt to give me a job. Of course, I didn’t know at the time it was a pity hire. I thought he truly wanted me to help with the new business.
There aren’t many secrets in Jackson Harbor, and yet somehow Colton and I have managed to keep ours. For now.
“Would you two get to work so I can catch up on these messages before the day turns crazy?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Amelia says.
It’s tourist season, after all, and come ten a.m., it seems like the phone never stops ringing. They both head out to the garage, and I put my head down and work, but a few minutes later the door whooshes open again. I look up as Crosley squeezes my shoulder.
“I forgot why I came in here to begin with. Will you have time to confirm tomorrow’s fishing expeditions before you leave?”
I tap my pen to my planner. “It’s already on the list.”
“You’re the best.” He hesitates for a beat then says, “You want me to talk to Colt about this morning?”
I force myself to exhale and smile up at him. Crosley’s a good guy, but I don’t want to be a wedge in his friendship or partnership with Colton. “If you’re going to talk with anyone, I’m pretty sure it should be me. I was the one who was late. Again.” I swallow. Time to be a big kid. “I wouldn’t hold it against you if you wanted to hire someone else.”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
“You have a business to run. Colton’s right. I don’t expect special treatment just because—”
“Just because we need you? Just because you save our asses on a daily basis, and we’d sink without you?” He shakes his head. “Veronica, you’ve been late a few times, and it sucks. We’re a small business, and if one person is missing, the rest of us feel it. But it happens. I’m not going to fire you, and I’m not going to let Colton fire you. Hell, you might push his buttons, but he needs you as much as the rest of us do.”
I scoff. “Sure. If you say so.”
“I know so.”
I draw in a deep, shaky breath. “I’m still hoping to get a teaching position for the fall, so if you could put up with me for a couple more months, that’d be amazing.” When I imagine trying to find another full-time position for the summer while also trying to get in with the school corporation and keeping up with the side hustle and trying to be a halfway decent parent to Jacks, I feel myself breaking out in hives.
“I’m just happy you’re looking for a job that’ll keep your summers free,” he says. “We need you for high season.”
“Maybe have a chat with your business partner before inviting me back for next year,” I say, looking pointedly toward Colton’s office.
Crosley’s always-smiling face goes solemn. “He does care about you. He just acts like a hard-ass because he doesn’t know what to do about it.”
“You’re a busybody. Get back to work.” I force a smile as he retreats. He has no idea how wrong he is.
Colton doesn’t care about me. He can’t stand me.
Colton
When my office door is open, I have the perfect view of the Heartbreak Bay Adventures reception area. At first, this was by design: I’d keep an eye on reception and take care of any walk-in traffic between dealing with the contracts, bookkeeping, and endless paperwork involved in running a business. Since we offer everything from sunset cruises to ATV rentals to winery tours, the “paperwork” side of things got overwhelming fast. I had to quickly find someone to cover the front so I could get anything done at all. I gave the job to Veronica Maddox as a favor to her twin sister, Nic. And now I have the perfect view of the only woman who’s ever gotten under my skin this way.
“Maybe if you didn’t stare at me all day, I’d do a better job remembering my appearance isn’t supposed to be a priority.”
I can’t even scoff at that because she’s right. Most of the time when Veronica’s around, I have trouble looking anywhere else. This whole arrangement would be easier if my irritation with her weren’t matched by a borderline obsessive attraction.
I never should’ve followed her away from the crowd at the Jacksons’ cabin last summer. I never should’ve kissed her. Definitely shouldn’t have touched her or made her come. I’m fucking haunted by the sounds she made and the way her eyes fluttered closed and her head fell back as she came apart.
Crosley slaps the back of my head. “You’re staring again.”
I wince, rubbing my scalp and glaring up at him from my desk chair. “That hurt, asshole.”
“Sorry. Next time I’ll kick you in the balls instead.”
I make sure Veronica isn’t looking our way before I add, “And lower your voice.”
His lips twitch. “Is it a secret?”
I shove the contract at him, shaking my head. “Is that all you need?”
He takes the stack of papers and nods. “You okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I hear you were in a mood this morning. Made our receptionist think she needs to be job hunting.”
“She was late.” But hell, it wasn’t her fault I was so on edge. My mood was less about my late departure from the office and more about the call I got on my way to the office. I’ve been sober for two and a half years, but learning an AA friend relapsed always sucks. Not only am I worried sick about Mike, but something about seeing him fall off the wagon makes me feel vulnerable as fuck. It’s an unwanted reminder that I’m just one bad decision away from losing the life I’ve had to fight so damn hard to build after destroying my old one.