C3 3

“Ew, Cros. Stop.” Amelia elbows her brother in the side, and he doubles over, laughing.

“I think I’ll pass on screwing my boss,” I say, winking at him, because as equal owner of HBA, he’s my boss as much as Colton is. We all know he’s just joking anyway, but if casual hookups were still part of my life, I might’ve had to consider taking him up on it.

Crosley’s a hottie—tall and strong, with big hands and an excellent sense of humor. He’s got the jaw line of a Greek god and intense brown eyes, but it’s the unexpected cuteness of his curly hair that somehow pushes his hotness over the edge.

Alas, the last time I tried to do casual, I ended up with my dress around my hips and Colton’s dirty words in my ear, his hands cupping and kneading my breasts until I shattered in the best orgasm I’d had in . . . ever.

All things considered, it wouldn’t have scared me off casual hookups—if he hadn’t ruined it.

“You work too much,” Amelia whines, pulling my thoughts out of my secret memory. “Please tell me you’re still coming out with us tonight.”

“Where?” Crosley asks.

“Girls’ night,” Amelia tells her brother. “We’re finally getting Veronica out of the house.”

He grins. “Girls’ night?” He shifts his deep brown eyes to me. “Will Star be there?”

“It’s her birthday,” I say, ignoring Amelia’s pointed glare in her brother’s direction.

“I’ll be there,” Crosley says with a broad grin. Despite his playful flirting with me and every other single female in town, his crush on our friend Star is the worst-kept secret in Jackson Harbor, which is saying something.

“You’re not invited,” Amelia says. “Stay away from my friends.”

“You’ll put in a good word for me, won’t you, Veronica?”

“Every chance I get.” I wink at him, but we both know nothing’s going to happen. Star is a single mom like me, but unlike me, her kid’s thirteen. Last I checked, she’s not interested in bringing anyone into her daughter’s life.

“So . . .” Amelia says, pressing her hands together. “Please say you got a sitter and can come. Don’t make me beg, V.”

“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.