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“Of course not. He’s not you. You see a project and jump right in, knowing you can make it into an overnight success. Why do you think you were top dog here for so long? You made Morgan & Dudly a ton of money over the years.”
“Fat lot of good it did me. In came Ashley with her tight dresses and suddenly I’m out of a job, dealing with a divorce, and wearing a flamingo on my boob.”
“Should I be worried about the flamingo?”
I laughed, liking how Liz never underestimated me. She believed wholeheartedly that I could handle all the bullshit that had been piled on recently. “I have to thank you. Your little pump-up speech turned me around.”
A car horn out front had me rushing to put my coffee cup in the sink. “Gotta go, Liz. My ride’s here.”
“Sexy neighbor? Yeah, girl. Ride it all day long, baby.” Liz cleared her throat. “That one line in the book is entirely inappropriate for the kindergarten level. Please remove it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Book the flight and let me know when you’re coming.” Then I hung up, grabbed my purse, and ran out the door to Char’s waiting car. It was a purple sedan with stickers all over the back bumper, but it had air-conditioning.
“Hey!”
Char threw her arms around me when I slid into the passenger seat. “Hey, beautiful! Let’s go get you some clothes.”
Char took me to every clothing store in a five-key radius, making me try on half the stock at every stop. She had an eye for casual clothing that I didn’t have. Nine years of working in an office for more hours than I was home and I’d somehow lost the ability to dress myself for anything other than a board meeting. Today I was whipping out my credit card at a pace that would certainly have Justin’s lawyers reaching out again about a spending freeze, which only made me buy more.
By the time we stopped at the grocery store, her trunk was so full we didn’t have room for my groceries. We both took a try at rearranging the bags but to no avail.
“Maybe they can fit on my lap?”
We eyed the grocery cart filled to the brim.
“Damn. I really didn’t think this through.”
“Did you ladies need some help?” a male voice asked from behind us.
We both turned around and Char squealed, cuddling up to the handsome stranger. He was about Dec’s height, but thicker. The kind of guy you wanted to cuddle with in the rain. Why that image came to mind, I didn’t know, but he was nice to look at. Did Florida put something in the water besides gators? Men were built differently out here.
“Harley! I haven’t seen you in ages.” Char was something else with the flirting. I felt the wind from her eyelashes fluttering all the way over here. I could probably learn a thing or two from her.
“I just saw you on Friday night at the Watering Hole,” he drawled, flashing me a wink.
“Oh! This is Kenna Ryan. She’s new here in Sunshine Key.” Char let go of Harley with one hand and pulled me closer.
Harley extended his hand and I shook it, surprised by the calluses I felt on his palm. Justin had never done much work with his hands. His palms had been baby smooth. Also surprising was the way Harley’s friendly smile made me feel at ease. Like I could tell him my deepest, darkest secrets and he’d make me feel like I wasn’t crazy. There also wasn’t a ring on his left hand, which was surprising. He looked about my age. Then again, I wasn’t wearing a ring any longer either.
“You must be Maeve’s niece?”
I dipped my head, my hand still wrapped in his. “That’s right.”
“Well, I heard you were sticking around for a bit, but no one told me how beautiful you are.”
I laughed, the compliment making me happy but not stirring anything in my gut like when I looked at Dec in a towel. Too bad, really. Harley was cute in a laid-back, funny-guy-of-the-group sort of way. He gave my hand back, but kept that smile aimed my way.
“Quite the charmer, Harley.” I pointed to my cart. “We miscalculated the trunk space.”
He eyed the situation for a split second before tilting his head toward his truck. “How about you put your groceries in mine and we’ll follow Char back to your place?”
Char gave me a thumbs-up, her gaze darting between Harley and me. Dear Lord, she was probably trying to sniff out another romance potential where there was none. Harley wouldn’t let us help, unloading all the bags into the back of his truck while Char got in her car and I climbed in the passenger seat of Harley’s truck. I would have gone with Char, but she pushed me toward the truck with a look so stern I didn’t dare argue. Harley climbed in and off we went, following Char’s dilapidated sedan to my house.
“So, tell me about yourself, Kenna Ryan.”
“Well, I’m going through a messy divorce and I now own a boat club. Well, half own one. Dec Boggs owns the other half.”
Harley had one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear shift. “Ah yes, Dec Boggs.”
