Page 76 of Flirting with Trouble

“Thank you. I appreciate your vote of confidence.” Her gaze softens. “You’re usually three steps ahead of me. Whatever’s got you tangled up in knots must be heavy. Anything I can do to help?”

“Just keep holding down the fort.”

“That’s not a problem.” She taps my desk again. “Know what you need?”

Yes. The feisty beauty who slithered into my heart one phone call, one silly game, and one fucking kiss at a time. Gritting my teeth against the heartache that brings, I lift my chin in question.

“You need to get out there on the floor and work your magic with the customers. You can’t hold on to a bad mood when you do that.”

“That’s an excellent idea. I’ll do that, and then I think I’ll head out for the night.”

“Sounds good. I hope your mood improves,” she says on her way out.

I snag my phone and shove it in my pocket. As I walk around the desk, my gaze lands on a photo hanging on the wall. It was taken at a beach bonfire in front of the Bistro the summer before Olivier died, and it’s one of my favorites. I’m roasting marshmallows with some of the other kids. Olivier is sitting on a blanket with us, his long white ponytail hanging down his back and Abby tucked under his arm. The older boys are tossing a football farther down the beach, and some of the girls are playing at the edge of the water with our mothers. My father is standing by the fire with his arms crossed, flanked by Roddy Remington and Steve Steele. They’re an unlikely and unbreakable trio. My father, in his dress pants and collared shirt, his serious eyes trained on us. Roddy with his windblown collar-length hair and beard, sporting cargo shorts and one of his many flowered shirts unbuttoned too far, is laughing, his head tipped back. Then there’s Steve, one hand casually tucked in the pocket of his jeans, wearing a polo shirt, his attention locked on his wife and girls, down by the water.

Those four men taught me too many life lessons to count. I can still hear my father telling me to learn from my mistakes and try to do better today than I did yesterday and Roddy saying not to sweat the small stuff. How many times did Steve remind me that everyone makes mistakes and forgiveness is the greatest gift of all? I don’t even have to try to hear Olivier’s kind voice telling me to trust my heart. They instilled so much wisdom, but none of it prepared me for surviving a broken heart.

Jesus. I can only imagine the shit the guys would give me if they heard me say that.

I shove those thoughts down deep and head out of my office.

Music filters into the restaurant from the bar, injecting an upbeat, summery vibe. As I make my way around the room greeting customers and making small talk, the pit of my stomach burns. This is the first time in as long as I can remember that my smiles aren’t genuine, and I fucking hate it. It reminds me of when I was a kid putting on my happy face, and it’s something I swore I’d never do as an adult. But in this situation, I don’t have a choice.

I spot Roddy and his wife, Gail, having dinner with Steve and Shelley Steele, and Shelley’s mother, Lenore. I head over to them.

“A table full of my favorite people,” I say as I sidle up to them. “I hope you’re enjoying your evening.”

“Wells, we’ve missed you lately,” Shelley exclaims, and the big beautiful auburn-haired woman with a heart of gold gets up to hug me.

“I’ve missed seeing you all as well,” I say, soaking in her embrace.

As she sits down, I put a hand on Lenore’s and Gail’s shoulders. “You ladies look lovely tonight.”

“I have missed your charm, young man,” Lenore says. She has a blond pixie cut and a flair for fashion, as proven by her black silk top, gold scarf, and dangling pearl earrings.

“I’ll have to rectify that and spend more time here.” My gut twists, but I don’t let my smile falter. “Nice to see you, Mr. S,” I say as I shake Leni’s father’s hand.

“You too, Wells.”

I offer my hand to Roddy. “How’s it going?”

Roddy bats my hand away and stands to embrace me, clapping a hand on my back as he says, “You doing okay, son?”

The way he studies my face makes me feel like he can see right through my fake smile. “Yes, sir. How are you tonight?”

“My family’s healthy, and we’ve got good boating weather. All is well on the Remington front.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” I turn my attention back to the Steeles. “You must be getting excited about Leni’s wedding.”

“We are beyond thrilled,” Shelley says. “Although Leni is with Indi and the rest of the girls right now. You know how she hates people fussing over her. I hope they don’t drive her so batty, she cancels the wedding.”

I can see Leni throwing her hands up and calling it off to elope, but I don’t dare say it.

Steve reaches for his wife’s hand. “That’s not going to happen. She loves Raz, and she knows how much planning has gone into this wedding.”

“Wells, you’ve been awfully busy running back and forth to the city lately,” Gail says. “Have you found a spot for a restaurant yet?”

The high of seeing the property on the dock with Victory comes rushing back, but the ache in my chest overshadows it. I have no idea how I’m going to navigate that, much less going back to the city when everything about it reminds me of her. “We’re getting close.”