Page 5 of Summer Ever After

Chapter Two

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck as he stepped between two people, his shadow stretching long across the cobbled walkway in the soft morning light. The taller man was red-faced and gesturing wildly with his arms, and his voice grew louder with each word.

“I paid for that massage days ago! You can’t just give my spot away!”

“Your appointment was for nine-thirty,” Andrea said calmly, her arms folded across her chest. “It’s ten-oh-five. I had other customers waiting, ones who showed up on time, so I had to move on.”

The man took another step forward, his fists clenched by his sides. Aaron’s voice cut in, low and firm.

“All right,” he said, stepping into the space between them. “That’s enough.”

The man turned towards him and puffed up his chest, no doubt ready to bark something back, until he really saw Aaron. Six-two, all lean muscle, and an aura of quiet authority, with the kind of steady blue eyes that didn’t flinch easily. Aaron didn’t have to raise his voice to take control. The calm in his tone was enough to reset any temperature.

“You’re upset. I get it,” Aaron continued calmly. “But this isn’t how we handle things at River Camps. Let’s take a quick walk.” He laid his hand gently on the man’s shoulder.

The man hesitated, still fuming, but then muttered something under his breath and followed him a few steps away.

Aaron led him away from the pool house that housed the massage rooms. He wanted to give the guy a little room and time to breathe.

“Look, I know it’s frustrating to miss something that you were looking forward to. But yelling at our staff isn’t going to fix the situation. You show up late, there are consequences. That’s just how it works in life.”

The man opened his mouth, then sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Behind them, Andrea stepped forward, arms still crossed, but her tone was cool and professional. “I just looked and I’ve got a thirty-minute window at noon today that I can slide you into,” she said as her eyes moved to his. “That’s the best I can do for today.”

The man glanced at her, still visibly annoyed, but clearly realizing that he was lucky to get anything at all.

She added, “And I’ll give you an extra ten minutes if you show up five minutes early. I’ll let the session run over by five. But if you show up late again, you lose the spot. No exceptions.”

The guy blinked a few times as he processed the offer and suddenly his shoulders slumped. “Fine.” He threw up his hands lightly. “Sure.”

Andrea gave him a tight smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Great. Then we’re done here.”

Aaron stood by, arms relaxed at his sides but still watchful until the man turned and stalked off towards the main lodge.

Only then did Andrea turn towards Aaron and mutter, “Dudes like that are why I keep a punching bag in my garage.”

He chuckled. “You’re too generous. I would’ve given him five minutes and a granola bar.”

She snorted. “You owe me an iced coffee for not throat-punching him.”

“I’ll run it by five minutes before noon,” he joked. Andrea laughed.

Aaron glanced over as Andrea headed towards the pool house doors. She had a short, slender build but had a wiry strength to her, like she could throw a guy twice her size if he gave her a reason. Her blond hair was up in a high knot, her tattoos peeking out beneath her camp-branded top. He knew that the woman didn’t rattle easily and definitely didn’t take crap from anyone. Normally, she’d have thrown in a sarcastic jab or flirty eye roll to cut the tension, but she and Dean had become an item last year and were engaged. Since then, she’d cut back on all the flirting.

He missed it, not because he was attracted to her, but because it had been fun. A game to keep himself from getting rusty.

The last time he’d gone out with a woman was, well, too long ago to calculate. One of the perks of this job was the mindless flirting.

His mind snapped to the only woman with whom the flirting mattered. Beth.

Shaking his head, he cleared his mind and followed the massage man to make sure he didn’t cause any more problems.

After that, the rest of the morning moved slowly. He made his way to the main building, checked that each office door was locked, then headed to the side gates. Then he walked over to the beach access area. As he went, he nodded a greeting to staff and guests as he passed them.

The scent of sunscreen and fresh-cut grass filled the warm air. Today, it was mixed with faint sweetness of whatever the staff was making in the massive kitchen, which had his stomach growling. So he headed towards the main building again and sat in the employees’ cafeteria and wolfed down a Swiss burger with truffle fries. He followed the meal up with a slice of pecan pie and caramel ice cream.

Mid-afternoon, he stepped into the larger parking lot to check parking tags. The sun was high in the sky, causing sharp shadows to crisscross over the parking lot. He stepped out from the cool shaded pathway beside the brand-new events center, which had just been finished two months before, to do his rounds.