Molly (Perfect Match Book 3)

by Julie Jarnagin

  Dawson seemed like a nice guy, but that answer wasn’t good enough. “I leave in a week, and my deadline is a few days after that. I need a story to write.” She wouldn’t let her editor down, not now that everything was on the line.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, sounding confident. “We’ll figure this out.”

  She didn’t have time to wait on Dawson to find out what had happened to her date. “I need you to send me someone new as soon as possible. Can you get someone here tomorrow?”

  “I can’t send you just anyone. It has to be the right person for you.”

  She held back a groan. The chances of him sending her “the one” were laughable. If she could find a date with a pulse, she would figure out how to write a decent story. Sure, she’d love to write an article about spending a romantic week with someone who adored her, especially after her recent breakup, but if she had to write about some crazy misadventure, she’d make that work too. She had a job to do. “Your company is going to get a lot of publicity from this article. Do you really want me writing a story about flying down here for nothing?”

  “This isn’t just about the publicity,” Dawson said. “I believe in our process, and this guy was a great match for you. Honestly, I haven’t seen anything like it since I started the site. No one else comes close for you.”

  He really believed in all this romantic, true love stuff? “I love your enthusiasm, but at this point, I simply need you to send me someone…anyone.” She could fake it for a week. Take some pretty pictures. Write a good article. She wasn’t looking for true love here. Besides, she considered dating relationships more as mutually beneficial partnerships rather than some old-fashioned version of romance and love at first sight.

  “Give me more time.” He sounded breathless and a little desperate. “Let me see if I can find out what happened.”

  The truth was that Molly would like to know what happened too. Had her date seen her and bolted? How could Sean have known about it before she even got there? Had her date met someone else on the flight here? That would be just her luck. “I’m on a deadline. My editor is probably waiting for me to post photos on social media as we speak.”

  “It would take me a couple of days to get someone new to you. Just give me until tomorrow morning to find out what happened with your last date.”

  “And if he doesn’t show back up, you’ll get me someone new?”

  “You’ll have to at least try to have a better attitude,” he said, sounding hurt. “But if I can’t reason with your original date, I’ll send you someone new.”

  The thought of Dawson needing to convince someone to date her stung, but what choice did she have? She sighed. “Let me know what you find out.”

  After she hung up, she looked for Sean. He wasn’t on the far side of the Surf Hut, and she didn’t see him out in the water. She tried the door and then noticed a handwritten Closed sign hanging behind the glass. She would’ve liked someone to talk to right now, and Sean seemed sweet. Feeling deflated, she picked up the beach towel she’d left earlier and headed back to the hotel alone.

  ****

  With the sun beginning to set, Sean grabbed the two nearly empty hurricane glasses from the end of the bar and put them in the sink to be washed. Dawson had recommended Sean take the week off so that he would have plenty of time to spend on his dates with Molly, but now that his time was free, he was able to fill in for one of the sick bartenders. His brother was hanging out at a friend’s house, and Sean had been happy to have something to do to take his mind off Molly, who probably hated him now that she’d talked to Dawson.

  “Dude, slam those down any harder and you’re going to be cleaning up broken glass and a sticky mess,” Cameron said. The waiter had been giving him looks all day.

  Sean had been in a rotten mood ever since he’d left Molly at the Surf Hut. “Sorry. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

  A customer who’d been sitting by himself ever since Sean started his shift pointed at his half empty glass. Sean grabbed a new glass and pulled the handle to fill it with beer.

  “It’s kind of entertaining to watch.” Cameron loaded his tray with the drinks Sean had made. “Let me guess. This is about a woman?”

  Sean snapped his gaze over to him. “Why do you say that?”

  “You usually have that whole Zen-surfer thing going on. Nice to know you get rattled like the rest of us.”

  “I’m not rattled. I’m…” He searched for the right word, but it didn’t come.

  “Uh huh.” Cameron laughed again and took the glass from him. “I’ll deliver this for you. I want to make sure you don’t spill it.”

  Sean grabbed a rag and wiped down the counter. He’d done the right thing. Yes, Molly was amazing and gorgeous, but someone should have told him about the magazine ahead of time. Then, he wouldn’t have gotten them both into this mess.

  “Table for one, please,” a familiar voice said.

  Sean looked toward the hostess stand where Molly stood in a white sundress.

  His stomach tightened. Maybe he was rattled.

  Molly looked over, and her eyes met his. “Sean?”

  She said something to the hostess and came over. Panic rose inside him. What had Dawson told her? She didn’t look angry. In fact, she looked beautiful with her blond hair clipped back off her face like that.

  “Mind if I sit here?” she asked.

  “Have a seat,” he said, trying to play it cool as he handed her a menu. She would figure out a way to do her job without him. Dawson was probably sending her someone new, and this whole thing would soon blow over.

  Her eyes moved across him. “I like your shirt.”

  He glanced down at the Hawaiian print shirt identical to the uniforms all the other staff wore. “Thanks. If you ever need a job, I bet they’ll give you one too.” The bar and grille was connected to the hotel, and they drew in the tourists with tropical music and a surfboard hanging over weathered shelves stacked with liquor and wine bottles. He preferred the local dives around town, but this place had a nice view of the ocean.

  Her eyes widened. “If I don’t find a date, I might need a job here.”

  Guilt burned in his chest. “I’m sure it will work out,” he said to reassure himself as much as to reassure Molly.

  Her brows rose. “I didn’t expect to see you. You're a surf instructor and a bartender?”

  It didn’t sound impressive coming out of the mouth of a writer for a big, national magazine. He might as well be a beach bum. “I fill in a few nights a week for some extra cash.”

  She set the menu down in front of her. “Sounds like a pretty nice life. Surfing all day, hanging out here at night. Like a permanent vacation.”

  “I’m happy here.” Happy enough anyway. He set a napkin in front of her. “What can I get you to drink?”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “People seem to like the strawberry pineapple daiquiris.” Too sweet for him, but he made a lot of them.

  She smiled, her blue eyes shining. “Only if it has one of those little umbrellas in it.”

  It was nice to see her smile after seeing her anxious and pacing because of the situation he’d put her in. “For you, two umbrellas.”

  When he came back with the cocktail, her smile was gone. “I looked for you after my call, but you’d disappeared.”

  He set the glass on the paper napkin. “Sorry about that. I had to get to work here.” That was partly true. He’d also felt terrible about the situation she was in, and wanted to fix it for her. But the only way he could see to do that would force him to risk the privacy he’d worked so hard to establish for himself and his brother. He’d been tempted to throw that all away to help her, but he’d forced himself to leave before he did anything stupid.

  She adjusted the glass on the napkin but didn’t take a drink. “How did you find out my date wasn’t coming? Did you talk to him?”

  His breath caught. “I promised I wouldn’t say anything.” It wasn’t a complete
lie. He’d promised himself, but that didn’t keep the remorse from washing over him.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why all the secrets? I need you to tell me who he is. Help me find him so I can convince him to go through with this.”

  She wasn’t going to let this go, was she? “If I could help you, I would.”

  Someone at the other end of the bar called for him. Perfect timing. “I need to go take care of that.”

  When he returned, she pushed her drink toward him. “Can you set this down in front of me again? I want to take a photo of you.”

  He cleared his throat, his mind racing. “A photo of me? No.”

  She frowned. “But I need to start posting something on the magazine’s social media page or my boss is going to freak out.”

  There was no way he was going to let her post a picture of him. He reached for the phone. “I’ll take one of you with the drink instead.”

  She shook her head. “I’m supposed to be on a romantic, week-long date. Maybe a shot of me drinking alone isn’t the best plan.”

  “Hang on,” he said. “I have a better idea.” He picked up an empty glass. “I’ll make another daiquiri.”

  She nodded. “I like the way you think.”

  After he made the drink and arranged them side by side on the bar, she took the photo. “But I can only get away with this for so long. I need to either find the jerk who stood me up or Dawson needs to send me someone else fast.”

  As guilt crept through his chest, he couldn’t decide which would be worse—watching Molly date another man or her finding out that Sean was the jerk she was so angry with.

  Chapter Three

  Molly spun the little umbrella between her fingers as she took a sip of the icy drink. If only she could enjoy this moment and appreciate being in this beautiful open-air restaurant talking to Sean with his lazy smile and that single dimple. But it still bothered her that he refused to help her. He was keeping something from her, and she knew it.

  She might not be a hard-hitting journalist, but she’d spent her college years sleuthing for her school paper. She could put on her investigator hat and figure this out.

  Sean put his hand on the bar in front of her. “Can I get you anything else? Something to eat? We have a great coconut shrimp.”

  She wished he could sit down and keep her company. With all the long hours she worked, she didn’t know what to do with herself sitting here alone. “Sure. That sounds great.” She wasn’t a big drinker. She probably shouldn’t be having this daiquiri on an empty stomach.

  “You won’t regret it.” He turned to the computer screen at the back of the bar.

  A waiter with cropped black hair and dark eyes walked behind him. “Sean, I can’t believe I forgot to ask you about your blind date today. How did the surfing lessons go? Was she hot? Is that why you were acting so weird earlier?”

  Sean’s shoulders stiffened.

  His date today? Surfing lessons? The syrupy mixture churned in her stomach.

  Sean turned around, and his eyes darted to her and then to the other man. “What are you talking about? I didn’t have a date today,” he said, his voice thin.

  The man scoffed. “From the dating site. You told me about it last night. Did you bang your head on a surfboard? Maybe you have amnesia or something.”

  Sean’s eyes lifted to hers. His guilt-ridden expression didn’t do anything to stop the anger from burning in her.

  The waiter sucked in a breath. “Oh, man. Did I just stick my foot in my mouth? I’m going to…” He pointed at the other end of the bar and then walked away without saying another word.

  She could feel her pulse pounding through her whole body. She jabbed her finger toward him. “You! You lied to me.”

  He shifted. “I didn’t… Well, not exactly. I—”

  “Not exactly? Are you kidding me?” The woman three stools down looked at her.

  “Can we take this somewhere else?” he whispered. “I’m working.”

  So, it was okay to worry about his job, but hers was irrelevant? She swallowed hard and stood.

  Sean looked at someone behind her. “Cameron, can you cover for me? I’ll be right back.”

  “Yeah, man,” he stammered. “Of course. Sorry about that.”

  She had to grit her teeth to keep from telling Cameron that he shouldn’t be sorry. Sean should be sorry. All day, she’d been running around like a banshee trying to figure out who stood her up when it was Sean the whole time. How stupid she must have looked to him. He’d probably been relieved he’d decided not to date this flake who couldn’t see what was right in front of her the whole time.

  He motioned toward the dark patio, and she walked out, only getting angrier with every step. How had this happened? She was a smart, accomplished woman. At least she’d believed she was until her ex-boyfriend and her best friend had fallen for each other right under her nose. Now this? How had she been so easily fooled again?

  Molly and Sean walked past the tables of diners to a low gate leading out to the sand. About halfway between the crashing waves and the restaurant, he stopped. “First of all, I want to apologize.”

  She fought to keep her composure and not come off any more foolish than she already had.

  His eyes stared into hers. “I should have told you the truth in the beginning. I’m sorry.”

  For the first time the anger was taken over by the sting of rejection. “Why didn’t you want to date me?” She’d liked Sean. Without all of this, a week with him would have been a dream, but he hadn’t wanted her. What had she done? Was she not pretty enough? Had he been turned off by her “shallow” career? Even after all she’d accomplished to gain the respect of her father and her family, her career still wasn’t good enough.

  He reached out for her, but she stepped back. “Molly, please don’t think of it like that. It’s not that.”

  She crossed her arms. “That’s exactly what it was.”

  “Someone else made me sign up for this. My privacy is really important to me, and they didn’t tell me about the whole magazine thing.”

  “Why?” Maybe, she should have thought this through better too. What if this guy was a serial killer? “Are you running from the law?”

  He gave a soft laugh. “Nothing like that. I swear.”

  “Then, what?”

  “I’m raising my little brother, and I made a promise to protect him.”

  She shook her head, not understanding. “That still doesn’t explain why you can’t help me.”

  “I know, but it’s all I can say.

  She looked out toward the ink-black ocean in the distance. Despite the sting of humiliation, she needed to focus on her job and getting the promotion. Her work was all she had right now. “Well, if you’re not going to help me, I better go find another way to get this done.”

  “If I could, I—”

  “Sean, please stop.” Maybe that was harsh, but obviously he didn’t want to help her if he wouldn’t even give her the courtesy of a reason. “I’m a big girl. I’ll figure this out myself.” It was what she’d done her whole life, and she wouldn’t stop now. It was clear Dawson had been wrong. Sean was most definitely not the right man for her.

  ****

  The next day, Sean clapped and cheered for the young newlyweds as they stood on their boards and rode a tiny wave in toward the shore. “Great job, guys. You’re both up at the same time.” As he was speaking, they both fell into the water. The woman screeched and laughed.

  As nice as they were, focusing on the couple was nearly impossible. Earlier, he’d spotted Molly walking from the beach into the pool area of the hotel. He hoped she would still be there when he was done with these lessons. He hated how things had ended and wanted to apologize again. Maybe she’d cooled off since last night and would be more open to hearing what he had to say.

  After the lessons were finished and their equipment was put away, Sean made his way toward the hotel pool. He spotted Molly on a lounge chair in the corner taking ph
otos with her phone. She wore big sunglasses, and her hair was in a braid that was draped over her slender shoulder.

  “Molly,” he called out.

  She lowered her phone and frowned at him.

  Maybe this was a bad idea, but he walked over anyway and sat on the edge of the chair beside her. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  She sighed. “It’s okay. My boss is starting to wonder why she sent me here. I have to post something.”

  “Maybe you could take pictures of that guy over there.” He pointed to a large, older man in a tiny red Speedo whose back was covered in gray hair.

  She closed her eyes and laughed, even though he could tell she was trying not to. “Thanks for the idea. I’m not sure if that’s what my editor has in mind. When I got my degree in journalism, I didn’t know my career would hinge on taking selfies and writing about dating sites.”

  He hadn’t even gone to college. He’d had tutors the studio provided when he was on set, so he’d hardly ever gone to a real school. “Tell me again what you do at the magazine.”

  Her shoulders relaxed a little, and she took her sunglasses off. “I’m a relationship columnist. I write a monthly column about dating and love. If I got this promotion I’m up for, I would manage the other content related to those topics.”

  “So, you’re a relationship expert?”

  She scoffed. “Maybe for readers, but it definitely doesn’t look that way in my own life.”

  She held her arm out toward the palm trees at the edge of the pool deck. “But how can I complain? I’m working right now. How lucky am I?”

  He could tell she was trying to mean it, but the slight crack in her voice made it clear her week wasn’t working out as she had planned.

  He looked down at his arms resting on his board shorts. “I came over here to apologize again. I hate that I put you in a bad spot with your work. If there is anything I can do to help you—”