Boyfriend By Mistake

by Elana Johnson

  Haha. Sure. You know where I live.

  Without second-guessing himself, he went up to his room and collected his luggage and his dog. “Come on, Gentleman. We’re going to see Uncle Bo.” The golden retriever jumped down from the bed like he’d been waiting for Shawn to make this decision all along.

  He did know where Bo lived, and he knew it was easy to get around the island in the summer. Taxis lined up outside of the hotels, and The Heartwood Inn was no different. His brother wasn’t there, as he ran one of the transportation businesses on the island, and they literally worked twenty hours a day during tourist season.

  Shawn had hated the tourist season growing up. His family owned a golf course, and his father made everyone work the course from an early age. Shawn was the middle child of five, and he’d picked up more golf balls than a human being should ever have to.

  His oldest sister Jen ran the golf course now, and Shannon had left the island with her husband. She lived in Washington D.C. with her family, and Shawn’s two younger brothers had stayed on the island, getting into tourism as well.

  They had good lives, but only Shannon was married with kids. The rest of Shawn’s siblings—and himself—were married to their jobs.

  Shawn had never minded the long hours he worked. Not having any time to date was just fine with him, especially after Rhiannon had cut out his heart and left the state of Florida with it in her back pocket.

  He’d started “dating” the boss’s daughter, and he’d climbed quickly at work. And he just had one more step to take. He took a very big breath and re-centered his thoughts.

  The Heartwood Inn. That was why he’d come.

  He called them and asked for Alissa, and the receptionist said, “She’s not here, sir. She leaves at one.”

  A smile formed on his face, and he said, “Thank you,” before hanging up. A new plan formed in his mind, and he’d need a cup of coffee with a lot of cream and a bag of chocolate chip cookies before he saw Lissa again.

  Oh, and maybe a prayer that she still liked her coffee with a lot of cream, dogs, and could eat chocolate chip cookies for every meal. She couldn’t have changed that much, could she?

  An hour later, Shawn feared the chocolate chip cookies had melted completely. He felt like he’d melted into the sand, and he still hadn’t seen the blonde he couldn’t get out of his head. He knew her family owned all the property along this beach. Maybe she’d seen him and disappeared inside whichever house she was currently living in.

  Gentleman had swam out into the water every time Shawn threw the ball, but even now the dog simply walked at his side, his tongue lolling out.

  A different dog barked, and Shawn turned toward the sound at the same time Gentleman talked back. A moment later, the beast came bounding down the sand a ways, back toward a beach cottage that had to belong to someone in the Heartwood family. Shawn had walked by it three times already on his fake quest to find the perfect spot of sand to spend the afternoon.

  “Dodger!” a woman called after him as Shawn chuckled and bent down to pat the German shepherd as he and Gentleman started a sniffing war.

  He knew that voice, besides. It was Lissa, and Shawn couldn’t believe his good luck in finally finding her. Of course, the heat burning into his bare shoulders testified that maybe he wasn’t as lucky as he thought. He had been wandering for an hour, after all.

  He straightened as another dog approached, this one just as friendly as Dodger, but definitely smaller. He circled Shawn and Gentleman like he was herding them, and Dodger turned back the way he’d come as if to lead them all home. Unwilling to let the pups down, Shawn said, “Come on, Gentleman,” and went with the dogs.

  Cresting a sandy hill, he caught sight of Lissa looking the wrong way down the beach. “Dodger!” she called now, twisting toward him. She saw them, turning fully toward him now. “Sorry,” she said, coming forward. “They’re a little—” She paused and muted, and she’d obviously realized who he was.

  Her eyes hid behind a dark pair of sunglasses, but Shawn could still feel her gaze moving down to his bare feet and back to his face. “What are you doing here?”

  “You’ve asked me that once already,” he said, lifting the white bakery bag that held her messy cookies. “I’m just spending an afternoon on the beach with my dog and a snack.” He wasn’t sure if she looked at the bag or not. “I guess your dogs like chocolate chip cookies as much as you do.”

  She harrumphed and turned around. “Come on, guys,” she said, and the dogs trotted over to her as she moved toward that cottage.

  Dodger turned back and barked, and Lissa said, “No, they’re not coming.” She could certainly glare through those shades, though she did look at Gentleman a little too long. So she definitely still loved dogs. Obviously, as she had two of them.

  Shawn really wanted to go with her, and it had nothing to do with his job. “Maybe we could come in for a sec,” he said, walking toward her. “Gentleman needs a drink.” She opened her mouth to say something, but it closed as he sidled up to her and continued, all three dogs coming with him now.

  Satisfaction dove through him, but his heart pulsed irregularly when Lissa didn’t catch up to them. He finally turned back to find her gazing out at the ocean, the indecision streaming from her in waves.

  She turned and somehow their eyes met despite her sunglasses. “Fine,” she said, finally moving toward him. “But you have to put on a shirt.” Her glare sliced right through him as she approached and passed him, and wow, Shawn had been missing so much in his life because she wasn’t in it.

  Chapter Three

  Alissa marched through the sand though she wanted to stroll. Her calf muscles screamed at her to slow down already, but she kept up the pace. Shawn huffed and puffed beside her, and he had pulled a gray T-shirt over his head, thank goodness. She couldn’t be near him with all that golden skin showing. All those muscles.

  She almost shivered though the temperature and humidity today were enough to melt steel. Or so it seemed.

  A blast of air-conditioned air hit her as she went through the front door. She’d just spent an hour on the beach with the dogs as they splashed in the surf. They went straight for their water bowls and made a ruckus as they started slurping.

  Behind her, Shawn sighed in relief and closed the door behind him. “Was this your grandparents’ place?”

  “Yes,” she said curtly as she turned on the water. She got out two glasses and put ice in them, eyeing Shawn as he looked around her cottage. His reappearance in her life wasn’t exactly unwelcome, but she didn’t know what to make of it. He hadn’t been home for a while, and even when he came to visit his parents, he never stayed long. Never looked her up. They hadn’t spoken in years and years.

  “It’s nice,” he finally said, looking at her.

  “You’re fried,” she said, filling the glasses. She set one on the counter for him and drank from the other. Maybe if she filled her stomach with ice water, she’d stop thinking heated things about the man in front of her.

  Problem was, she remembered everything about him. The way his hand fit in hers. The way he’d chuckle softly against her neck when they laid together in the bed of a truck he’d parked on the north beach, where not many tourists went. The way his mouth felt against hers. The taste of him.

  She jerked to attention as he reached for the glass of water. Alissa pushed off the counter and went to get the dog bowls. She washed them out and refilled them before turning to him. “Do you have aloe vera at the hotel? You’re going to need it.” It so wasn’t fair of him to bring a beautiful golden retriever with him.

  “I’m not at the hotel anymore,” he said.

  “Yeah, we don’t allow dogs.” She cocked her head and folded her arms, trying to figure him out.

  “Olympia said she’d make an exception.”

  “I bet she regretted that once she figured out why you’re here.”

  He skated his eyes past her, and he was so much a salesman.

  “Y
ou want to buy Heartwood,” she said. “You should know it’s not for sale.”

  “I know that.”

  She leaned her hip into the counter. “Is that your high-rise going up down the block?”

  “Not mine specifically,” he said, though the hotel did belong to the Tremmel Group.

  “Your company, then.”

  “I don’t own a company.”

  Alissa was so done with this conversation. “You should go. Get some aloe vera for your shoulders and face.” She walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, intending to show him the door.

  “Olympia told me the hotel and land wasn’t for sale,” Shawn said, following her.

  “Then why are you still here?” Alissa really needed him to answer the question. “Why come at all? You could’ve had her tell you we weren’t selling on the phone.” He could’ve stayed in Miami, with his surely skinny, tan girlfriend, his corner office, and his luxury apartment. Oh, and that dog Alissa really wanted.

  “I needed a vacation,” he said. “And this deal just happened to coincide with that.” He joined her near the front door, and there wasn’t enough space for the both of them.

  “There’s no deal,” she said.

  “I can see that,” he said, his bright blue eyes almost causing intoxication when she looked into them for longer than a few seconds. “Maybe you’ll keep the cookies anyway? And maybe I’ll see you around the island. I’ll be here for a few weeks.” His hand brushed hers, and every muscle in Alissa’s body seized. “Gentleman would love to play with Dodger and Pirate.”

  Pure heat wove through her, making her mind soft. She had no idea what he’d just said, and his fingers weren’t even touching hers anymore.

  “Do they still do the hot air balloon festival on the Fourth?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “And the motorcycle parade?”

  “Of course,” she said, her voice far too choked for her liking. Shawn would be able to hear it. He had to know how good-looking he was. How charming. How boring her life was and how un-boring he could make it.

  She’d been dreading all the island summer activities, as she hated all the noise, the crowds, and the entertainment she had to face alone. But with him at her side….

  He’s not at your side, she told herself. He wants to buy everything your family has worked for and turn it into a golf course.

  Olympia had given her details once they were both free from Shawn. “However you got rid of him, keep it up,” her sister had said. “We’re not selling, no matter the price.”

  Alissa had agreed, of course. She loved the inn, the restaurant, the bakery, all of it. The Heartwood’s did own a lot of prime real estate, and Shawn wasn’t the first developer that had come with a folder and a number. He likely wouldn’t be the last.

  Didn’t mean the Heartwoods were interested in selling.

  “Okay, well, never mind,” he said, snapping Alissa back to the conversation at hand.

  “I’m sorry,” she said as he walked out the front door. “What?”

  Shawn turned back to her, somewhat of a glare on his face. “I asked you if you wanted to ride in the parade with me. You can say no. You don’t have to ignore me.” He shook his head. “Never mind. I’ll find a bike and ride myself.” He went down the steps quickly, and Alissa didn’t have time to process what he’d said.

  He’d asked her to ride with him in the motorcycle parade?

  As he left, Alissa couldn’t stop the memories from marching through her mind. Their first date had been at the motorcycle parade, the summer between their junior and senior years. Pure excitement had flowed through her as she perched on the back of a sexy, black motorcycle, Shawn’s broad shoulders in front of her. She’d wrapped her arms around him, leaned when he leaned, and kissed him late, late that night as fireworks exploded into the sky.

  So maybe she shouldn’t have kissed him on the first date. But they’d grown up on the island together, and she’d known him well. He wasn’t a player, and he never pressured her to do more than she wanted to.

  Their relationship had lasted eight months, until Marcy Myers had sent him a Val-o-gram, stolen his attention, and he’d broken up with Alissa.

  Did he even remember that? Did he care?

  “Why would he ask me to ride in the parade with him?” Wonder filled Alissa, but not nearly as much as the frustration and confusion that kept her air-conditioning the entire beach in front of the cottage.

  She finally got herself together enough to close the door, but she couldn’t do much more than move to the couch and collapse onto it. Dodger and Pirate both jumped onto the sofa beside her, their tongues still hanging out of their mouths.

  “Why’d you have to go round him up?” she asked Dodger. “He wasn’t someone to bring home.” Even if Alissa was imagining what it would be like to have him for her boyfriend again, all these years later.

  “You’re just lonely,” she told herself as she turned on the TV. She’d take a nap, and order dinner when she woke up, and tomorrow would be just like today—minus the troubling reappearance of Shawn Newman in her life.

  The next day started just as her days had for months and years. Fishing. Baking. Dealing with Gwen’s wrath over the catch. Fielding family texts that came in too fast. Avoiding Olympia when she came into the kitchen with the hotel’s housekeeping manager. They both seemed to have a storm raging around them, and Alissa didn’t need any more drama in her life.

  “Oh, good, you’re still here.”

  “I’m still here,” she said, looking at Harriett, the bakery manager. Alissa wiped the counter where she’d been working. No one touched her baking station while she was gone, other than to pull out the extra pans of brownies and cheesecakes she’d made and bake them off.

  “Someone just came in and wants to order fifteen dozen doughnuts for a party tonight. I told him I’d ask and see if we could handle that.” Harriett wore a sympathetic expression on her face. “It’s fine if we can’t. We have a twenty-four-hour policy on big orders.”

  Alissa sighed. Fifteen dozen doughnuts was a lot of doughnuts. A few hours worth of work. “I can do it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Charge him double for the convenience fee,” she said. And if it was who she thought it was, Shawn could afford the extra money.

  “Great, thanks, Liss.” Harriett left the kitchen, and Alissa got her industrial mixer going again. She’d barely filled her pitcher with warm water when the bakery manager returned.

  “Uh…he wants you to deliver them. Says he wants to thank the chef personally.”

  “Who is it?” Alissa’s heart started tapdancing in her chest. Would Shawn really come back and order so many doughnuts when she’d supposedly ignored him when he’d asked her to ride with him?

  Didn’t sound like Shawn. Of course, the man had matured a lot too. Had more muscles. Lines around his eyes.

  “He wouldn’t give his name. He paid in cash and left his address and phone number. I told him I’d text him if you could do that or not.” Harriett looked worried. “He didn’t look skeevy. Nice haircut. Blue board shorts.”

  “Gray T-shirt,” they said together.

  “I know who it is,” Alissa said. “Can I have his number, please? I’ll call him myself.” And give Shawn a piece of her mind. Fifteen dozen doughnuts. She scoffed as Harriett wrote the number on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

  After the manager had left, Alissa took the number and her phone outside. No need to make a scene where one of her sisters would overhear. But fifteen dozen doughnuts? Why couldn’t the man just order what was in the case? Did he know how much work his insane order made for her?

  “Shawn Newman,” he said in an overly chipper voice when he answered her call.

  “Fifteen dozen doughnuts?” she asked by way of a greeting. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Bo’s having a party at his place.”

  “Go to a different bakery.”

  “I want you to com
e to the party.”

  Alissa opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came to mind.

  “I realize maybe I…I don’t know. Moved too fast, asking you to ride in the parade with me. But you can’t say no to a party at my brother’s place.”

  Oh, she could.

  She just didn’t want to. A sigh filled her whole body, and she let part of it come out of her mouth. “Shawn, I don’t know.”

  “What don’t you know?”

  “You live in Miami. Probably have a ritzy apartment. A private beach.”

  “Nope,” he said. “Neither of those, actually.”

  “No girlfriend?”

  The way he hesitated spoke volumes, and Alissa shook her head. “I can’t believe I almost said yes.”

  “Lauren and I aren’t defined,” he said.

  “I’m going to need more than that,” she retorted.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll make sure she knows we’re nothing before the party tonight.”

  Once again, Alissa found herself without words. Well, she had one. “Why?”

  Shawn took a few long seconds to answer. “Maybe I won’t go back to Miami.”

  “Why?” she asked again. Surely he didn’t have any lingering feelings for her. He’d dumped her for another girl.

  “I don’t know, Alissa.” He sighed. “I just know I like being here. I liked seeing you yesterday. I want to see you again. Get to know you again, when I’m not full of idiocy and teenage hormones.”

  The parking lot on this side of the kitchen really smelled bad, and Alissa turned to go back inside. “Is that an apology?”

  “Sure,” he said. “I’m sorry for running off with Marcy in high school.”

  “So you do remember.”

  “Of course I do.” His voice softened. “And I feel like an idiot about it. So come to the party. We can talk about the motorcycle ride another time.”

  Alissa couldn’t believe what she was going to say. But no one needed to know. Olympia would flip out if she found out Alissa was hanging out with Shawn. Because she knew that thirty-five-year-old women didn’t “hang out.”