Boyfriend By Mistake

by Elana Johnson

“Sounds dangerously like a….” He leaned closer, feeling the sparks flying from her body and kissing his. “A fling.”

  “It wouldn’t be a fling,” she said quietly, their faces almost nose-to-nose.

  “Then what would it be?”

  “If you go back to Miami, it’ll just be fun.”

  “The kissing kind of fun?”

  “Maybe,” she said, and Shawn’s heart stopped beating. He blinked, blinked, and then his pulse raced forward again.

  “And if I stay on the island?”

  “Then it gets complicated,” she said. “And I don’t want complicated.”

  “Fine,” he said, straightening, and taking a breath that wasn’t full of Lissa’s sugary sweet scent. “Then I’m going back to Miami on July sixth. You get your eleven days of fun.”

  She started back toward the umbrella where their pizza waited, and Shawn could only hope and pray that he’d get his version of fun in the next eleven days too.

  “They were really good,” he said later that night, the darkness on the beach absolute once they’d left behind the bright spotlights that had been pointed at the stage.

  “Yeah, not bad,” Lissa said, walking through the sand better than Shawn did. Admittedly, he normally wore polished shoes and worked in an office, while she lived on the beach. He’d noticed that she’d ditched the flip flops and tucked them in her bag after about five steps, though.

  The rest of the afternoon had gone well. They didn’t talk about his job, or hers, or anything about their relationship. They finished the pizza, and ate cupcakes, and talked about everyone they’d known in high school, all the happenings around the island for the next eleven days, and then they’d listened to Lowcountry, the fun, hipster band that had combined bluegrass with rock.

  And now he was walking her home. Shawn knew better than to expect a kiss. Number one, she hadn’t even held his hand that day. Number two, he’d tried kissing her once already and gotten shoved. He wasn’t going to do it again, especially since Lissa had six steps leading to her front door.

  “Thanks for walking me home,” she said. “It gets dark out here.”

  “Yeah,” he said, noting the flimsy excuse. After all, she got up and went fishing alone at three o’clock in the morning. He supposed she did have her dogs with her, but it still felt like a weak reason to keep him with her for just a little longer.

  Maybe Shawn was delusional. He didn’t know. What he did know was that he liked spending time with Lissa when they weren’t arguing. When they were navigating through the buoys, trying to keep their trike upright and on track. When they could eat chocolate and laugh about the past.

  But it wasn’t the past on Shawn’s mind as he stood on the porch with her. It was the future, and if she could be in his.

  Eleven days, he told himself. And then he’d go back to Miami, as promised. If he didn’t do that, he couldn’t even have Lissa for eleven days.

  “Thanks for a great day,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to seriously regret it tomorrow.” She reached for the doorknob but paused.

  He didn’t even have time to inhale before she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Maybe tomorrow we can just go watch the dog show in the evening?”

  Shawn slowly put his arms around her too, trying to memorize the feel of her there. She fit—she always had. “Sure,” he said. “What time does that start?”

  “The agility course is my favorite,” she said, stepping back. “It starts at six. Then I can take a nap after work.”

  “Six,” he repeated, his mind feeling sluggish from her touch. “I’ll come get you on the bike about five-thirty then.”

  “Five,” she said with a smile. “I want time to get one of those garlic and cheese sausage rolls. They only have them at the dog show.”

  Shawn grinned, a laugh not far behind. “I’ve forgotten about those.”

  “They’re still amazing,” she said, shifting her feet as she set her bag on the porch. “Anyway, see you tomorrow.” She tipped up on her toes and swept her lips along his cheek, bending to get her bag and opening the door in the next second.

  Shawn watched her enter the cottage and close the door behind her, and still he couldn’t move.

  This woman was going to be the death of him, and he realized he might not survive the next eleven days if she was going to hug him and then tease him with a kiss as chaste as that.

  He turned and went down the steps, picking up the blanket he’d brought from Bo’s. His brother had texted no less than six times, but Shawn had ignored him. Just like he’d ignored the call from Jason when it came in about eight p.m.

  His boss would still be up, and Shawn dialed him as he headed for the sidewalk that would take him back to the parking lot and the motorcycle he’d been driving around the island.

  “Shawn,” Jason said, his voice perfectly pleasant, without a trace of exhaustion in it.

  “You called?” he asked.

  “Just seeing how things are going with the Heartwood project.”

  “They’re not,” he said. “Look, Jason, I told you this in Miami—we’ll be lucky to get this land.”

  “I don’t remember you saying that.”

  He stepped from Heartwood property to city land, and he paused. “They’re not going to sell. I can feel it down in my gut.”

  “Do I need to send Hunter?”

  “If you want,” Shawn said as he turned around. Down the lane sat another house, and Lissa had said Celeste and Gwen lived in that one. “But the project is going to have to be altered. We’re not getting this land.”

  Jason sighed, the sound displeased. “I’ll start looking at other areas. You should do the same. I want a new plan and proposal on my desk before you go on vacation tomorrow night.”

  “Yes, sir,” Shawn said, a twinge of guilt pulling through him. He was supposed to be working this week—and he had been. On a motorcycle. On his tan. On getting Lissa to break down her walls.

  He reasoned that he had all day tomorrow to find Jason another patch of Earth to purchase, and if there was anyone who could do that, it was Shawn.

  “I also heard you and Lauren aren’t seeing each other anymore,” Jason said, and Shawn’s heart stopped for the second time that day. This time, it actually hurt, and he searched for something to say.

  “No, sir,” he said, hoping he’d made his voice an appropriate level of sad. “She wasn’t that interested in me.” He swallowed, his tongue suddenly thick. “And she had a thing going on with Seth Rotherberg.”

  “Yes,” Jason said, his disapproving father voice making an appearance. “She has been pictured with him recently. Well.” He exhaled, and his voice was bright when he said, “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

  “Me too,” Shawn said, because on some level, he was.

  “Email or fax,” Jason said. “New plan and proposal by five tomorrow.”

  “You’ll get it,” Shawn said. After all, he had a date with Lissa at five tomorrow, and he couldn’t blow her off for work.

  Chapter Nine

  Alissa made it through her work day without nodding off, but if she had a desk job, she’d have been asleep by noon.

  She managed to make it home and back into bed before falling asleep, a dog on both sides of her. She’d set her alarm for four so she’d have time to shower and get ready before Shawn arrived at five.

  Instead of waking to a peaceful chirping noise on her phone, she bolted straight up in bed when Dodger and Pirate started barking. They jumped from the bed and streaked out of her bedroom, leaving her alone with her rippling heartbeat.

  “Hey, guys,” Shawn said, and true panic gripped Alissa’s lungs. “Liss?” he called, and Dodger came running back into the bedroom.

  “No,” Alissa said. “Get out of here, Dodger.”

  But he simply jumped up on the bed and faced the door, panting with that smile on his face. Pirate barked, and Shawn said, “All right, all right.” His tall frame filled the doorway, where he stall
ed.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey.” She had no choice but to respond, but she couldn’t get out of bed. She only had a T-shirt and underwear on, and while that might be more than the bikini she’d worn yesterday, this felt completely different.

  “My alarm obviously didn’t go off,” she said, reaching for the phone on her nightstand. “What time is it?”

  “Five,” he said.

  Her heart swooped down to her stomach, and when she blinked, her vision went completely black.

  “I’ll wait out here,” he said, despite Pirate’s body right behind him. He backed up and then stepped forward to grab the doorknob so he could pull it closed, giving her some privacy.

  “What the heck?” she muttered to her screen. The alarm was set, but she hadn’t clicked Save, which meant it wasn’t actually on.

  She set the phone down, took a big breath, and pushed her hands through her hair. No time to shower. That was fine. She threw the covers off and stood up. Ten minutes later, she had her hair in a ponytail and her favorite lip gloss on her lips.

  Out in the living room, Shawn sat with Pirate in his lap, holding his phone above the dog’s head. “Pirate,” she said. “Down.”

  The dog obeyed instantly, and she added, “You don’t have to let him invade your space.”

  “I liked it.” He got up and scanned her, licking his lips as his eyes met hers. “You look great. I was going to say we don’t have to go tonight if you’re tired.”

  “I’ve been asleep for three hours,” she said, smiling, glad her cutoffs had done the job she wanted them to. The purple tank top she’d chosen usually did too, and it was nice to know Shawn wasn’t immune to her.

  Problem was, she wasn’t immune to him either. As she’d told herself last night and again all morning as she’d fished and baked—it wasn’t a problem. She was the one making her attraction to him an issue.

  She just needed to let go, get out of her own way. Enjoy the time with him. Ten days now.

  “And I’m starving,” she said, putting one hand against his chest. “You aren’t getting out of buying me dinner, Mister.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, capturing her hand in his and holding on. Alissa pulled in a breath but she didn’t pull away. “But we are going to be a little late.”

  “We should be okay,” she said. “Sorry about oversleeping.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said. “I don’t care what we do at all.” He sounded like he was telling the truth, and Alissa grinned at him.

  This time, when she got on the bike behind him, she didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around his midsection and lean into his back. He took off, maneuvering them up into the neighborhoods instead of going through town to get to the park.

  He pulled up to the valet, though surely they wouldn’t allow a motorcycle to take the space of a car. “Hey, Bo,” he said, and as Alissa took his hand to let him help her off the bike, she realized he was talking to his brother.

  “Shawn,” he said, nodding to a guy behind him. “And you must be the woman who’s kept him busy for me.”

  She stilled, sure Bo was digging at her. Shawn looked horrified, and he made a swiping motion with his hand as if to say, I swear I didn’t tell him anything.

  Alissa forced a laugh out of her throat as she removed her helmet and shook out her hair. “I suppose I am,” she said. “Good to see you, Bo.”

  “Alissa?” He looked back and forth between Shawn and Alissa. “Oh, this is going to be a great story.” He didn’t seem to notice the car that had pulled up behind them, nor the golf cart.

  “Are you still dating Anna?” she asked, though she knew he was. Just because there were thousands of tourists here didn’t mean the locals couldn’t keep up with gossip.

  “Yes, he is,” Shawn said, handing the keys to another valet. “Thanks Gene. See you later, Bo.” He grabbed Alissa’s hand and practically pulled her away from his brother. He didn’t keep hold of her hand, and Alissa couldn’t help laughing.

  “He looked like you’d grown an extra head.” She giggled again though he was headed straight for the garlic and cheese sausages.

  “Yes, well, I’m sleeping on his couch, if you’ll remember. He thinks he gets to know where I am all day and what I’m doing.”

  “He doesn’t?”

  Shawn reached the line and slowed to a stop. As soon as she stepped beside him, he took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “No,” he said. “No one gets to know.”

  “Not even me?”

  “You’re with me,” he said.

  “Not all day,” she said. “What did you do today?”

  “Nothing,” he said, looking away, the sure sign of a lie.

  She scoffed and pulled her hand away. “No hand-holding if you’re going to lie.”

  “Fine,” he said, reaching for her again. “I went to the bakery, hoping to see you when you brought out another tray of brownies or something, but you stayed stubbornly in the kitchen. Then I went to breakfast by myself, did some work for my firm, and then I sat outside your place until the clock ticked to five.”

  He sighed in such a way that told her how insufferable he found her. “Happy now?”

  “Yes, actually.” She squeezed his hand. “I’ll bring out the trays of brownies tomorrow.”

  “I would appreciate that.”

  “How long did you sit outside my house?”

  “I’m not answering that,” he said. “I need to keep some of my pride.” He inched forward when the line moved.

  Alissa couldn’t help laughing, cuddling into Shawn’s chest as she did. He received her willingly, keeping their fingers intertwined and putting his other arm around her waist. “And you know, that rule goes both ways.”

  “What rule?”

  He stepped back, disentangling all of his limbs from her, and she instantly mourned the loss of his touch. “Telling the truth or there’s no love.”

  She folded her arms and cocked her hip, but Shawn only chuckled. “What have I lied about?”

  “Fine, maybe you didn’t lie,” he said. “But, Liss, I don’t want to spend the next several days talking about who we were. I want to get to know who you are now.”

  “Fine,” she said.

  He moved forward again, and she came with him. “You start,” she said. “Favorite food now that you’re thirty-six-years-old.”

  “Hey, you’ll be thirty-six in two months.”

  “I’m aware,” she said coolly.

  “Six weeks, actually,” he said.

  “Favorite food,” she said again, but now all she could think about was having him on the island with her to celebrate her birthday.

  “Tacos,” he said. “Favorite fish.”

  “Halibut.” She stepped forward and ordered for both of them. “Favorite drink,” she said, turning back to him, enjoying this game a little too much. But he knew not to ask the typical favorites, the way she was. He knew she adored fish, and she wondered what he’d ask next.

  “Ginger ale.” Shawn took her hand in his, pulling her away from the ordering window so they could wait for their sausages. “How many times a week do you nap?”

  “Several,” she said. “How many hours a week do you work?”

  “Sixty or seventy,” he said, flinching slightly as the words as they came out of his mouth. She wondered why, but he asked, “What are we going to tell your sister?” and all her thoughts jumbled.

  “What?”

  He nodded over her shoulder, and Alissa spun around to find a very angry-looking version of Olympia walking toward them.

  “Let me go talk to her,” she hissed at the same time the guy in the sausage truck called her name.

  “I’ll get them,” Shawn said. “That looks like a hurricane, Liss.” He moved away from her, and Alissa faced her sister. She wanted to ask Shawn why he always used her nickname when no one else did. Ask him if he was really thinking of staying here in Carter’s Cove. Ask him if he’d stay if she asked him to.

/>   But right now, she had to deal with Olympia, who marched forward and grabbed Alissa’s arm as if she wasn’t already going to go with her. “Hey,” she said, wrenching her arm away. “What is your problem?”

  “You’re dating him?”

  “No,” Alissa said quickly. “You told me to keep him away from Heartwood, and that’s what I’m doing.”

  “I saw you holding his hand. Snuggling into him.”

  “So what?” Alissa challenged. She wasn’t a teenager, and Olympia wasn’t her mother. “He’s not going to buy Heartwood, and that’s what’s important.”

  “No, what’s important is that you don’t let him soften you up.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes,” Alissa said. “I’m not having this conversation here.”

  “Look—”

  “No, Olympia, you look.” Alissa usually got along with all of her sisters, but she felt so hot for some reason. “Just because your last boyfriend was married and lying to you doesn’t mean every man is like that.”

  Olympia sucked in a breath, her eyes going wide. Alissa’s anger faded, and she fell back a step. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just…Shawn’s only here for a few more days, and….”

  “And you like him,” her sister said.

  Alissa didn’t want to admit it out loud, especially to Olympia. “Can I come see you tomorrow after work?”

  Olympia looked away, her anger now raging into indecision.

  “O, I’m not an employee,” she said. “You don’t have to play the tough guy with me.” Alissa put her hand on her sister’s arm, and when she didn’t jerk away, Alissa drew her into a hug. “I’m sorry I said that about Hunter.” But that guy was a real jerk. He had been technically married when he started dating Olympia, and then once his wife had figured things out and left for Hawaii, he’d married a different girlfriend.

  Olympia had really been through the presses in the past few years, and Alissa usually made life as easy as possible for her sister. She did have a loud bark, but that had gotten worse after Hunter, and as her responsibilities at The Heartwood Inn increased.