by Natalie Ann
They weren’t so stubborn to not accept the help from those two men that knew much more than the two of them and their knowledge and know how helped get the hotel built and thriving so fast.
“No. We won’t fail. No one will let us either if we even thought it might happen,” Penelope said, moving closer and rubbing her hand that was lying on the desk. “We won’t let it. We work too hard and we won’t give up. It’s been our dream for too long. That was the problem with Simon. He didn’t share in our dream. In our vision.”
She was right. Simon didn’t. He wanted things that were tacky. He wanted to compete with the casino that was less than a mile away. Then he wanted to compete with The Retreat at the other end of the island and try to do destination weddings.
He was all over the place with ideas like chipmunks chasing nuts as they fell from a tree trying to get them all even if they were rotten.
Competition was good, even in the Bond family, but it had to be done right. And what they did right was to cater toward different clientele than some of the other hotels on the island. Especially those at the north end.
“No. I was sick of the fighting over something he had no say in. I didn’t need that stress.”
“And you don’t have it now so don’t let it get to you. And I’m sorry I came rushing in here and brought up bad memories by telling you the douche was in the building.”
“No, I’m glad you told me. You’ve always had my back and I know that. It would have been worse if I crossed paths with him and he caught me off guard.”
“Are you going to seek him out?” Penelope asked. “Or avoid him?”
“It depends on my mood for the next few days. But right now, I’m going to get back to work.”
But two days later, right on Valentine’s Day, she was leaving the building to make her way home and start dinner for her and Crew. She’d decided to be the bigger person and pretend Simon wasn’t on her grounds screwing some other woman and hoping it’d piss her off.
It really didn’t. What did was when she was talking to the front end staff to say she was leaving, Simon got off the elevator with his new flame.
What Penelope didn’t say was that the woman could have been her doppelganger. Damn it. What a dickhead.
“Emily,” Simon said with a big grin on his face. “It’s so good to see you. The hotel looks...nice.”
“Simon,” she said back, moving forward with a smile on her face. He wanted to play that way, then so be it. “I’m surprised you’d want to come stay here when there are so many options on the island.”
“That’s not a good way to garner up some business,” Simon said. “Missy, this is Emily, an old friend.”
“Oh, Simon,” she said. “That’s a nice polite way of saying I’m your ex-fiancée.”
“You were engaged?” Missy said, turning to look at Simon. “You never said that before.”
Simon looked at her and scowled. “Since when have you gotten to be so bold and wordy?”
“I’ve always been this way,” she said. “You just didn’t want to admit it. Have a lovely Valentine’s Day and enjoy your stay at Atlantic Rise.”
She walked away with a smile on her face and the minute she was out of sight it dropped and she moved to her car, got in it and took a few deep breaths.
That probably was tacky and poor business practice, but damn, it felt good. If only she could stop shaking right now.
19
Thinking About Us
Crew knocked on Emily’s door and then opened it. He felt weird just walking in without announcing himself even though she’d told him enough times he could.
“It smells good in here,” he said, then walked in the kitchen and stopped at the sight before him. “Holy shit.”
“Do you like?” she asked, turning in a circle.
She was in a tight red dress that could only be described as having been painted on. Her feet were bare and her hair was down and all tousled.
She was a walking pinup and one off of a dream come true for a man that figured he’d never find a woman he wanted as much as he did Emily.
And every time he saw her, the need was just greater.
“Shit yeah,” he said. “These are for you.”
He pushed the roses in front of her. “They match my dress,” she said. “Maybe we can put some petals on the bed later. Nah, that’s cheesy. Sorry. I had sexy on the mind tonight. That would be romantic.”
“No reason you can’t have both,” he said.
“You’re right. But anyway, you delivered this dress to the house two days ago. I was getting worried it might not make it in time.”
“If I’d known what was in the box when I rang your bell I would have come in the door with you and had you try it on.”
“Then I’m glad you didn’t know and got to witness the surprise of it. It’s not my normal type of clothing.”
“I’d say not,” he said. It looked more like clubwear on a Friday night in downtown Boston, but he wasn’t complaining. She’d bought it and put it on for him and any man would love that.
And it made him wonder what was going through her mind. Where he stood with her when they didn’t talk much about what they had.
“But you like it?” she asked.
She was looking awfully unsure of herself for some reason, which was unlike her too. “My reaction wasn’t strong enough? Maybe you need to grab my crotch to see the physical one I’m having?”
She laughed. “Okay. That helps.”
“It smells good in here,” he said again, trying to roll his tongue in his mouth and gather his wits. “What did you make?”
“I’m grilling steaks. Well, grilling them indoors. I don’t get to use the grill section on my stovetop often. I’ve got homemade potato wedges with spices on them in the air fryer too. That’s probably what you’re smelling. No veggie. I know you don’t care for them much. It’s a meat and potato night with dessert.”
“You went all out for me and here I just got you these lame roses.”
“Roses are never lame,” she said. She’d set them on the counter, but she turned to get a vase out of a cabinet and then filled it with water and started to arrange them just right.
“Cliché,” he said. He’d never been a big fan of what he considered this Hallmark holiday. And since he wasn’t sure what the two of them really had either, he didn’t want to go overboard. Nor did he want to raise any eyebrows if he did spend a lot of money.
If he’d given her jewelry, as he’d like to, she might question the cost or the creepy factor that he might be rushing what they had. Especially since she’d been very clear from the beginning she wasn’t looking for anything serious.
“As I said, roses are never lame. Especially since you mixed it up. I love the colors.”
He could have gone all red. They had plenty ready when he’d walked in, but he’d called a few days ago and placed an order for a dozen and a half and asked for six each of red, pink, and white. Just something to change it up.
“I’m glad. Anything I can help you with?”
“Nope. You can sit down and let me do all the work. Can I get you a beer?”
“I’ll get it.” He felt bad it seemed like she was always cooking for him. He’d offered to take her out tonight, but she’d said she wasn’t sure when she’d get out of work and knew reservations would have to be made early on this night.
He’d never been a fan of going out to eat on Valentine’s Day either, but he’d make the exception for her. Part of him was kind of glad she didn’t want to do it but the other was wondering if he needed to change up more than just the color of roses he gave her.
Once he had his beer in front of him, he watched her while she moved around the kitchen. Something was off and he wasn’t sure what it was and wasn’t one to keep his mouth closed.
“What’s wrong?”
“What?” she asked, turning. There was a forced smile on her face. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’d
like to think I know you well enough to know when you’ve had a bad day or something isn’t right. If it’s just work, say it. If it’s me or something else, I want you to say that too.”
“It’s not you,” she said.
“Then work?”
“Yes and no. And it’s not worth talking about.”
“If it’s bothering you it’s completely worth talking about,” he argued.
She turned and he caught the tears in her eyes. Oh shit. What did he say wrong? “Now what did I do?” he asked. This was getting harder than he thought it’d be. It was bad enough he felt he was all thumbs trying to pick up toothpicks around her always worrying what to say and not to give anything away of his past. But then knowing how much he was falling for her and the fear she didn’t feel the same way was almost worse.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, wiping at the tear that was escaping. “It’s more like you seem to do everything right.”
He ran his hand through his hair. This wasn’t making any sense to him. “Excuse me for my confusion, but if I’m doing something right, why are you crying?”
“It’s a long story and in poor taste to talk about.”
“I repeat. If it’s bothering you, then talk about it. That’s what people do that are in a relationship. You even admitted we were in one when you didn’t want to.”
Her shoulders dropped. “Yep. I did. You’ve let me have my way yet you are wearing me down. And I guess today made me realize that even more.”
“Sit and talk,” he said.
“Let me finish dinner and gather my thoughts.”
He wanted to grind his teeth but let her have her way just as she admitted he’d been doing. “As long as you tell me.”
“I will.”
And ten minutes later with the food at the table, he said, “So talk.”
“I ran into my ex today.”
“The ex-fiancé?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Does he live on this island?” If the guy did, he wondered why he was just hearing this now.
“No. Last I knew he was in Boston. But this week he decided to stay at the hotel with his new girlfriend. One, by the way, that could almost be my twin.”
“That’s kind of creepy.”
“I thought so too. Penelope noticed him checking in days ago and told me, but we hadn’t run into each other.”
He wondered why she never said a word before now. Maybe she was hoping she wouldn’t see the guy? “But you ran into him today?”
“I did. He came up and introduced me as his friend. It pissed me off. He even insulted the hotel that he’d wanted a piece of more than he wanted me. He called it nice.”
Crew started to laugh. “Just nice, huh?”
“Exactly. I’ve worked too damn hard at that hotel to have someone just call it ‘nice’.”
“So, what did you say to him?”
“I decided to beat him at his own game. He thought he could ruffle me and I ended up causing a fight between him and Missy.”
“Missy being his new girlfriend?”
“That’s what he said her name was. I called him out and said I was surprised he’d want to stay at his ex-fiancée’s hotel when there were so many other options on the island.”
“Let me guess. Missy didn’t know he’d been engaged?”
“Nope. Then he got ticked at me and said I never used to be that bold. I smiled and walked away, but I was shaking when I was in the car and I was pissed that he affected me that way. Then I was more pissed I stooped to his level or even let him get to me at all.”
“If you were engaged, you obviously were in love with him,” he said even though it hurt to voice those words or think of her with someone else. Someone that was probably from her class.
“I don’t know what I was. Penelope pointed out days ago that instead of being mad that Simon was in the hotel I kept bringing your name up. She only met you that once but she likes you. She said you loosened me up and it caused me to swear.”
“Glad to know I’ve got your sister’s approval.” One person on his side.
“You’ve got it. Anyway, it just made me think about that relationship and how it made me feel and everything that went wrong. And then I got thinking about us.”
“What about us?” he asked, holding his breath.
“Eat,” she said. “Dinner will get cold.”
“Don’t think you can say that and then not finish your thought.”
“I’m putting my words together.”
She did that often and it drove him insane. “Put them together faster.”
“Fine. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever dated before.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” he said, cutting her off and feeling like the knife in his hand was just stabbed into his chest.
“Let me finish. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever dated before and here I am more worried I’m always going to insult you or say the wrong thing. Tick you off or ruin what we have that I keep trying to tell myself I’m not even sure what it is.”
That shut him up and put him in his place. “So you like what we’ve got?”
“Of course I do. I didn’t realize you’d be so prickly about things and I’m always afraid of ticking you off or having you get sick of me and that I put the hotel first. But I’ve got to concentrate on that too. There are a lot of people counting on me.”
He reached his hand over and placed it on hers. “I don’t have a problem with your time and commitment to the hotel. It’s one of the things I like about you. You are one of the least selfish people I know. I am prickly and I probably won’t change. You will tick me off and I need to get over that, just like I’m going to tick you off. But hey, there is always makeup sex.”
“There is that,” she said. “I just don’t know where I want things to go.”
Again, the knife in his chest just twisted. “Then let’s not focus on it now. It’s early yet. Just a few months. What we’ve got is good and we can leave it at that.”
“You’re not mad?” she asked. “Sometimes I feel like you are steps ahead of me and I don’t know if I’ll catch up. It’s hard when you’ve been burned. I have huge trust factors.”
“I’m not mad,” he said. “I can’t be.” Because her trust factors were piling the guilt on pretty steep and he just realized he might be completely in over his head now.
20
The Big Talk
“So birth control options.”
Dr. Ava Mills looked up at Emily once she was sitting on the table and covered up by the sheet. You’d think she’d be uncomfortable having a family member do her annual gynecological exam but it’s not like they were first cousins. At this point, she wasn’t sure how close they might be, but they carried the same amount of Bond blood along their lines.
“I don’t see where you’ve been on anything other than birth control pills in your file. That was a few years ago?”
She’d been seeing someone else when she lived in Boston, but now that she was on the island it was just easier to go to the clinic here. Since she didn’t need to come in often, she was able to get in to see Ava on her one-day-a-week rotation.
“Nothing in a few years. I’m not really keen on the pill again. I wasn’t a fan of the way it made me feel.”
“There are plenty you can try if you want,” Ava said.
“There are other things I think I’d rather explore.”
“So things are going well with the guy from the fundraiser? Enough that you are looking for birth control options?” Ava asked wiggling her eyebrows.
“It’s been a few months now. You’ve seen us out to dinner and even came over to get the introduction. I want to know how you got out of that fundraiser?”
Ava grinned. “I was on call that week.”
“That’s your story and you are sticking to it?”
“Exactly. So tell me about your new beau.”
“Don’t you have other patients?” she asked.
“You’re
my last of the day. I’ve got plenty of time to catch the ferry so don’t use that as an excuse either.”
“It’s only three,” she said. “How can I be your last patient of the day?”
“I didn’t know I had to report my schedule to you. But I had two cancellations and because I’m off the island, they called and rearranged it so that I could get out after you.”
“It doesn’t bother you coming back and forth this way to work?”
Emily knew it was a pain for her when she did it during the construction.
Sure, the ferry ride from Boston to the north port was less than forty minutes and she was only fifteen minutes from the port in Boston. Just a few from the port on the island. Still, it was an hour commute that wore thin on her though plenty did it daily.
“It’s only once a week.” Ava looked around as if she was afraid someone might walk in the closed door and hear them. “Until June that is.”
“What?” she asked. “What is going on?”
“I’m transferring here full time.”
“That’s great! I thought you didn’t want to be on the island.”
“It wasn’t that. I just went where the job was. I like it off the island and coming here once a week, but everyone is here now. My brothers are in the hospital, my parents live here now with my father somewhat retired but the surgeon on call. I guess I’m finding the island is pulling me more than I thought. One of the doctors here full time wants to leave. She’s got kids starting middle and high school and they play sports and, well, you know how it goes.”
“I do. There is only so much you can do on the island. There are sports but activities are limited and the traveling back and forth. It’s not a life for everyone.”
“You didn’t live here growing up,” Ava said. “Neither did we. But I find that things are different on the island now than they were when we were kids. There is more to do and more to offer.”
“Or maybe we are older,” Emily said.
“No clue. But I’m sure you know it’s hard to get medical professionals here to stay for long. Many come here young to just get a job and experience, then leave when there is an opening at another satellite office in Boston or Plymouth. Or they come here when they are ready to retire.”