Keeping Kelsey (Harbor Point Daddies #3)

Chapter 1 Kelsey

The hand-painted gold lettering on the front window of Seven Stones caught the moonlight in a way that usually made Kelsey’s heart swell with pride. Tonight the sight only reminded her how much she had to lose.

She sat hunched over the antique oak desk in the cramped back office, the only light coming from the harsh glow of her laptop and a single flickering lamp that cast long, jagged shadows across the walls.

Papers were scattered across the desk—dozens of them—and they told a very different story than the one the public saw out in the dining room.

Final notices printed on aggressive pink paper.Utility bills with past-due amounts circled in red ink.A spreadsheet that refused to balance no matter how many times she refreshed the data.

Since her brother Leo had died, the silence in the office had become her greatest enemy. Leo had been the one who navigated the labyrinth of interest rates and vendor contracts while Kelsey had been the heart of the kitchen and the face of the brand.

Leo’s death had been a shock to the community.

For Kelsey, it had been the end of a nightmare.

He had died from a head injury during his final and most violent outburst, after attacking Savannah in the alley behind the restaurant. It was the culmination of years of secret, systemic abuse he had inflicted on her best friend.

The town saw a tragic accident. Kelsey saw a monster finally being stopped.

Good riddance.

The words stayed locked behind her teeth.

But every time she looked at the mounting debt he had left behind—and the evidence of the money he had stolen to feed his darker impulses—the sting of his betrayal burned all over again.

Kelsey Kincaid was a strong woman. She owned one of the most respected restaurants in the area.

But standing in the wreckage of Leo’s greed and violence, she felt smaller than she ever had in her life.

She rubbed the tension out of her neck and felt the familiar ache bloom in the center of her chest, along with the quiet longing for someone to walk through the door and tell her she didn’t have to carry it all anymore.

She wanted to be taken care of.She wanted to let go of the reins.

She wanted a Daddy who would glance at her spreadsheets, tell her to go take a nap, and handle the mess himself.

But that was a fantasy.

The reality sat in front of her in the form of a stack of linen invoices that were already three weeks overdue. Her breath hitched as the numbers came into focus again.

Two thousand dollars.

That was all that stood between her and a total financial collapse; without the high-end wine service, Seven Stones would be dead within a month.

She forced herself to stare at the numbers until they blurred together, wondering—not for the first time—if she was the only person in the world who felt like she was acting in a play with no script.

A sharp, cheerful knock on the heavy wooden door startled her so badly she nearly knocked her lukewarm coffee onto the keyboard.

Instinct took over.

With practiced speed she swept the pink notices into the top drawer and slammed it shut, minimizing the accounting software and pulling up a random menu draft just as the door opened.

Savannah stepped inside.

She looked radiant, her skin glowing and her eyes holding a spark of quiet contentment Kelsey recognized immediately.

It was the look of a woman who had found her center—a woman being loved exactly the way she needed to be by a man like Barrett, the man who had stepped in to protect her when Leo wouldn’t.

“Still hiding in the dark, I see,” Savannah said with a soft chuckle, leaning against the doorframe with a tray of polished silverware.

“The dinner rush is finally tapering off, and the staff is wondering if the boss lady is ever coming out to say hello… or if she’s moved into this office permanently. ”

Kelsey pasted on her best smile and stood, stretching her arms over her head to work the stiffness from her spine.

“I was just tweaking the specials for next weekend,” she said lightly. “You know how I get once I start thinking about seasonal pairings.”

The lie came easily. Too easily.

“How are things looking on the floor?”

Savannah stepped into the room and set the tray on a side table, her expression softening as she studied Kelsey more closely.

“The floor is great,” she said. “And the profit margins on the sauvignon blanc are doing wonders for our nightly take.”

She paused before adding gently, “But you look tired, Kels. I mean really tired.”

Savannah stepped closer, her gaze drifting toward the desk.

Kelsey held her breath when it lingered on the closed drawer.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Savannah said quietly. “Ever since I moved in with Barrett, I feel like I’ve been so wrapped up in my own world that I haven’t been checking in on you enough.”

“I’m fine, Savvi. Honestly.”

Kelsey stepped around the desk and gave her friend’s arm a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s just been a long week. New kitchen staff, trying to fill the hole Leo left behind in the office. I just need a good night’s sleep… and a glass of wine.”

Savannah studied her for another moment, and for a terrifying second Kelsey thought she might push. If she did, Kelsey wasn’t sure if she would break or scream.

Instead Savannah simply nodded.

“Well, the wine is waiting for you at the bar,” she said with a small smile. “And I already told the staff you’re off the clock in thirty minutes.”

Her eyes narrowed playfully.

“So don’t you dare start a new project.”

“I promise.”

Kelsey waited until Savannah disappeared down the hallway before finally releasing the breath she had been holding. She switched off the lamp and let the office fall back into shadow before following her friend into the dining room.

The shift from the suffocating quiet of the office to the warm energy of the restaurant was almost jarring.

Seven Stones was beautiful—exposed brick walls, soft amber lighting, the gentle music of clinking glasses and quiet conversation filling the space.

To the patrons it was a place of luxury and comfort.

To Kelsey it felt like a beautiful mask hiding a rotting interior.

She slid onto a stool at the bar and watched Savannah move easily through the dining room, checking tables and laughing with regulars.

A sharp wave of envy washed over her, followed quickly by guilt.

She was happy for Savannah. She truly was.

But watching her friend thrive under the protection and guidance of a Daddy only made Kelsey’s own isolation feel heavier.

She glanced down at her hands and realized they were trembling, her fingers tightening around the edge of the bar.

She was the one who had to make the hard calls, the one who managed the staff, the one who would have to look the landlord in the eye and promise the rent was coming.

She was so tired of being the strong one.

So tired of being the adult.

When the front door opened and a cool breeze drifted through the entryway, Kelsey glanced up automatically, expecting another late-night diner.

Instead her gaze caught on the silhouette of a man standing in the doorway.

Harrison.

Everyone in their circle knew Harrison—owner of Oasis, a man who didn’t simply walk into a room but dominated it with quiet authority.

Stern. Focused. Controlled.

They had met in passing at business functions and exchanged polite pleasantries, but nothing more.

Tonight he didn’t look like a man attending a meeting.

He looked like a man observing the world.

His gaze moved slowly across the dining room before settling on her.

Warmth crept up Kelsey’s neck as their eyes met across the room.

Neither of them looked away.

For one strange moment she felt like he could see straight through her—through the fake smile, through the expensive blouse, straight into the drawer full of past-due notices.

It should have been terrifying.

Instead it was the first time in months she felt like someone was actually seeing her.

She broke the eye contact first and turned back to the glass of wine the bartender had set in front of her, her heart pounding as she told herself it was simply the stress of the finances finally catching up to her.

But deep down, in the quiet place she kept hidden from everyone else, she knew it was something else.

The instinctive recognition of a girl who was drowning—and the sudden, dangerous hope that a man like Harrison might be strong enough to pull her back to the surface.

She lifted her glass and took a slow sip before reminding herself firmly that she was Kelsey Kincaid, owner of Seven Stones, and she didn’t need anyone to save her—even though, deep down, a traitorous part of her wished someone would.