Next Time We’ll Fall (Bachelors of Coconut Beach #2)

Chapter 1

JUNIPER

“Do you have any romance books where the heroine falls in love with a woman named Cassia, who is from Iowa City, and the hero is a firefighter?” Eagerness drips from the lady in front of me as she awaits my answer.

She’s decked out in an I Love Coconut Beach T-shirt and has a large pineapple-shaped cocktail glass in her hand, which tells me two things: she’s a tourist, and she has money.

I know both of these are facts because locals don’t wear Coconut Beach apparel and we don’t buy thirty-dollar specialty drinks from Cocktails & Chaos.

“That’s very specific.”

“I love firefighters and would love to read a book about a hot one rescuing a woman named Cassia.” The tourist stares at me in expectant anticipation, like she actually expects that I’ll magically produce a book that fits her wants.

I’m a people pleaser, but even I can’t make miracles occur.

“Let me guess … your name is Cassia?”

“How did you know?”

Her jaw drops like she’s truly shocked. Like she thinks I could be the female David Copperfield or the third member of Penn & Teller.

Which I wouldn’t mind, as long as I didn’t have to interact with any tigers or be sawed in half.

I’ve seen enough murder mysteries to know, sometimes, those stunts go wrong.

“Juniper there is psychic,” my best friend, Mia, teases as she looks up from the box of murder mysteries she’s unpacking to scan and then place on shelves.

How apropos, I think to myself, but I don’t say anything out loud. I don’t want Cassia wondering why I was thinking of murder mysteries. This random customer is not interested in my lateral thinking.

“You’re psychic?” she asks with incredulity and awe.

I stare at Cassia blankly. I really hope my face doesn’t convey how much of a dumbass I think she is.

She looks far too old to me to be this gullible.

But maybe I can sell her a thimble of sand for $1,000 and say it came from Narnia.

If I wasn’t inherently a good person, I would.

Especially since we really need the money.

“I’m not. Just a good guess,” I say, hoping she will close her mouth before a fly can buzz into it and then I burst into singing “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” I don’t think she’d appreciate that.

“I don’t know that we have any books that fit that description exactly, but here at Salty Pages, we have plenty of other romance books to choose from. ”

I hope she does choose one—or even ten. God knows we need the income.

“It’s our specialty,” Mia chimes in again and waves her arms around. Her plethora of bangles clink against each other, but it’s the diamond ring on her finger that catches my eye.

I’ve never seen a diamond that big before, but her fiancé, Luke, could afford it. Just like he could afford to save our business, but I have too much pride to accept his money. It’s not like he’s my soon-to-be fiancé.

“This is such a cute setup.”

Cassia looks around, and I observe our bookmobile through her eyes.

It is cute here—in our converted mint VW van filled with shelves of books and the stands that adorn the front with Coconut Beach postcards, stickers, and posters.

The Salty Pages Mobile Bookstore decal is starting to peel, due to the constant direct sun and salty breeze from the ocean that is only a hundred or so feet away from where we stand.

But I like to think it’s part of the charm.

This place is my life, almost quite literally now that I’m practically running the store alone. Mia is gallivanting across the country and world every other week with the love of her life. I’m not jealous or anything, but it does leave me in somewhat of a bind.

Do not panic, Juniper. No worried thoughts are allowed on sunny days.

I smile to myself at the thoughts. It’s almost always a sunny day on Coconut Beach—which is nice in theory, but in actuality, it can be quite annoying.

Summers are too hot and humid, fall just doesn’t really exist, and winter has an existential crisis, where it wants to be cold and cozy, but it just isn’t.

“Thanks.” I’m about to ask her opinion on if we should change the color of the van when Cassia starts turning red. “Are you ok—”

“Oh my days,” she whispers under her breath. “I’m in love.”

“Sorry, what?” I blink at her in confusion.

Maybe my first impression of her was correct. Maybe she’s crazy.

“Do not turn around, but the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life is approaching. Forget the romance book. I want him.”

“Ooh.” It takes everything in me to not immediately spin around and check out the handsome stranger. I bet it must be a surfer in town, riding the waves before he heads to some sort of surf competition. “He’s that cute, huh?”

“He’s cuter than cute.” She starts fanning her face. “Oh my, he’s looking right at me and staring. What if this is love at first sight?”

“Maybe,” I say, though I don’t really believe in love at first sight. Not since I was a teen anyway, but then I soon found out that true love was not a thing. I don’t even want to think about that right now.

“I might have died and gone to heaven,” her voice croaks. “He just smiled at me.”

Now, I’m not one who likes to be obvious, but even I can’t resist having a look at this surf god. I spin around quickly, and my heart immediately drops when I see who she’s talking about. I can’t help but roll my eyes and groan.

“That cannot be who you’re talking about,” I whisper to Cassia.

She doesn’t respond. Instead, she just stands there with a dreamy expression on her face.

“Isn’t he handsome?”

“Nope,” I say a little too loudly as Rafe walks over to our space.

Rafe is Mia’s older brother and the bane of my existence. He’s one of the most annoying men I’ve ever met in my life, and while on a scientific level, I can recognize that some foolish women may think he’s cute—I was foolish once—I don’t think of him now as anything more than an annoyance.

“Nope what?” Rafe says, sliding into the conversation with a bright, dazzling smile.

His cobalt-blue eyes are keen as he stares at me, and his dark, silky hair shines in the morning sun. He’s wearing a pair of board shorts and no shirt, and I can’t help but notice that he has muscles and abs for days. Not that I care. He can spend every hour of his life at the gym if he wants.

“I’m Cassia.”

Iowa City Lady steps forward and offers him her hand like she’s some sort of damsel in distress, and I want to groan. She looks ridiculous, and he looks confused.

“Hello, Cassia …”

He looks over at me, and there’s a half smirk on his face, like he knows we were just talking about him.

Like he knows he’s hot. Like he knows I simultaneously want to wipe that cocky smile off of his face and peel off his navy shorts at the same time.

Which makes me hate myself. Because why on earth am I still lusting over my best friend’s brother when I know we will never have anything?

“Juniper, looking merry this morning.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I can’t help but snap, but when I see his wide smile, I regret it because I know he was hoping to get a reaction from me. Jerk.

“Merry, lovely, and bright.” He winks and then turns around and waves at Mia. “Hey, sis. Nice to see you at work for once.”

The comment is smooth, but I can see Mia rolling her eyes.

Ever since she and Luke became serious, she’s not been working as much, and it seems to be bothering Rafe, even more than it bothers me.

But I think it’s because he’s still upset that Mia and Luke pretended to date in order to attend his brother’s wedding together and Rafe was in the dark about the entire pretense.

He says he’s happy for them now, but I can tell he’s still irritated by the lie.

Rafe Bishop considers himself an upstanding member of society and doesn’t like lies.

I suppose that is one of the reasons why everyone in town seems to love him.

That’s because, as the town vet, he often works for free.

He believes every animal deserves care whether or not their owners can pay.

I will admit that I secretly admire him for that, though I do often wonder how he can continue to pay his bills.

Because unlike Luke Haverbrook, Rafe’s family is not made up of billionaires—or even millionaires.

“And you’re looking dour.” I sniff as I gaze at him with the most disinterested look I can muster.

“Dour, eh? Am I an old maid in a historical English novel? Something by Dickens perhaps?”

The way his lips twist up at the side irritates me, but I can’t help but laugh slightly.

“What are you doing here, Rafe?”

“I came to see my sister.”

“Really?” Mia heads over to us with a stack of books and peers at him with curious brown eyes. “What have you come to lecture me about now?”

“Nothing.” He frowns at her and shakes his head, like he’s perplexed at her comment. “Just wanted to see how it was going before I went for a swim. Then I’m off to work,” he offers by way of explanation. “Your cousins arrive today as well, don’t they, Juniper?”

“Yes.” I nod and check my phone for the time. “I have to leave for the airport in about an hour. Sage and Rosie will not appreciate me being late.”

“Do you need a ride? I have a slow morning, so I can drive you if need be,” he offers—because Rafe, even though he irks me, is the perfect gentleman. Which, if I’m honest, is part of the problem.

One of these days, I just want him to be a rogue bad boy instead of always ensuring he is the picture of decorum and etiquette. I want him to look at me like a woman he wants to devour and not his little sister’s best friend who he needs to protect and keep sheltered. It’s annoying.

“If she doesn’t need the ride, I’ll take one.” Cassia giggles.

I look at her in surprise. I almost forgot she was there.

She’s not paying any attention to me now though.

Both of her eyes are on Rafe, and she’s staring at him like she’s a crow and he’s a decaying carcass she wants to feast upon.

I’m slightly uncomfortable at just how desperately she’s gazing at him. Talk about making it obvious.

“I don’t need a ride, thank you very much.”

“I do. I need a ride.” Cassia’s tone is now that of a seductress.

The way she said ride makes me think the journey she wants to go on is not in a car. I can tell by the way Rafe is standing there, all broad shoulders with smoldering eyes, he knows as well. Pig.

“Cassia, I think I have some books you might want to look at.” Mia steps forward with a wide smile and gestures Cassia to the stairs to go inside the van. “Some firefighter romances.”

“Oh, okay.” She looks disappointed, but I’m grateful to see her following behind Mia before giving Rafe a wistful glance back.

“Stop encouraging her,” I snap at him as he stands, smiling.

His eyes swivel to mine, and I can see he’s laughing at me. Which is ridiculous. He should be ashamed of himself for flirting with a tourist.

“Encouraging who with what?” He raises a perfectly arched dark brow, and his lips tremble with mirth, like he wants to burst out laughing. “I just came to say good morning before my swim and offer my services.”

“You came to spy on your sister.”

“I wanted to make sure she was okay.” He stares at me and gives me a knowing look. “You two aren’t known for your good decision-making when it comes to men.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying … you both choose the worst men. I don’t know if you’re desperate or blind, but—”

“You’re so rude, Rafe.” I put my hands on my hips and jut my chin up.

Sure, I’ve dated some losers, but who hasn’t?

“I just tell the truth as I see it.”

“Well then, maybe it’s time for you to get an eye test,” I huff out and take a deep breath. I don’t want him to know he’s succeeding in annoying the shit out of me. “Mia’s fine. Luke’s not a serial killer. They’ve been best friends for years, and now they’re in a relationship. Perfect love story.”

“We can agree to disagree on it being a perfect love story.” He shrugs, and from the look on his face, I can tell he’s debating on adding more.

“Also, I’m serious about the ride. I’m more than happy to take my truck to pick up your cousins.

If I remember them from last time, they had a gaggle of bags, and chaos surrounded them. ”

“That was ten years ago.” I smile at the memories of my two crazy younger cousins. “They’ve grown up, and I’m sure they aren’t bringing a mountain of suitcases. I’ll be fine.”

“As you’ve been all your life.”

He grins, and I’m not sure what he means by that comment, but I’m not going to ask. I will not let him take me down a rabbit hole of analyzing his every word to me. I’ve already been there once in my life, and I don’t plan on going back.

“Anything else you need, Rafe?” I tap my finger against my watch. “I need to do some work before I get to the airport, and I don’t have time to dilly-dally, talking to you all morning.”

“There are many things I need, Juniper, but I don’t know that you’d be able to give them to me.”

There he goes again, and I have no idea what he’s alluding to. Is that a sexual innuendo or just a random comment? I don’t know, and I don’t have time to care. I’m not playing these games with Rafe again. Not after the last time. Not after he broke my heart into pieces.

“Oh, Juniper.” Mia pops her head back out of the bookmobile.

“I got an email from Seb at the travel agency. He said it is possible to use five credit cards to make a deposit on that trip you want to take at Christmas, but he says he wouldn’t advise you to book a trip on the Orient Express, no matter how much you love Agatha Christie, because it’s out of your budget. ”

“Oh, thanks.” I daren’t look at Rafe and his expression. “Good to know.”

“He says to call him back though because the credit card you used for the first payment was declined. He wants to make sure he didn’t get the number incorrect.”

“Okey dokey, I’ll call him,” I mumble, my face growing a bright red.

“Going on a trip?” Rafe says finally, and there’s a surprised look on his face. “For how long?”

“A while.” I shrug, not wanting him to know how badly I want to fulfill my trip to Europe and visit my favorite literary spots. Even if I don’t have enough money.

“A while? I thought the store was struggling.”

“It is,” I mutter, face even redder.

“Then where are you finding the money for this trip? Don’t you think you’re being irresponsible?”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Rafe Bishop. Please just mind your business.” I glare at him as he shakes his head.

I know what he’s thinking, and he’s probably right, but I’m not going to let him take my dream away.