Chapter 22
I don’t care what anyone says. Helping your girlfriend is a kind gesture.
Miles
I stride into the Hideaway Haven Resort. I don’t know if this idea will work, but I have to try. I can’t lose Hazel. Not now, after she’s finally given me a second chance.
“May I help you?” The front desk worker – Roger, according to his badge – asks.
“I’m here to see Hudson.”
He frowns. “Hudson?”
“Mr. Clark,” I clarify, although I’m not certain why I’m clarifying.
Surely, he knows Hudson owns this resort.
Everyone on the island knows who Hudson is, considering he grew up here and became a famous NFL player.
When he got injured and couldn’t play ball anymore, he returned to the island to start this resort.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No. Tell him Miles is here.”
“Miles?”
Roger is obviously not from the island. No Smuggler can sound as condescending as he does.
“Miles Raider, Eli Raider’s little brother.”
He sniffs. “You’re Eli Raider’s brother?”
Of course, he knows Eli’s name. Eli is a billionaire. Everyone on the island knows who he is.
“My mom claims we’re brothers,” I joke, since Roger could use more laughter in his life.
“Yes, well, Mr. Clark is not simply available for someone’s brother.”
“Can you ring him and let him know I’m here?”
A smuggler never refuses to see another smuggler. Unless they’re feuding. And, luckily, no one has been feuding on the island for a couple of decades.
“I will not. This is ridiculous. I have other customers to help.”
I glance behind me but the reception area is empty. Other customers?
Before I can tell him he’s more delusional than a pirate being sung to by a siren, the door behind him opens and Hudson walks out.
I smile. “Hudson.”
“Miles Raider.” He grins as he comes around the desk to shake my hand. “Haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Probably because you hide out in your resort with your wife and child and have abandoned the rest of the island.”
“Nova and Iliana are my life.”
The happiness beaming from him is infectious. I want what he has. The girl I fell in love with in high school. Children to bind us together. And I’m not stopping until I have it all.
“Why did you stop by today? To discuss how the products from Buccaneer’s Whiskey & Distillery are doing?” He ushers me toward the bar area. “Do you have any new products? The Christmas moonshine Jaxon developed was incredibly popular. I bet a summer moonshine would do well, too.”
“I’ll let Jaxon know.”
Unlike me, who failed to make a new flavor in a bid to impress Hazel, Jaxon, as the master distiller, develops popular new flavors all the time.
“Here.” Hudson scoots behind the bar. “Let me make a print-out of our most popular drinks and how much we use Buccaneer’s.”
I start to stop him but pause. This is my job as sales manager for the distillery. I should probably visit big clients more often. Get out of the office and away from my hated desk. The way Hazel suggested.
We find a table in the rear of the bar. Hudson and I review the popular summer drinks and how they could use a Buccaneer’s product in most of them. By the time we finish, the purchase order from the resort has nearly doubled.
“This has been a productive meeting,” Hudson says as he stands.
“Um, there is one more thing I need to discuss.”
His brow wrinkles. “Please don’t tell me Buccaneer’s is developing some crazy adventure sport circuit. Zane has been pushing me on the topic for years.”
“You have no need to worry. Zane’s calmed down since he became a dad.”
Hudson shakes his head as he sits back down. “I can’t believe a woman left a baby on his doorstep.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You can’t?”
He barks out a laugh. “Okay, it’s Zane. I can.”
“Anyway.” I clear my throat. “I wanted to ask you about your physical therapist.”
He scowls. “What physical therapist? I couldn’t find anyone willing to relocate to the island. I promised the coach I’d have a therapist when training camp starts.”
“Coach? Training camp?”
“Crap.” He rubs a hand down his face. “I’m trying to keep the arrival of the team’s stay here a secret but judging by the smile on your face, you already know.”
I shrug. “There have been rumors.”
“This town.”
“Don’t worry. No smuggler will speak to a tourist about it, and they’ll drive all the journalists off the cliff.”
He laughs. “Maybe we shouldn’t discuss murdering journalists. It’s frowned upon.”
“Okay. Let’s discuss the physical therapist.”
“The person who doesn’t exist.”
“But she does.”
His brow wrinkles. “She does?”
“Hazel Harris.”
I hold my breath as Hudson considers. “Hazel wants the job? What about the whole ‘I work for myself. No one else’?”
I never heard Hazel say those words, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. She is the most stubborn woman I know.
“She’s considering a job at a VA hospital.”
“VA hospital? There isn’t one close. She’d have to…” Hudson frowns at me. “You don’t want her to move.”
“It’s stupid of her to move when the perfect job is right here. Assuming you would hire her.”
He scoffs. “Of course, I’d hire Hazel. She did an awesome job getting Caleb back into shape. But she hasn’t applied for the position.”
“Could you offer her the job anyway?”
He leans forward on his elbows and meets my gaze. “What’s happening here?”
“I don’t want Hazel to move away. She’s finally given me a second chance and I don’t want to lose her.”
“She’s given you a second chance?”
I blow out a breath. “Don’t act as if you don’t know. You’re not the hermit you once were. Nova is a proud member of the gossip brigade.”
“Fine. I’ll skip over the teasing and get to the heart of the matter. You want me to give your girlfriend a job?”
My nose wrinkles. “Why do you sound disgusted by the idea?”
“Because it’s stupid.”
“Stupid? This is a grand gesture to show her how much I love her. How much I’ll miss her if she leaves the island.”
“You forgot how much you want to control her.”
“I don’t want to control Hazel.”
He snorts. “No? You aren’t controlling where she’ll live and where she’ll work?”
I blow out a breath. This conversation is not going the way I expected it to.
“I don’t understand what the problem is. You need a physical therapist. You would love to hire Hazel. What’s the problem?”
“No problem for me. I’ll speak to Hazel and offer her the job. You may want to hide for a few days, though.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“And you don’t understand relationships.”
“Hudson!” Roger bustles toward us. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” He smiles at me as if he is actually apologetic. “But there’s an emergency with one of the rooms.”
Hudson stands with a sigh. “I bet I know what kind of emergency. You’d be amazed how many women lock themselves out of their rooms while they’re naked.”
“I won’t tell Nova.”
“She probably already knows. I think she has my resort bugged.”
I chuckle as he walks away. I stand to go back to work but then I remember – the purchase order. Can’t forget it. Talk about a successful meeting. Hudson agreed to buy more whiskey and moonshine from Buccaneer’s, and he’s going to offer Hazel a job.
My Blaze won’t have to leave the island – giving me time to win her over and prove she was right to give me a second chance. I can’t wait for our life together to begin.