Chapter 29
Exercise bands should be classified as weapons.
Hazel
“Come on,” I push. “You can do one more rep.”
“You’re cruel. This is cruel and unusual punishment,” Addy whines.
“Punishment is not being able to use your arm correctly for the rest of your life. Do your exercises, or you won’t be able to hold the microphone while you’re singing for more than one song. You’ll be one of those singers who uses a headset. Lame.”
Addy currently works as a waitress at Five Fathoms Brewing, but her true love is singing. She plays piano and writes her own songs. She’s amazing. But if she wants to earn her living through music, she’ll need to take a risk and leave this island.
“I changed my mind. You’re not cruel. You’re mean.”
“And right.”
“Whatever.” She huffs before pulling on the resistance band until it’s taut.
“Good. Now slowly release.”
The band snaps out of her hands and flies forward. I duck before it hits me in the face. It lands on the mirror with a splat before falling to the ground.
“Oops. Sorry.” Judging by the twinkle in her eyes, she’s not sorry at all. Maybe sorry she missed my face.
“At least I’m only mean with words. I don’t actually try to hit people.”
“No?” She waggles her eyebrows. “You don’t ever hit Miles when he annoys you?”
I sigh. Patient after patient this morning has tried to gather information about my relationship with Miles. The wager on the bet must be sky-high. No one’s ever been this curious about my love life before.
I check my watch. “We have a few more minutes. Let’s work on some core exercises.”
She groans. “Not the exercise ball again.”
I roll the ball her way. “Your throne, milady.”
“Stupid exercise ball,” she mutters before flouncing down on it.
Expert tip: Never flounce down on an exercise ball. The ball bounces and Addy jumps to her feet. The ball rolls toward her and she kicks out, causing the ball to fly forward straight into my stomach.
“Oof!” I bend over to wrap my arms around my stomach.
“Oopsie!”
“You could at least pretend to be sorry.”
“Even when I’m not?”
I glare at her. “I’m booing you off the stage the next time you sing karaoke.”
“You can try. Your boos won’t be heard over the cheers.”
I fist my hands at my hips. “Did you forget about my megaphone?”
She groans. “How could I forget? You used it to wake up my entire neighborhood back in high school.”
“I was only trying to wake up Sandra. How dare she say she kissed Miles!”
I knew Sandra was lying, but she needed to learn her lesson. Liars do not get to sleep through the night on the night before senior pictures are taken. Guess whose picture is not in the yearbook.
Addy rubs her hands together. “And we’re back to Miles.”
“I’ll talk about Miles.” She smiles. “If you do ten more reps with the resistance band.”
“Nope.” She shakes her head. “No pot of gold is worth another ten reps.”
“Wimp.”
“Torturer.”
The bell over the front door rings as my next patient enters the practice. Addy doesn’t hesitate. She grabs her purse and rushes to the exit. “See you next week!”
I follow her to the front door. “You must be my mystery patient,” I greet Hudson.
He smiles. “Sorry. I asked my secretary to be discreet.”
I frown. “Discreet? Are you having issues from your football injury and keeping it from Nova?”
“Have you ever tried to keep a secret from Nova?” He chuckles. “Impossible.”
True. Nova is one of the biggest troublemakers on the island. Which is saying a lot considering the island is full of troublemakers. How the Raider brothers haven’t blown up the island by now is beyond me.
“Why the discreet appointment, then?”
“I wanted to discuss the job offer.”
“I—”
He holds up a hand to cut me off. “Before you say anything, please know I am serious about offering you this job. This has nothing to do with Miles.”
Good. Because, as we’ve established, Miles does not and will not control me.
“I’m listening.”
“What I’m about to tell you is a secret. I trust you to not tell anyone.”
“My curiosity is officially piqued.”
“My old NFL team is staying at the resort for training camp this summer. Training camp is happening at a nearby college on the mainland but no other accommodations could guarantee the players' privacy. I can.”
The Hideaway Haven Resort was designed to give celebrities privacy. Probably because Hudson was living as a hermit when the resort was built. The security is tight. Not even the worst troublemakers attempt to pull pranks there.
“You think this information is secret?”
He drops his chin to his chest and swears under his breath. “Does everyone know?”
My nose wrinkles. “Pretty much.”
“If the press catches wind of the team staying, the resort will lose credibility. We have a reputation for providing privacy for our guests.”
I scowl. “You can’t seriously believe anyone on the island would contact the press?”
He sighs. “I don’t worry about smugglers. I worry about the tourists.”
I flick my hand in dismissal. “Smugglers don’t discuss Hideaway business when tourists are present.”
He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Why do I have the feeling this training camp is going to be the death of me?”
“Don’t exaggerate. It’ll be fun. Can you imagine a bunch of extra-large football players doing mermaid karaoke?”
He groans. “They’ll be riots.”
I waggle my eyebrows. “But it’ll be fun.”
He shakes his head. “No wonder you and Miles are the perfect couple. You’re both perfectly insane.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“Moving on. As part of the agreement with the team, I promised to have a physical therapist on site at the resort.”
I lift an eyebrow. “And who, pray mermaids tell, is your physical therapist?”
“I’m hoping you.”
I purse my lips. “I have other offers.”
“I heard.” He pulls an envelope out of his pocket. “Which is why I increased my initial offer.”
“What initial offer?” I mutter as I remove the letter. As I scan it, my eyes widen further and further. He can’t be serious. “This is ridiculous.”
The offer from the VA hospital can’t compare to this. The income is better, the number of vacation days is higher. There’s even a generous retirement plan.
“My goal is to have the NFL team return every summer for training camp. I need a physical therapist who can be on hand every summer to support the players.”
“There’s no reason to hire me full-time. We can do a temporary contract for five weeks in the summer. Or you can find another therapist to temporarily work for you.”
“I don’t want someone to come and go. I want someone who’s on hand all year long. If a guest is injured learning how to surf or jumping off a boat, I want a therapist on hand to help them until they can get home.”
I wave the letter at him. “And you’re willing to pay.”
He snorts. “You have no idea how much the NFL pays. If you were a therapist for a team, you’d earn double my offer.”
“Hmm… maybe you can hook me up with the manager of your old team.”
“And have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of my life while I wait for Miles to exact his revenge? No thanks. I have a family.”
“Miles doesn’t control me.”
“He’ll still lose his mind when he realizes you’re in the locker room with forty-eight naked players.”
“Naked? Do they run around the locker room naked? Do they have towel fights?”
Hudson chuckles. “Everyone on this island is crazy.”
“Hey! You grew up here, too.”
He nods to the letter. “What do you say? The terms are negotiable.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You’d pay me more than this?”
“If necessary.”
“I don’t know if you’re insane or have too much money you don’t know what to do with.”
“No one has too much money when you have children to put through college.”
“Children?” Hudson and Nova only have one child – Iliana.
“Nova wants more. But she’s not pregnant. If I hear a rumor she’s pregnant, I’m rescinding this offer.”
I hold up my hands. “I do not spread rumors.”
“Liar.”
“Correction. I don’t start rumors.”
He chuckles. “All smugglers are troublemakers.”
“But you want to hire me anyway.”
“I do. Take some time to review the offer. I’ll be waiting for your response.”
I wait until he’s gone before I sink into a chair. Holy mermaids in smuggler’s water! This offer makes it possible for me to stay on the island. Doing what I love.
The only compromise is I’d have an employer. I’d no longer have control over my time schedule. I’d be on call seven days a week.
Not a big compromise to stay on the island where the man I love lives.
Nope. I’m not doing this. I’m not making life decisions based on Miles. Not when there’s a chance he dumps me again.