Chapter 9
“I’m beginning to understand the appeal of stomping your foot in frustration.” ~ Paisley
Paisley
I collapse in a booth next to Nova and her baby daughter, Iliana. Chloe sets a beer in front of me and I sip on it as I study the interior of the Five Fathoms restaurant.
“It looks good in here.”
“We were lucky,” Chloe says. “Besides some broken glass and general dirt and debris, there wasn’t much damage.”
While I’ve spent the day removing the remnants of the roof from the parking lot and surrounding area, Chloe and Maya have cleaned up the restaurant to get it ready to reopen as soon as possible. Which is a relief since we’ll be relying on the revenue from the bar and restaurant for a while.
“I heard a rumor,” Nova says as she bounces Iliana on her lap.
“I’m surprised Hudson allowed you to keep Iliana with you all day,” I say since I’m afraid I know exactly what rumor she’s referring to.
“Hudson does love his baby girl.” Nova lifts Iliana in the air and kisses her cheeks with loud smacks.
“I want to know what this rumor is.” Chloe’s eyes sparkle with mischief.
Sophia juts her hand into the air. “Me too.”
“Me three,” Maya adds.
“Rumors can cause stress, anxiety, and physical and mental strain.”
“She’s cute. Isn’t she cute?” Chloe bumps Sophia’s shoulder who nods in agreement.
“I’m not being cute. I’m merely stating how rumors can have negative impacts.”
Nova clears her throat. “Why don’t we find out if this rumor is true?”
“Yeah.” Sophia leans close.
Chloe bobs her head. “Good idea.”
“What’s the rumor?” Maya asks and I bite my lip before I scowl at her.
Maya has always been shy but since she’s been living with Caleb, she’s becoming bolder. I’m proud of her but is it too much to ask for her to crawl back in her shell until Eli leaves the island? And, yes, Eli will leave the island eventually. Smuggler’s Hideaway can’t hold the attention of a billionaire.
Nova clears her throat. “Eli offered Paisley space in his distillery to brew in until her brewery is up and running again.”
Maya squeals while Sophia and Chloe give each other high fives.
“False,” I say and everyone focuses their attention on me .
“But I heard—”
I narrow my eyes on Nova. “Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?”
She rolls her eyes. “Duh.”
“You’re not a very good eavesdropper.”
She rears back with a gasp. “How dare you!”
“Eli didn’t offer me space in his distillery for my brewery. He offered Five Fathoms space to brew Five Fathoms beer.”
Nova rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. If you weren’t around, Eli wouldn’t have bothered rushing to the brewery like he was a pirate with a mermaid on his ass today.”
“This is excellent.” Sophia rubs her hands together. “When will you start?”
Chloe wiggles her eyebrows. “And by start, we mean when will you abandon your clothes and get busy in the sheets?”
Cold invades my body as sadness fills me. I would love to ‘get busy in the sheets’ with Eli as Chloe put it. But Eli wants nothing to do with me. He made himself perfectly clear in high school.
“I didn’t accept his offer.”
My statement is met with stunned silence. And gaping mouths.
I nearly smile. It’s not easy to stun my friends. Not even when Sophia’s mom caught me watching an orgy film were they this stunned.
“I’m…” Sophia trails off. I’ve never rendered her speechless before.
Chloe stares at me with wide eyes. “ You said no?”
Maya’s nose wrinkles. “I don’t understand.”
Nova chuckles. “I do.”
I push my glasses up my nose as I confront her. “I highly doubt you understand.”
“Oh, I understand.” I open my mouth to explain but she wags her finger at me. “Don’t you dare go sprouting some facts to supposedly back up your refusal.”
I snap my mouth closed. I was planning to explain how having a brewery in a distillery facility wasn’t as simple as it sounds.
“You’re scared. Plain and simple. Scared.”
I narrow my eyes on her. “What am I scared of?”
“Love,” Maya says. “You’re afraid of love.”
I bristle. “I am not afraid of love. Why would I be afraid of love?”
“I know. I know.” Chloe bounces in her seat. “Because every person who was supposed to love you, hurt you.”
This is what I get for having close friends who know everything about me. They use the information against me at the most inconvenient of times.
“Evil stepsisters? Check!” Sophia makes a checkmark in the air. “Asshole ex-boyfriend? Check!”
Chloe elbows her. “You forgot wicked stepfather.”
“Wicked stepfather? Check!”
“This has nothing to do with my family,” I grumble.
“Oh.” Sophia bats her eyelashes and feigns innocence. The woman hasn’t been innocent since second grade when she punched a boy for pulling her hair. “Why did you refuse Eli’s offer of help in our time of need?”
Our time of need? Damn. This isn’t good.
“We haven’t discussed payment. Maybe Five Fathoms can’t afford his help,” I claim.
Maya frowns. “Try again.”
Dang it. As the financial manager, Maya knows we’d be able to get an emergency loan in this situation.
“Maybe he wants payment in kind anyway.” Sophia wiggles her eyebrows.
Nova checks her watch. “Out with the real reason. I need to be home soon or Hudson will scour the island searching for me.”
I contemplate another delaying tactic but it wouldn’t be fair to make Hudson worry. Nova’s fiancé is overprotective but he also has the right to be worried when Nova and his daughter are gone for this long after a hurricane devastated the island.
I sigh. “I don’t need a man to save me.”
In particular, I’ll be damned if I let Eli save me. Mr. Billionaire with his three-piece suits can take a hike in the ocean. Those expensive leather loafers would be ruined in seconds.
Maya reaches across the table to squeeze my hand. “Don’t let pride get in your way of accepting help.”
I snatch my hand away. “It’s not my pride. Five Fathoms is a woman owned business. I don’t want a man to sweep in and save us.”
Sophia blows out a breath. “Okay. We won’t allow the patriarchy to save us. ”
Chloe drums her fingers on the table. “I guess I could let some of the staff go.”
Maya nods. “After the brewery, personnel are our highest cost. Maybe I should take a pay cut as well.”
“You’re not taking a pay cut unless I take one, too,” Nova says.
“But you have the baby. You need the cash.”
Nova snorts. “I also have a husband who’s a millionaire. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be fine, too,” Chloe adds. “Lucas has a job with benefits. He earns enough for the both of us.”
“Same here,” Sophia says. “Flynn’s business is growing like gangbusters.”
“And Caleb has a job at the resort now. I don’t need as much income,” Maya says.
I glare at my friends. “You’re not funny.”
“What do you mean?” Maya asks, the picture of innocence.
“No one’s pay is being cut.” I can’t allow them to lower their salaries. Especially since I can’t afford to lower mine. There’s only one solution. “I’ll accept Eli’s help.”
Cheers erupt but I growl to stop their celebration with a hand in the air. “But if I hear one word about matchmaking me with Eli, I will get my revenge.”
Chloe pretends to zip her lips. “You won’t hear one word.”
“And you won’t pull any pranks to force us to get together.”
“Define prank,” Sophia says.
“To play a practical joke or perform a mischievous act.”
She frowns. “Your definition is really broad. ”
On purpose. Because I know my friends. They’re troublemakers to the bone.
“You asked for a definition. I gave you one.”
“My bad. I should have known better than to ask.”
The door bangs open and Hudson strolls inside. “Uh oh,” Nova mutters. “My time is up.”
I scooch over to allow her out of the booth. Before she has the chance to stand, Hudson is there taking the baby from her and helping her up with a hand on her elbow.
My chest tightens as a wave of envy hits me. I want what they have. A loving family. But it’s not to be. And not because I’m afraid of love. I’m not afraid. But I have learned my lesson. Love is not for me.
“Let us know how your meeting with Eli goes,” Nova says as she waves goodbye.
Eli. More proof love is not for me. Not after what he did. And how he acted afterwards. His nicknaming me Paisley the Perpetual Know It All made his position perfectly clear.