12. Diego
Chapter Twelve
DIEGO
A few days later
I drained my coffee and leaned back in my chair at the table in the resort’s kitchen. “Damn, that is some good coffee.”
Elias chuckled from where he sat across from me at the table. He’d shown up this morning to have a staff-only brunch with us with coffees for everyone from Cammi. She even packed them in an insulated container so they were still warm when he got here.
“Yeah, dude, you can never break up with her,” Tucker commented from beside me.
“Definitely not. Needs to be a group vote,” Gabriel added.
“I’m not going to break up with her,” Elias said. “But that’s not because her coffee is amazing.”
“We know you’re whipped, no need to remind us,” Gabriel replied, sounding the slightest bit irritated about this, likely because he didn’t get enough since he and Nora were still sneaking around.
Speaking of, Nora came in through the door from the back hallway. She had her own cabin nearby and didn’t stay in the family rooms here at the lodge.
“Morning,” Nora called as she crossed over to see what Daphne was working on at the stove.
Daphne called to her, “There are omelets in the warming pan, veggie or meat.”
Nora smiled as she served herself. Although the resort was busier since Daphne had started working here, she kept a schedule where we had at least one staff-only dinner a week, and one brunch. She insisted it was important for her to get a break from cooking for guests. She said it was also a way to make sure the guests were taking advantage of restaurants in town. Daphne was our chef, but she was also really the manager of the resort these days. Flynn had been so focused on getting the flight service going that everything else here had been a scramble for him.
Daphne had now organized referral flows with practically every other tourist business in town. It was awesome. It gave us a chance to chill out and relax together when guests weren’t around.
Nora joined us at the table, slipping into the empty chair beside Gabriel. “So, what’s up this morning?” she asked the table at large.
Elias silently slid a coffee cup labeled with her name across the counter. “I think it’s still warm. From Cammi.”
Nora’s eyes went wide. “Oh, man. She’s the best. You can’t break up with her.”
“Jesus Christ.” Elias leaned back in his chair. ‘What’s with this? I have no intention of breaking up with Cammi.”
Flynn chuckled at Nora’s puzzled look. “We just reminded him he couldn’t do that.”
Nora grinned, her cheeks dimpling. “Well, we’re used to getting coffee at least once a week from her personally delivered by you. Plus, we don’t want it to be awkward at the two best coffee shops in town.”
Conversation meandered along. Daphne, because she was all business even when we were trying to take a break, wanted to discuss the menu. Cat came in from a slumber party at a friend’s the night before. Just as we were breaking apart to go about our days, I remembered to let everybody know my sister was flying in tomorrow. She’d ended up coming sooner than she originally planned.
“Tomorrow? That’s awesome. I love Harley. She’s funny,” Cat commented.
“That she is,” I replied with a slow nod. “I told her if she wanted to go into town much, she might need to get a car rental.”
“She can borrow one of the resort trucks,” Flynn replied. “We’ve got three. There’s always an extra one kicking around.”
“She can’t drive a stick shift,” I replied.
“Are you serious?” Grant countered, looking dismayed at this detail.
I chuckled. “Yeah. Not everybody learns these days.”
“I’ve already learned,” Cat chimed in. “I can teach her, and I don’t even have my license yet.”
“When is your driver’s license test?” Daphne asked.
Cat pulled out her phone and scrolled through her calendar. “In two weeks. Please don’t make me drive a stick shift for the test. I’m pretty good at it, but I don’t want to screw up.”
“You can take my car,” Daphne offered. “It’s an automatic SUV. Let’s make sure you get some practice in that for the next two weeks.” Daphne’s eyes slid to Flynn. “Give her a break on driving stick shift right now.”
It’s not like Flynn would say “no” to anything Daphne asked, so he quickly nodded. “Of course. You can be in charge of practice until she tests.”
Cat waved as she left the kitchen and headed to the private apartment. “Be right back, just wanna drop off my bag.”
The group gradually filtered apart until it was me, Flynn, Daphne, and Nora. Cat joined us again to eat, but she was busy voice texting with a friend, which was basically a phone call, but not really. Sometimes I felt ancient.
“You better get ready,” Nora commented.
“Get ready for what?” I countered.
“Your sister. Last time Harley was here, she had like three potential brides lined up for you. They were all her friends. You don’t think she’s going to bring one, do you?”
I groaned, leaning my head back. After a deep breath, I looked toward Nora. “How would I freaking know? She might try to get on my case about it, but she wouldn’t bring somebody with her without talking to me about it first. They’d need a place to stay. As it is, she’s taking Elias’s old room.”
“About time he cleaned that room out,” Daphne said with a soft laugh. “When’s the last time he actually spent the night here?”
“I can’t remember the last time,” Flynn commented.
“Yeah, he’s full-time with Cammi. I couldn’t be happier for him,” I offered.
Nora gave me a considering look. “What about you? I always figured you’d be the first to fall. Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t have kids already. You’ve got family guy written all over you.”
Flynn nodded. “That’s what I said.”
I shrugged. “Maybe someday.”
Nora grinned, a sly look entering her eyes. That’s when I knew she had another point. “What about Gemma?”
A vision of Gemma flashed through my thoughts—flushed, her lips swollen from our kisses, and her eyes hazy with need. The other night it had taken all of my discipline not to take her completely. I wasn’t about to share that with Nora. “What about Gemma?” I countered.
“Delia told me you took her to dinner the other night, and we all know you took her out for a flight,” Daphne chimed in helpfully.
Of course, I should’ve known they would all find out. Not that I minded all that much. “I like Gemma,” I said simply.
Flynn, who probably knew me better than anybody at the table, chuckled. “Diego takes things at his own speed.”
At that moment, the resort phone rang, Daphne stood, hurrying across the kitchen to answer it. The group slowly filtered apart. I was left with Flynn at the table as I finished my coffee. “Thanks for letting Harley stay here,” I commented.
“Of course,” Flynn replied. “She’s family, just like you.”
“You might regret saying that, depending on how long she stays,” I replied with a chuckle.
Flynn shook his head. “I won’t. She’s good people.” He regarded me quietly for a beat before offering, “You know, your habit of playing things casual doesn’t really suit your personality.”
“What do you mean?” I returned.
“Just that. I know your ex burned you, with what happened with your parents’ money, but you are a family guy. I’d hate you to miss out on that because you’re a little cynical.”
I shifted my shoulders and let out a sharp sigh. “Said by the guy who used to take cynical very seriously. Daphne’s really softened you up.”
Flynn shrugged easily, not even bothered by my observation. “Maybe that’s what I needed. Maybe you should think about what you need.”