Chapter 8
eight
Charlie
Dee smirks at me when I approach the counter, and I brace myself for the inevitable interrogation.
Once our table had been cleared of empty dishes, I’d sent Cole across the road to take care of his groceries.
I told him it’d be best to run our errands separately under the guise of saving time.
That I have to get back to the resort in case an unexpected guest turns up.
But here’s the God’s honest truth, I needed a few moments away from the growly yet very alluring FBI agent.
His close proximity in the small booth was messing with my head, making me feel things I haven’t allowed myself to feel in years.
“Well?” Dee prompts when I just stand there, lost in my own thoughts.
“Well, what?”
She gives me an impatient look. “Don’t play dumb.
I spent hours last night talking you off the ledge and helping you come up with a plan to make this guy’s stay a living hell.
Now, I know I had a couple of glasses of wine, but I don’t remember you treating him to breakfast and eye fucking him across the table being part of it. ”
I cringe and reach for the doggie bag containing Dave’s take-out, before placing another order for to-go coffees. Dee looks at me with questions in her eyes.
“Cole’s having a bit of a rough morning,” comes my sheepish reply. “Figured he could use a pick-me-up.”
“Ha,” Dee barks, and I’m suddenly all too aware of just how wifely my off-hand comment had sounded. Like we’re some old, married couple, and it’s my responsibility to make sure he’s taken care of.
“Fine, look. I got up this morning with the plan in mind and did exactly what we’d agreed upon.
Figured the pounding would piss him off, he’d yell a bit and march his fine ass back into the cabin to pout for the rest of the day.
But he took me by surprise by being a decent human being and teaching me how to do the job right, even though he looked like hell and was quite obviously nursing a doozy of a hangover. I had to repay his kindness somehow.”
Dee makes a humming sound that could be interpreted a thousand different ways and rests her forearms on the counter before leaning in. “So, does that mean we like this guy now?” she whispers like we’re discussing state secrets.
“I wouldn’t go that far. He’s still a bit of a sour puss, but I’m beginning to think his attitude has less to do with him being rude, and more with the fact that he’s seen some shit, ya know?”
“So, kind of like you?”
I rear back. “Are you saying I’m a grouch?”
“Well, not right at this moment, seeing as you currently have a full belly and spent the last hour basking in the attention of a guy who’s hot as sin.
Like, holy shit, Charlie. I’m actually relieved he’s not the enemy anymore, because I had a hard time looking at that hunk of a man with anything but stars in my eyes.
Fair warning, if you don’t at least attempt climbing that like a tree, I might give it a shot myself. ”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Slim pickings, babe. Slim pickings. You don’t let a hottie like this roll through these parts without at least trying to make his vacation memorable.
We work in hospitality. It’s our job to make sure our customers are happy, and if you’re not up to the task, then I consider it my duty as a representative of this fine town to make sure he leaves with a satisfied smile on his face. ”
I shake my head as I regard my friend with an incredulous expression.
Dee manages to hold my eyes for an impressive amount of time, considering mine are flashing fire, before she throws her hands in the air.
“Okay, fine. You know I’d never encroach on a sister’s territory.
Besides, it’s painfully obvious he’s already decided which one of us he wouldn’t mind spending some one-on-one time with.
The way he undressed you with his eyes was almost criminal.
I had to fan myself, and his smolder wasn’t even directed at me. ”
“You’re exaggerating,” I say, taking the tray of to-go cups from Dee’s barista.
“You keep telling yourself that, but I saw what I saw. That man is so into you. If you don’t take that for a test drive, you’d be doing an entire population of single, sexually frustrated women a great disservice.”
I chuckle at her theatrics and fish a few bills out of my wallet, slapping them on the counter before saying, “I’m not making any promises, but I can’t deny that he intrigues me.
I mean, I’d have to be dead not to notice all that.
But we’ve just struck a tentative truce, and I’m still annoyed by how judgy he was yesterday, so let’s just see how things progress.
With my history, I don’t feel comfortable diving head-first into something with a literal stranger.
You never know when someone might turn on you and start showing their true colors. ”
Dee’s expression turns sympathetic, and I turn away before the air around us has a chance to turn too heavy.
“Keep me updated,” she calls after me, and I throw a wave over my shoulder in acknowledgment.
When I step out of the building and into a wall of humid summer air, my gaze automatically darts to the entrance of the supermarket Cole disappeared into.
And not for the first time, I wonder if I’ll ever get back to a point where I can simply have fun with a guy without waiting for the other shoe to drop.