31. Ronan
O ne year later, Miami
TASHA
Hey … I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I’m going to be in Miami this weekend. If you’re around, I’d love to hook up. I fly in on Thursday night.
I read over the text three times to make sure I’m not hallucinating. Two years ago, I prayed for these words, but I never expected to see them.
Connor pauses mid beach chair setup to study my deep frown. “Why do you look like our cat just died?”
“We don’t have a cat.”
“We could have a cat. I’d name it Ronaldo.”
I ignore his dumbassery and hold up my phone. “The ex.”
Abandoning the beach chair, he wanders over to read the message. “Damn. The ex ex?”
“Tash. Yeah.” Not that Connor and I have deep heart- to-hearts, but Tasha’s the only one I’ve ever mentioned besides Abbi, and I’ve only mentioned her once or twice.
He brushes a bead of sweat off his brow. It’s early morning and already sweltering. “How long has it been?”
“Since I’ve heard from her directly? Two years.
” Before I transferred jobs and moved to Miami.
Not a call, not a text. But my little sister ran into her at the bar last fall in Indianapolis.
The way Britt tells it, Tasha interrogated her about all things me —what I’ve been up to, if I’m dating anyone, how I ended up in my billionaire boss’s wedding party.
She seemed especially curious about that one.
Connor shifts back to setting up the beach for hotel patrons—that I was helping with until this little bomb went off in my pocket. “Hookup, huh?” He spares me a smirk. “You know what that means, right?”
I shrug. “That she’s gonna be in Miami and she knows I’m here?” Who does Tasha know in this city? No one I’m aware of and we dated for four years. I knew all her friends back then.
“Nah, man. That there is an ‘I want to get back together’ text.” Connor points at my phone to emphasize his point.
“That’s not it.” But I scan it again. Is it? After all this time?
“Next thing you know, she’ll be asking to stay with us because Miami’s too expensive .
” He jams the end of the umbrella anchor into the sand and screws the top.
“And you’ll say, ‘Sure! We have an extra bedroom now that Ryan is living with Kyle,’ and then, whoops, the ex is riding your dick at dawn like the cavalry charging in for the kill. ”
“Shut the fuck up.” I burst out laughing. But inside, my nerves churn. What would it be like to see Tasha again? Would I want something to happen? I’m in a good place in my life— not pining over her and reluctantly accepting that I’ll never have Abbi again.
“Then again, maybe she can fix your dick, seeing as it’s been broken since Red’s wedding. ”
Before I can offer a retort, my radio crackles. “Ronan, you on the beach?” Charlie’s brusque voice calls out.
“Yeah, boss. What’s up?” I respond into the receiver.
“You’re wanted in the conference center. Pacific Room, stat.”
I frown at Connor, who matches my confusion. “What for?” That’s inside the hotel. Not a part of our crew’s jurisdiction.
“Don’t question me and get the fuck over there now!” Charlie barks.
I roll my eyes. The outdoor crew supervisor is an asshole to me in front of others, but we get along well behind closed doors.
I can’t tell if it’s because he likes me or because I’m tight with the big boss’s wife, but ever since the wedding, he’s been giving me extra responsibility.
Six months ago, he added the label “assistant supervisor” to my job description and bumped my pay.
I never asked for any of it. “On my way.”
“See? That’s why you don’t become the supe’s bitch.” Connor pops open the umbrella and moves onto the next one.
“I’ll send Dean over to help you finish.”
“Don’t bother. I got it handled.” His gaze snags on a pair of blonds in string bikinis strolling the shoreline. All it takes is a half wave from him and they’re veering this way, flipping hair over their shoulders.
Connor ends every work day with at least a half dozen numbers in his pocket. He can never remember which number belongs to which face. It’s always fun to watch him make plans and wait patiently to see who shows up.
“As long as you get this done before the guests complain.” I can see them hovering around the poolside desk, waiting for the clock to strike beach time.
“Aye-aye, boss,” he mocks, saluting me. Technically, Connor reports to me now, not that it’s changed our dynamic at all. But he busts my balls about it every day.
I take one last look at the unexpected message on my screen and then tuck my phone into my pocket, leaving Tasha on Read . Savage, I know, but she did break my heart.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I call out, a rare wide grin stretching across my face as I spot the female form ahead, her back to me. I could recognize Abbi’s fiery red hair from anywhere.
She spins around at the sound of my voice and her face lights up. “Surprise!”
My feet falter. I haven’t seen Abbi since the wedding and definitely not since she called to tell me she was pregnant.
“Wild, huh?” With a nervous giggle, she smooths her manicured hands over her emerald-green sundress—and her swollen belly—and waits for me to close the distance.
Fuck, she’s even more beautiful.
Swallowing against the unwelcome burn of jealousy, my pace speeds up, my work boots clomping along the marble floor. The cleaning team will curse me for the trail of dusty prints I’m leaving.
Scooping Abbi up in my arms, I lift her off the ground in a fierce hug, inhaling the floral scent of her hair. I don’t care if this is highly inappropriate. Having her pressed against my body again feels like breathing in air after being buried alive.
“Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself.” But her arms tighten around my neck, returning the affection.
“Shut up. You’re all baby.” I wait a beat and add in a low voice so no passersby will hear. “And boobs. Damn , Red.” They were handfuls before … and I would know.
Wolf’s a lucky fucker.
Her cheeks burn as I set her back down. “Yeah, this whole pregnancy has been … interesting.”
I grin, unable to temper this temporary high I feel every time I’m near her. “How much longer? ”
Abbi’s hands are on her belly again. “She comes in four months.”
“ She ?” My head tips back with a deep bellow of laughter. “That’ll make it three females under his roof. Amazing.”
She giggles. “I know, right? Henry’s already so overprotective with Violet. I think I saw a gray hair the other day.”
“Good. I hope you have five more girls. It’ll serve him right.
” I lean against the wall and fold my arms, drawing her hazel eyes to my sleeve of tattoos, my arms, my chest. They stall on my dark hair, the ends bleached brown from long days in the sun.
She reaches up to toy with a strand. “You’re growing it out. ”
“Yeah. I needed a change.” I forgot how wavy it can get. The back tickles my neck.
A memory flashes briefly through my mind—Abbi with her hands on my buzzed head, her body writhing, while my face was buried between her legs—and I have to shove it out before my dick reacts.
She swallows hard, as if she can see my depraved thoughts. “You look good.”
“I feel good.” I was a bear for the first few weeks after quitting cigarettes and booze cold turkey, so much so that Connor bought a carton of Marlboros and pleaded with me to give up.
But the gym has helped. I’ve added thirty pounds of muscle and can jog without feeling like I’m going to leave my lungs on the pavement.
A staffer passes, her curious gaze on us. Thankfully, it’s quiet in here otherwise.
“So, what are you doing in Miami? And up so early?” I ask.
“I’ve got a few Farm Girl things to do.” Abbi shrugs, as if it’s no big deal that the little soap company she started in her Pennsylvania barn at, like, age twelve is now taking off across the country, with enough contracts that she has a full-time staff of twenty and is opening a second production location on the West Coast. “It was too late to call you when we came in last night, but I wanted to catch you before you spoke to Henry.”
“Wolf’s here?”
“Yeah, in there.” She points to the heavy wooden doors of the Pacific, one ajar.
I frown. “I have a meeting with him ?”
She collects my calloused hands in hers. “Yes, and he has a proposition for you. I know it’s going to sound crazy at first, but Ronan? Please listen to him?” She pleads with her gaze.
“Is this going to be like the last proposition he had for me? Because you know I’ll say yes.” That night in Alaska will live rent-free in my mind for the rest of my life and then haunt me in the hereafter. In fact, I could die right here and be satisfied.
Abbi bites her bottom lip to hide her grin as she tightens her grip. “No, it’s not that . But it’s a great opportunity and you would be perfect for it.” Her chest lifts with a deep inhale. “And you deserve it. So, please, say yes?” That last part is delivered softly.
“Well, now I’m intrigued.”
A throat-clearing pulls our attention to the gaping door and the billionaire luxury hotel owner looming, an annoyed look painted across his face.
“You better go. He doesn’t like to wait.” Abbi pulls me in for another hug and a kiss on my cheek.
I think it’s more about him not liking how close his wife and I are, but I can’t help myself, holding her a few extra beats before releasing her.
“Call me later!” She blows a kiss at her husband, whose annoyance breaks instantly with a warm smile for her, his eyes shifting briefly to her belly.
Abbi strolls down the hall, her sandals slapping the floor, the material of her dress swaying with her hips.
Both of us stare at her for far too long.
“Get in here before I change my mind,” Wolf barks before disappearing into the room.
“I can barely contain my excitement.” I drag my boots all the way.