Chapter 16
“Serving drinks to the troublemakers instead of being the troublemaker. Growth, baby.”
Sloane
“Come on, Boozer.” I clap my hands to get his attention. The big lug sprints to the sea instead of toward me.
I glance at the time on my phone. I guess I can be a few minutes late to work.
No, you can’t, Sloane. Do you want to become your mother?
The thought has me shouting Boozer’s name with such urgency, he instantly returns to me.
“I need to be on time to work,” I explain as I hook up his leash and lead him off the beach toward Zane’s house.
“In fact, I should probably buy a watch and start paying attention to the time.”
I do have some money saved since I didn’t have to pay rent this month.
I was planning to use the money to buy a ticket for Mermaid Mystical Gardens.
The amusement park is always super fun and in the holiday season, it’s even better.
They decorate the entire park with Christmas trees in mermaid and smuggler themes.
They also charge extra this time of year. But spending my money on an amusement park instead of buying a reliable watch is exactly the sort of thing Mom would do.
I claim to hate how Mom ‘raised’ me. So, why am I emulating all the things she did? This needs to stop.
Watch it is.
When I arrive at Rumrunner, there’s no need to rush inside. Or come up with an excuse for being late. Or do my hair as I scurry into the bar.
Huh. Maybe this being on time gig isn’t too bad.
“Hi, Harper,” I greet my boss, who happens to own the bar. She’s also in love with Zane’s brother, Kai. They live together with her father.
“How are you doing?”
The sympathetic look on her face has me pausing. “What do you mean?”
“Living with Zane.” Her nose wrinkles in disgust.
“Actually, Zane isn’t too bad.”
She lifts her brows. “The player isn’t too bad?”
She knows how I feel about players. She doesn’t know the reason why, but she’s seen me reject man after man while calling them players ever since I started working at the speakeasy.
I shrug. “He hasn’t been fooling around with anyone since I moved in.”
Except for me. My body warms as thoughts of our kiss bombard me. I’ve kissed a lot of men, but never has a single kiss from a man had me wrapping my legs around him while rubbing up against him like a cat in heat.
But this is Zane. The man I’ve lusted after for years. Lusted after and knew I couldn’t have.
Although, maybe I can have him. Zane’s changed his opinion on having children in the past weeks. Maybe he’s changed his opinion on relationships, too?
I shake my head. I’m doing it again. Acting like my mother. Hoping to change a man when I know better. Men don’t change for women.
“He probably doesn’t have time,” Harper says and I return my attention to her. “I know how much time caring for another person takes.”
“How is your father?” She cares for her father, who had a stroke some years ago and is not fully mobile.
“Probably up to something with Kai. Those two are always up to no good.” She’s complaining, but guessing by the grin on her face, she’s happy they have each other.
“Speaking of my father, I have a doctor’s appointment with him today. Can you open up?”
“Sure!” I clear my throat and tone down my enthusiasm. “Of course.”
She meets my gaze. “Try not to get caught in the walk-in cooler this time.”
“I won’t. Girl Scout promise.” I hold up two fingers.
She shakes her head. “You were never a Girl Scout.”
I scowl. “I could have been.” If I’d ever lived somewhere for longer than a year at a time.
“I need to go.” She starts for the back door. “By the way, I haven’t done the riddle for today yet.”
“Not a problem.”
Rumrunner is a speakeasy. The locals know where it is and can enter without a password, but visitors and tourists have to solve a riddle to enter. There’s a new riddle every day.
I skip through the bar to Trent. As the bouncer, he’s in charge of ensuring all visitors know the password.
“I have the riddle for you.”
“From Harper?”
“Nope. This one’s all mine.” I already have a riddle made up. I’ve been waiting for Harper to give me the chance to use it.
“I have no legs, yet I dance in the deep. I sing sailors to ruin, and rock them to sleep. Who am I?”
He rolls his eyes. “Too easy. A mermaid.”
“Harper said it had to be easy enough for tourists to solve.”
“Mission accomplished.”
I giggle and slap his shoulder. “Be nice. Harper’s trusting me.”
“You got this, girl.”
I nod to him before rushing off to do the zillion tasks I need to finish before we can open the bar. By the time the first customer arrives, my bangs are sweaty and clinging to my forehead.
“Here comes trouble,” Dave mutters when five women enter the bar.
Trouble is right. Sophia, Chloe, Nova, Maya, and Paisley are the owners of the local brewery, Five Fathoms. They’re also the reason I got detention for five days my senior year of high school. No senior skip day for me.
I make my way to their table. “No bar fights tonight or I’m kicking you out.”
Sophia snorts. “You’d never kick us out.”
“Try me.”
Paisley studies me. “Living with Zane is improving you. Good.”
Chloe, Nova, Maya, and Sophia clap.
“Tell us more!” Chloe insists.
“I don’t live with Zane. I’m his nanny for now.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Nanny or nanny?”
“I’ve read this book. The single dad always ends up with the nanny.” Maya leans closer. “Have you kissed already?”
I try to fight it, but I can feel the heat spreading on my cheeks.
“She has!” Maya squeals. “I am loving this.”
I make a cutting motion across my neck. “Knock it off. I’m not falling in love with a Raider brother. I know better.”
Paisley purses her lips. “I’m in love with a Raider. Are you saying I’m an idiot?”
“You’re with Eli. He doesn’t count.”
“I know for a fact his last name is Raider. He’s reminded me enough times when he’s needling me to change my name upon marriage.”
I latch onto the change of subject. “Is that why you’re not married yet? You don’t want to change your name, but he wants you to?”
She wags her finger at me. “Nuh uh. We are not changing the topic away from you kissing Zane.”
“I never said I kissed Zane.”
“But your face did,” Nova claims.
See what I mean? These five are trouble to their cores. It doesn’t matter how they’ve all found love and settled down. They’re still shit stirrers. It’s a good thing only one of them is with a Raider. The world would implode if all five of them were with the five Raider brothers.
“Let’s get champagne to celebrate,” Maya says.
“Champagne?” Sophia’s nose wrinkles. “We don’t celebrate with champagne on Smuggler’s Hideaway.”
Maya sighs. “I was hoping to survive our night out without having the worst hangover in the world tomorrow.”
“You can’t claim to always have the worst hangover in the world after a night out. By definition, worst only occurs once.” Paisley is such a nerd.
“Shots it is!” Chloe declares. She’s a wild child. Getting married and having a twelve-year-old step-daughter hasn’t changed her one bit.
I shake my head. “I still can’t believe you married a cop.”
“He’s sexy and knows how to use handcuffs. What’s not to love?”
“Plus, he won’t throw her crazy ass in jail,” Sophia adds.
While they argue about the comfort of the Smuggler’s Hideaway jail cells, I return to the bar for a bottle of moonshine and some shot glasses.
Dave moans. “It’s going to be one of those kinds of nights.”
“Not my fault the crazy five are here.”
I set the bottle of moonshine on their table and hand out shot glasses.
“You’re missing a glass,” Sophia says.
“You need to drink a shot with us,” Chloe adds.
“Nope. I’m holding down the fort today since Harper is dealing with her dad.”
“I like this version of you,” Paisley says.
I roll my eyes. “I’m pretty sure you liked the version of me who ended up getting detention because I took the blame for the ‘locker room’ incident.”
“Sorry,” Nova says but she doesn’t appear the least bit sorry. “I couldn’t get caught setting fire to yet another one of Hudson’s girlfriends’ lockers.”
“Let me guess. Your husband still doesn’t know what you did.”
Nova and Hudson got together when she wound up pregnant after they ended up locked together in a chalet overnight at his resort.
She smirks. “Oh, he knows. And I’ve been properly punished. Trust me.”
Sophia lifts her glass in the air. “Here’s to the bootleggers. Masters of the sneaky snip and secret stashes. Thanks for keeping the party alive.”
“To the bootleggers!” The rest shout before downing their shots.
“Have fun and behave,” I order as I leave them.
“Whoever thought Sloane would tell anyone to behave?” Chloe hollers after me.
I ignore her. Chloe was dubbed the wild child by the entire island. She can’t throw stones at me.
Besides, I’m changing. I’m not going to be the flaky woman no one could depend on before. My days of acting like my mom are over.