Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Saylor
I walked out of my grandmother's beach cottage feeling shaky. I hadn't expected to see my teenage summer fling standing in the bathroom when I got out of the shower.
Why had the property management company double-booked the cottage? Unless Grandma forgot to tell them she'd already offered the cottage to me for the summer.
That was a distinct possibility. Grandma was known for being fun, but details like paperwork tended to fall by the wayside.
I drove to her condo and knocked on the door.
She opened the door in crisp white slacks, a hot pink flowing top, and sandals. Her eyes brightened when she saw me. "What a nice surprise. What brings you here?"
"I wanted to see you." I stepped inside her condo. It was bright and new with all the amenities. We'd talked about her moving into a community meant for fifty-five plus, but she'd insisted that being around all ages of people kept her young.
I wasn't sure about the science behind her theory, but she was energetic and healthy.
"Would you like some sweet tea on the lanai?" Grandma asked, already pulling down glasses and filling them with ice.
"I'd love some." I needed a jolt of caffeine after getting out of the shower and finding Marshall Kingston in my bathroom. What were the odds of that?
Over the years, Grandma had mentioned that Marshall rarely visited home, preferring to spend his leave with his daughter in Naples where she lived with her mother.
I waited for her to fill the glasses, then took mine outside to her screened-in porch. She was on the garden floor apartment and there was foliage planted all around, giving it a private feel, and she'd hung several wind chimes that tinkled prettily.
Grandma got settled in her chair, the ice clinking in her glass. "Now tell me, to what do I owe this surprise?"
I drank the sweet tea to soothe my dry throat. I still hadn't recovered from Marshall touching me when I was naked. My skin was tingly and tight.
I looked different than I had at eighteen. I'd filled out in ways he probably didn't recognize, and I wasn't sure he'd like. "Imagine my surprise when I got out of the shower and ran into Marshall Kingston."
Grandma's eyes widened, and she set her drink on the table between us. "What on earth was Marshall Kingston doing in the beach cottage?"
I narrowed my gaze on her. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me? I thought you'd advised the property management company that I'd be staying there for the summer."
"I did." Her eyes slid from mine, going slightly unfocused. "I think I did."
I bit off a groan. "Marshall claims the cottage was double-booked and he should get it because he's renting it."
"I don't know about that. Isn't there plenty of room for you both to stay there together? There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Sounds cozy."
I leaned back in my chair, watching a bird settle on a nearby birdbath. "I was looking for peace and solitude. A break from everything."
Grandma nodded. "I know, and that's what you'll get at the beach cottage. Marshall won't spoil that."
"He's living there with his daughter." Then I remembered that his military-issued duffle had been on the guest bed. "I think his daughter is staying in the primary room downstairs, and he's in the one next to mine."
"The rooms with the adjoining bathroom. That's how you ran into him." Grandma leaned in. "Had you just gotten out of the shower naked?"
Grandma loved gossip, and I knew this would get around her group of friends at the senior center in no time. "The details don't matter."
Grandma leaned back with a knowing glint in her eye. "I think they very much do matter."
I sighed. "The point is I wasn't expecting a man to be in my bathroom."
Her forehead creased. "Didn't you two date that one summer after high school? Before you went off to college."
"Yes." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I fail to see why that matters."
"You already know each other, so you aren't strangers."
"We can't be roommates." There was no way I could share a house with him, much less a bathroom. The cottage was small and cozy, and Marshall filled up all the space with his bulk and his attitude.
"He rented the cabin to bond with his teenage daughter. Apparently, he left the military to have more time with her."
Grandma nodded. "He's a good dad."
"I'm sure he is, but what are we going to do about the cottage being double-booked?"
"If I forgot to tell the management company, then I think there's nothing we can do. If you need a place to stay, you'll have to work something out with him."
This was what I was afraid of. "You want me to talk to him and work out an arrangement so that we can be roommates."
Grandma sipped her tea. "That solves your problem. You both get what you want."
It didn't solve the issue where I was still attracted to Marshall, but Grandma didn't have to know that. "What if he says no? He already said he wanted to be alone with his daughter."
Grandma contemplated that for a few seconds and finally said, "I'll talk to him."
"Please don't. I'll handle this."
Grandma loved to meddle in other people's business, and I didn't trust her not to tell Marshall that I'd been lusting after him all these years, whether she knew it to be true or not.
Grandma continued as if she hadn't heard me. "If he wants to pay lower rent for the summer, then I'll talk to the management company."
I still wasn't positive Marshall wanted me there at all. He seemed irritated by my presence.
We hadn't kept in touch because I always thought we'd run into each other again the next summer.
But then I'd gotten a summer internship that was too good to pass up.
I hadn't returned to the island until I'd graduated from college, and by then, he'd signed on for the military.
He was gone, and I thought I'd lost my chance forever.
I'd always held out hope that we'd see each other again, the same way we'd met.
It had been a chance encounter on the beach.
I'd been hunting for seashells when he'd jogged by and stopped to talk to me.
It had been a short encounter, but I'd continued to see him every morning after that.
One day, he'd asked if he could walk with me, and we'd been inseparable the rest of the summer.
Any time he wasn't working at his family's construction business he spent with me.
At the small island movie theater, on the beach, and stargazing in the back of his truck.
It was magical. By the end of that summer I thought I was in love with him.
But I'd written it off as a summer fling, a teen love that couldn't possibly last. I was never able to forget about him though.
Grandma leaned over to pat my knee. "I'm confident that this is going to work out."
I blinked at her in disbelief. "What if he doesn't want to share the cottage?"
Grandma waved a hand. "That's phooey. Marshall Kingston is a good man. He won't kick you out."
"He already threatened to," I deadpanned, but Grandma was undeterred. I had a feeling she was cooking up a scheme inside her head, one where she thought if we were in close proximity, we'd fall into each other's arms again.
But I wasn't that naive eighteen-year-old anymore. I knew the risks of getting involved with Marshall, and I wouldn't make that mistake. I never truly got over him, and I knew it would be a mistake to start something again.
"Remember, I'm here to forget about men for the summer. I need a break." I wasn't here to reconnect with an old love.
"The cottage is the perfect summer escape. I'm positive Marshall won't be a problem."
"I'm glad you're so confident." Marshall was a big problem. He'd only filled out over the years, testing the confines of his clothes in a way I couldn't ignore.
"He was always a nice boy. I'm sure he's turned into quite the gentleman."
I flushed because he hadn't been a gentleman at eighteen. We hadn't been able to keep our hands off each other. Young love was all consuming, and I couldn't afford to fall back into something so free and reckless. I had to protect my heart.
"I know your last boyfriend was a jerk. But Marshall is here to take care of his daughter. He won't interfere with your plans for the summer."
All I could think about was that we were sharing the bathroom. How often would I run into him naked? When he touched my bare skin, it had felt like I'd been charged with electricity.
That shook me to my core because I thought after the year I'd had, I wouldn't be able to think about dating anyone for a long time.
Marshall has a daughter now. He didn't have time for a trip down memory lane. He wasn't interested in a summer fling.
Could I keep things platonic? I had to if I wanted a place to stay. Otherwise, I'd have to go home, and I wasn't ready to face everything I'd left behind.
I'd suspected that something had been going on with my boyfriend, Flynn, but every time I confronted him about our relationship or whether he was happy, he acted like he was.
When I'd started to see other signs, like texts from an unknown number, him working later and later, and going out of town for conferences, I thought he might be cheating on me.
He'd denied it, and I thought I was starting to lose my mind.
One day, I followed him and saw him kiss another woman in front of our neighborhood coffee shop.
I'd felt so betrayed that I'd called Grandma from my car in tears, asking if I could stay at the cottage.
She'd assured me she'd call the management company and clear it from renters for the summer.
But somehow, she'd forgotten, and now I'd have to deal with Marshall Kingston.
I sighed. "I have to talk to him and hope he's on board with the idea."
She wagged her finger at me. "You let me know if he gives you any kind of trouble."
I didn't think she was referring to the kind of trouble I was considering. The kind where chemistry sizzled between us, and we snuck into each other's rooms in the dead of night. But we weren't kids anymore. We had responsibilities and more baggage to carry.
I'd survive the summer, and then I'd move home to Jacksonville to deal with the fallout from the breakup. I'd get my things out of storage and move into a new place.
I couldn't believe that Flynn had not only cheated on me but then moved that woman into the apartment we'd shared together.
Was I so easily replaceable? Was there nothing special about me that kept men around?
"You're going to have a wonderful summer," Grandma said, pulling me out of my musings.
"How can you possibly know that?" I picked at a string hanging off my jean shorts.
"It's impossible not to have an amazing time on the island. You'll never want to leave," she said with confidence.
"I have a life off the island." But I wasn't so sure about that. I hadn't heard from our mutual friends since the breakup. I wondered if they sided with Flynn. The thought sent pain slicing through my chest.
I needed the summer to rediscover my confidence, to remember who I was before Flynn stomped all over my heart. I was worried I wouldn't be the same again. How can you trust someone after your last boyfriend betrayed you?
I drank the rest of the tea while she went to grab sugar cookies.
When she set the container on the table, she said, "Sweets fix everything."
I nibbled on the cookie. "I'm not so sure about that."
"Everything will look better in the morning," Grandma said confidently as if the subject was closed and a favorable solution inevitable.
I had to share the second floor of the cottage with Marshall, and I wasn't sure I'd survive running into him again.