Chapter 27
“Drunk guests have their uses.” ~ Dakota
Dakota
R hett pulls to a stop in front of the motel.
“I could have driven myself. You didn’t have to drop me off.”
He squeezes my thigh. “It’s no trouble.”
“Except you now have to pick me up in the morning since my car’s still at the distillery.”
“I don’t mind.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “Admit it. You hate Matilda.”
“Matilda needs to retire.”
“Matilda got me to the island.” Barely. But she made it here.
“Your car is not safe.”
“Matilda is perfectly safe. Besides, you know I can’t afford to buy a new car now.”
Shame tries to lift its head, but I push it down. I will not be ashamed of being in financial trouble. I’m proud of how hard I’m working to pay off my debts. The reason I have those debts? That’s a bit shameful, but I’m ignoring my past.
“Hmm…” He drums his fingers on the steering wheel.
I can practically see the wheels turning in his mind. “No way.”
He bats his eyes – the picture of innocence. “No way, what?”
“No way are you buying me a car.”
“Just a small one for your birthday.”
Rhett has lost all touch with reality. “You don’t buy a car as a birthday present. Besides, my birthday is months away.”
He grunts. “You’re being unreasonable.”
I clutch my chest. “Me? I’m the one being unreasonable? Because I’m not letting you buy me a car?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m not with you for your money, RR.”
“I know. But it doesn’t change the fact that I do have money.”
I almost wish he didn’t. It would make our relationship more equal. I feel as if he holds all the cards now. He has money and a family. I have neither of those.
“I need to get to work.” My shift begins in five minutes, and it’s a great excuse to get out of this conversation.
He folds out of the SUV and walks around to open my door for me. I try to scramble out before he can help me, but he grasps my hips to stop me.
“I worry about you when you’re driving. Your car isn’t safe.”
Ugh. He pulled the worry card. I don’t want him to worry about me. “I only drive from the motel to the distillery. It’s ten minutes max.”
“A car can crash in less than ten minutes.”
I flinch. I’m aware of how quickly a car crash can end someone’s life.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Havoc. I shouldn’t have mentioned a car crash.”
“It’s okay.”
He palms my neck and draws me near until he can wrap his arms around me. “It’s not okay. It was an asshole move reminding you of your husband’s accident to try and manipulate you.”
I allow myself to enjoy his comfort for a few seconds before I push away. “I really do need to get to work.”
He frowns and I hold up my hand. “Don’t you dare say you’ll pay off my loans. Especially not when Ms. Nosey is watching us.” I point to Sadie, standing at the entrance of the motel, spying on us. She waves in response.
Rhett kisses my nose. “I’ll pick you up in the morning for work.”
I watch as he drives away. I need to figure out the car situation before he buys me a new one. If I give in on the car, he’ll pay off my loans, too. They’re not his loans to pay off. I don’t need a man to handle my problems for me.
“What were you guys talking about?” Sadie asks as she opens the door for me. “It looked tense.”
I scowl at her. “You’re not going to pretend you weren’t watching?”
“Why? We both know I was spying.”
Despite myself, I smile. “You’re crazy.”
“You obviously haven’t spent a lot of time with other people on Smuggler’s Hideaway. I’m boring compared to most of them.”
“I want to disagree with you, but I just rescued an otter from the Raider brothers.”
“I knew they were the ones who stole Viking! Parker was completely panicked. She called every business in Smuggler’s Rest. She was convinced Viking escaped the bakery while she was taking out the trash.”
Kai, Zane, or Miles could have told her they were borrowing the otter for a prank. There was no reason to let her panic. They need to learn some manners and I’m up for the task. Especially after they got into a food fight at dinner. They weren’t the ones cleaning up the mess.
“Parker’s okay now. We dropped Viking off with her before Rhett brought me here.”
She rubs her hands together. “And we’re back to the hottie. Tell me more. Did he bring you to his house and make you see stars?”
I did see his house and I thought he was going to make me see stars, but then his brothers showed up and ruined our plans. All of which is none of Ms. Nosey’s business.
“Don’t you have mail to chase after?” I ask as I make my way to the reception desk. A wave of dizziness hits me and I clutch the desk before I collapse on the floor. Once the dizziness has receded, I grab a juice box from my bag and drink from it.
“Are you okay?” Sadie asks.
“Fine.” I wave away her concern.
She narrows her eyes on me. “You aren’t pregnant, are you?”
My mouth drops open. “Pregnant?”
She shrugs. “Some women have dizzy spells when they’re pregnant.”
“No, I’m not pregnant.” In fact, I don’t plan to have children. The doctors claim it’s possible for me to have a healthy child but considering how I was born, I won’t risk it.
I haven’t told Rhett I don’t want children yet. Based on some of his throwaway comments, he wants kids. I’m afraid of how he’ll react to my not wanting any.
“Bummer. Those Raider men are sexy as all get out. I bet their babies will be gorgeous.”
“Why are you so interested in the Raider brothers? I thought you had your own thing going on.”
“No Raider brother for me,” she says and ignores my attempt to find out what’s got her buzzing with excitement every time the mail is delivered. “My sister dated one and it did not end well. No, thank you.”
“Who did your sister date?”
“Miles.”
“I get how dating him could be heartbreaking.” Miles is sweet and charming, but he doesn’t take anything in life seriously. Except surfing. I wouldn’t handle coming in second to a surfboard very well.
She sighs. “Hazel never got over him.”
“That sucks.”
“Men suck.”
“Preaching to the choir, sister.”
Her nose wrinkles. “What do you mean? Rhett is a perfect gentleman with you.” She leans on the desk as if she’s settling in for a chat. She’s going to be disappointed. I’m not telling her about Adam any more than I’d tell her about my sex life with Rhett.
There’s a commotion outside and I glance out of the window. A group of men stumble their way toward the hotel.
“I love mermaids!” one of them shouts right before he runs head-on into the door, rears back, and lands on his ass.
His friends try to help him up but they’re laughing too hard to be of any assistance. I go to help but before I manage to reach them, they end up splayed on the sidewalk.
“We should abandon them here,” Sadie says as we stare down at the group.
“The stars are beautiful on this island.”
“The mermaids are even better.”
“Dude. Mermaids aren’t real.”
“Those seashell bras felt awful real.”
“Don’t lie. You didn’t feel a thing.”
“She rejected you.”
“And somehow we all ended up drinking shots of moonshine.”
“Visitors can’t handle Smuggler’s Hideaway moonshine,” Sadie mutters before clapping her hands to get their attention. “Okay, boys. You have two choices here. Get your asses up and get to your room. Or get run over since you’re laying in the parking lot.”
“No wonder this bed isn’t comfortable,” one of them says before stumbling to his feet. He sways but manages to stay upright.
Sadie and I help the other two men to stand. One of the men wraps an arm around me and leans into me. I nearly fall over from his weight.
Somehow, we manage to get the men into the motel and up the stairs to their room. They can’t find their key but I open the door with the master.
“I’ll alert housekeeping they’ll need extra time with their room tomorrow,” I say once the men are tucked away in their room.
Sadie skips down the steps and toward the door. She spins around before she reaches it to wag a finger at me. “We’ll discuss your bad experience with men tomorrow.”
Darn. I thought I got away with avoiding the conversation. I’ll have to think up some excuse tomorrow.