Chapter 37
chapter thirty-seven
Dayton
Summer and I came down to the Street Eats circle to listen to the live music playing tonight. She planned to meet up with some of her girlfriends. She’s chatting with Silvie, Mia, and Wendy over near where the band is playing.
While I’m waiting in line at Sweeties to get Summer a strawberry cupcake, I spot Banks speaking with Mr. Akana at the food truck right next to it. Banks works in finance in New York. He must be vacationing here. After paying for my order, I walk over to them.
“Banks, Mr. Akana, how’s it going? Any damage from the storm to your place?”
Mr. Akana is so small compared to me and Banks. We look like giants looming over him. He tilts his neck back to smile up at me.
“Hello! No, thankfully not too much excitement at our place. I hear your recently constructed deck got the brunt of it.”
I nod. “Unfortunately, yes. It set back our timeline.”
Banks shakes his head. “Bad luck, man. I’m glad no one was hurt. Was there any damage to the house?”
“No. The tree that fell took out the deck, but it wasn’t fully attached to the house yet.”
“You have any investors knocking on your door yet?”
I nod. “A few actually.”
“I bet I could get some interested buyers for you if you had some preliminary photos taken,” Banks offers.
I’m sure he probably knows plenty of buyers who could write an all-cash offer to me right now. Mr. Akana practically has dollar signs sparkling in his eyes. He rubs his hands together.
“We can get the photos started first thing tomorrow morning. My wife is an interior decorator, so she’ll be ready to roll with the staging as soon as the work is done.”
I look back at Banks. “I appreciate it, man.” I turn to Mr. Akana. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t want Summer to know about this, all right?”
He blinks, glancing over at her.
I pat him on the shoulder. “Let’s talk on Monday. I have to deliver this cupcake.”
It takes me the rest of the weekend and all of Monday to work through the budget and invoices for the house to calculate how much we lost from the storm damage. I’m sitting at a tiny little bistro table in Tide and Table with my laptop on Tuesday morning.
I miss having a desk. As much as I love spending time with Summer, I need a more permanent option to get work done.
Her studio is too small, and when I sit outside, I get distracted by her doing yoga on the beach.
When I try to take phone calls, there’s always a saw or a drill making it hard for me to hear.
After I ran the numbers, it looks like we lost almost fifty thousand dollars, which puts us almost seventy-five thousand over our designated fund for the renovation.
I rub my fingers through my hair, wondering how we can even finish at this rate, much less add an outdoor kitchen. I don’t want Summer to know about the setback. She’s been blissfully happy for the last few days, and I don’t want her to feel the stress of this.
After losing her mom and going through a breakup, she deserves some time to be carefree without the burden of this budget on her shoulders.
I pack up my laptop and put it in my leather messenger bag. As I walk out of the coffee shop, I dial Henry’s cell, pressing the phone to my ear.
He picks up on the second ring. “Hey, you bastard. How’s the vacation?”
“I’m not on vacation, dick.”
“Really? Could’ve fooled me.”
“I’m helping Summer finish the house.”
“Yeah, if I had a stepsister as hot as Summer, I’d help her finish … the house too.”
I stop in the middle of the sidewalk, clenching my teeth. “Listen, I called you because I need you to trade in some stocks from my personal account and wire me a hundred thousand dollars.”
The line goes silent.
For me to withdraw that much cash is highly unusual.
For Henry, it would be nothing. We’re both comfortably in the millionaire status, but I’m a saver and investor.
Henry is a spender. He doesn’t care about reaching billionaire status by thirty-five like I do.
He has multiple homes, a yacht, and a garage full of cars he never drives.
I have one penthouse apartment, two cars, and the house in Coconut Beach. Every other cent to my name is invested, making me millions a year in interest.
“Are you buying her a ring?” he finally says. “I’d better be invited to the wedding.”
“What are you talking about?” I keep walking down the street, the sun beating down on me. “I need it for the house.”
“Shit, you went that far out of the budget? You’ve never fucked up that bad on an investment.”
I can hear him typing on his keyboard.
“Just do it.” I hang up the phone.
Henry and I are the same brand of asshole when it comes to business. Neither of us requires pleasantries or small talk. We’re short and to the point, especially with each other, which is how we’ve built a successful empire in the last ten years.
The comment about the ring has my head spinning as I approach the beach house. I haven’t even thought about a ring or proposing.
Is she ready for that?
Does she want that?
I don’t even know where she feels emotionally toward me right now. We’ve been having sex—amazing sex—regularly. She’s enthusiastic about everything I want to do to her in bed. And she’s flexible.
Fuck, don’t think about how flexible she is right now.
The reality is that Summer probably wants to take our emotional relationship much slower than I do. If it were up to me, I’d already have labeled her as mine and let the entire island know she was off the market. I’d be withdrawing another chunk of money for a ring too.
When I get to the beach house and walk through the side yard, she’s in a downward dog pose on the sand, finishing up her senior yoga class.
All the Bees are here, plus Cheri. She joins in just because she thinks they’re hilarious.
Amelia is next to her, doing all the poses the best way a five-year-old can.
I watch from near the door to the studio, admiring Summer’s patience with the adorable group of best friends. When they’re all in the same pose that resembles a triangle, Summer grabs her camera from on top of her beach towel and snaps a photo.
“Get a good angle of my behind!” January calls out.
The ladies all start poking their butts out dramatically before losing the pose due to their laughter.
Summer shakes her head, snapping a few more photos before turning toward me.
She lifts a hand to wave, and I return it.
She’s wearing a pale green yoga onesie that shows off all her beautiful curves.
“Hey, boss! Can you come here for a minute?” Javier calls from inside the house.
I walk up onto the back porch and head inside, where he is in the kitchen, overseeing the backsplash in the kitchen being done. It’s a beautiful pacific-blue shell design.
The floors are still covered up to protect them from the workers’ boots. The painters are done, and the electrician is finishing hanging up the light fixtures.
Javier shakes my hand as I walk up. “Got a call from the guy doing the outdoor kitchen. He’s ready to start on the frame for the base. Do you have the final specs for what all you want out there?”
“Check with Summer before you finalize anything. I know she wants a sink, a flat-top grill, and room for a mini fridge.”
“All right. Will do. You’re looking at the end of this week for the inside, next week for the deck with the kitchen. Landscaping will start tomorrow.”
“You’ve done excellent, Javier. The place looks better than I could’ve imagined.”
He beams at me. “Thank you, boss.”
“Check with Summer about the landscaping. She may want some specific plants or flowers.”
He nods, shaking my hand again. I walk back out to the beach, where Summer is standing with January, Cheri, and Amelia, watching the roof to the new deck get put on.
“They sure work quickly,” Summer says.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders. Surprisingly, she sinks into me. We haven’t really done any of the public displays of affection until now. Neither of the women reacts to us, proving just how obvious we’ve been all this time.
The back of the house has a beautiful shape, with a gable over the master bedroom sliding glass door, wood-look siding on the upper half of the house, and black-framed windows.
The deck is a deep mocha color, and once it has the string lights and furniture, it’ll be the coziest little spot on this stretch of beach.
“I’m gonna be sad to see it go.” Summer sighs, interlacing her fingers with mine. “I wish Mom could’ve seen it like this.”
“She would have loved your design,” Cheri says. “You have incredible taste, and you were so much alike.”
She smiles up at me, her eyes growing wet.
I nod, kissing her forehead. “That’s true.”
“She does love it. And you know, they say it’s okay. They’re not upset with you,” January says.
We all three look over at her.
She’s smiling in that way she does when she’s giving out unsolicited psychic readings. “Clara is thrilled actually. And Russell, well, you know how he is. If he’s not mad about it, he’s okay with it.”
My chest aches in a way that feels like sadness combined with relief. Summer laughs, stepping in front of me. I wrap my arms fully around her shoulders and tug her to my chest.
Mine.
Maybe I do need to call Henry back about sending me another wire. I’ll have to fly to New York to pick out the perfect ring. And I’ll need to consult Cheri.
My cousin is looking at me now, tears welling up in her eyes. She laughs, wiping them away. Amelia is digging in the sand, oblivious to the shift happening between the adults right now.
“Well, in that case, what were we so worried about?” Summer leans back into me.
January throws her hands up. “Beats me. Guilt is a waste of precious time. Live your life, sugar puss.”