Chapter 3
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“You good, sweetie?” Vanessa Steele—one of the coastguard wives asks from behind as she pats me on the shoulder.
She swings a bottle of Caribou Creek Amber on the table in front of me before taking the seat next to mine.
She insisted I try the local Alaskan brew to help me better understand the vision for the website I’ll be building.
I’m glad Vanessa gets me. It might come in handy if Mr. Strict Itinerary tries to argue with the way I work.
“Oh, I’m good. Just taking it all in.”
“This has to be a little like drinking out of a firehose,” she adds. “Did Nolan warn you there’d be this many of us?”
I expected a couple of guys to be waiting for us at the bar and grill for this initial meeting.
Instead, we were directed to the party room at the back of the restaurant.
Every table in the room was pushed together, and all the chairs around it were filled with men, women, feisty grandmothers, and a few younger kids.
It’s utter chaos.
And to be honest? I kind of love it.
“If I have to identify everyone by name on some sort of test later, I will fail,” I tell her as she takes a sip of her own beer.
“We all felt that way when we first joined the crew,” she says.
“All of you?”
“Well, the wives. We’re all transplants, you see. Or we were.”
“North Haven is home now?”
“For the J-Squad wives, yes. The Ashburns are another story.”
“The J-Squad is made up of six former coastguardsmen who met at bootcamp, all with J names?”
“See, you’re getting it. Yes, this is home. I wouldn’t dream of leaving,” Vanessa says. She briefly leans toward her husband, whispering something to him. Then, she adds, “If you’re not careful, you might find yourself head over heels for an Alaskan man and never leave.”
“Yeah, I doubt that’ll happen,” I say on a soft laugh, my gaze snagging on the one overdressed military veteran across from me.
Nana stole the seat next to him, forcing me to sit opposite them both.
I thought it’d be less distracting this way, except the view is definitely better from where I’m sitting.
Nolan has this rugged, clean-cut military, mountain man vibe going for him, and I can’t quite figure him out.
The temptation to unravel that mystery might get me into trouble if I’m not careful.
When Nolan catches me staring, I panic and reach for my bottle of beer.
It’s one thing to think dirty thoughts about my new boss. It’s another to admit it, accidentally or otherwise.
“The amber’s from a family brewery, up in Caribou Creek,” Vanessa explains. “Josie could tell you more about that side of the business, though.”
I scan the table in search of the woman she mentioned but come up empty.
There’re just too many people in this room and too much jet lag running through my veins right now to keep everyone straight.
I regret not finishing that coffee when I had the chance.
It’s currently growing cold in a backseat cup holder.
I try to remember anyway, because I suspect it’ll be important for the website.
I scan the table, unable to pick out the three brothers who run the Caribou Creek brewery further inland.
But I know they’re here, mixed in this giant group with their families.
I recognize one, only because he seems to wear a permanent scowl more serious than Nolan’s.
Ben, I think his name is. Ah, that’s right.
There’s Josie, his wife. And the little girl with blonde curls in her lap must be theirs.
She’s the spitting image of the two of them.
That cutie pie is going to break some serious hearts when she gets older.
“So this restaurant slash brewery is going to be a family friendly establishment, right?” I ask Vanessa, trying to get a better sense of their vision.
“Oh yes! We’re going to include a kid-friendly interactive museum where they can learn not just about Alaska, but about North Haven as well. I’m sure Nolan will tell you all about it soon enough.”
“It’s probably listed out in the book he sent me.” An email I have yet to open. Oops. But if the man thinks I’m hauling around a printed copy of his detailed itinerary made to the minute, he’s hired the wrong designer.
“He does seem a little…”
“Uptight?”
“I was going to say systematic,” Vanessa adds, laughing. “But Jasper promises me that he’s one of them. Honestly, this entire project wouldn’t be coming together without him.”
“He’s not part of the J-Squad though, is he?” I muse, trying to piece a little more of the origin story together.
“He’s an honorary member. He served with Jasper in Cape Cod.”
My gaze sweeps over Nolan again while his attention is focused on Nana.
There’s a glow emanating from his serious expression when he talks to her.
Nana’s a firecracker on a normal day, and she’s not everyone’s cup of tea on account of how outspoken she tends to be.
It’s what I love about her most. The sight of my new boss so engrossed in conversation with her warms my heart.
It also creates some reactions in my belly that aren’t family friendly at all.
“Hey, do you need any recommendations for sightseeing while you’re here?” Vanessa asks.
“Oh, I don’t know how much time I’ll have to play tourist,” I admit, taking another sip. I’m not normally a beer girl, but this local brew is pretty good. It also gives me a few ideas for the website. “But my grandma wants to see a moose.”
“We’ll have to make sure that happens,” Vanessa agrees.
Nana bursts into laughter across the table, but it’s Nolan who catches my eye and winks at me.
Well shit.
The man’s hot enough without smiling. But a fucking wink? That should be illegal. If I want to keep this job, it’s going to take every ounce of restraint I have—and probably a few ounce I don’t—not to throw myself at Nolan Barnes and climb him like tree.