Chapter 9
nine
ORION
Right before five p.m., I head out the door to meet Carina. The walk is only a few minutes down the beach, past houses that are a variation of the style of mine, and then I’m greeted with the world-famous facade of the Paradise Bar and Grill. It’s designed to look like a sandcastle, with the entire ground floor open to the beach.
I cross through what would be the patio at any other place, but here the tables are perched in the sand with large umbrellas and palm trees providing some shade. Signs urge patrons to remove their shoes. Inside, the room centers around a large, square bar. Off to one side an area is roped off and a sign proclaims, Local Residents Only .
I find Carina quickly, sitting alone at a large table in the locals’ section. I’m intercepted by Alex who steps out from behind the bar before I can get to her.
“Hey, man! Glad you finally made it in!” He claps me on the back.
I hide my grimace. It’s not that I don’t want to catch up with Alex, but I need Carina more. She’s calling to me and I feel pulled to her in the way only the sea has ever managed.
“I’m actually meeting Carina Webb. I did that charter with her and to my surprise, and likely not yours, she’s my next-door neighbor,” I say flatly. I don’t know what I expect to accomplish by calling him out, but I do it anyway.
“Carina’s great. I’m glad you hit it off without any expectations.” He winks.
I need to shut this down. For Carina’s sake. I can run interference on Alex all day, but she has enough on her plate. “I just moved here. I’m not looking for any complications.” From the corner of my eye, I see a server place glasses of water on the table she’s at.
He puts his hands up in surrender. “Right, of course.”
We don’t know each other well, so he isn’t aware of my dating history. Otherwise, he’d keep me far away from Carina if he cares about her.
“Your first appetizer is on the house. I’ve already made the staff aware you’re allowed in the locals’ section.”
“I appreciate it.”
It shouldn’t mean much, but being accepted by Alex means the rest of the town will follow. His family has owned this place for generations. It’s been a driver of tourism for years. We do a quick one-armed hug before I am free to approach Carina.
She jumps when I pull out the chair next to her. “Sorry, I thought you saw me.”
“No, I was focused on the beach,” she says softly, pointing.
The table has a clear view of the public beach, and the sea breeze drifts across my skin through the open facade. By our houses, it’s been quiet. Here, tons of people play in the water, even this late in the afternoon.
Then her attention turns to me and I realize she’s wearing a dress. I’m hit by a wave of lust so strong, I need to take a moment to think of anything but the way the hem wanders up her thighs or how the scoop of her neckline hints at cleavage. Her legs are so strong and her skin so soft. All I want is to bury my head between her thighs and never come up for air. They have quickly become my new obsession.
She’s attractive no matter what she’s wearing, whether it’s shorts or those yoga pants she doesn’t wear panties with. I’d never want her to be anything other than strong, but this dress makes it easy for me to see her as the princess everyone thinks of her as.
“I thought you only wore athletic wear.” I sit and sip from the water glass nearest me.
She looks down, the end of her ponytail drifting over her shoulder. “This is an athletic dress. It has built-in shorts and stretchy fabric.”
I’m guessing the built-in shorts also count for her underwear. “It’s one of yours, then?”
“Of course.”
“Why don’t you wear other brands?” It’s a genuine question, but Carina gets defensive.
“Everything I make, I stand by its sustainability and labor practices. I don’t know that for many other companies.” Her spine straightens when she talks about labor practices. It’s so hot.
I respond to her defensiveness with my own snark. “Plus, you look gorgeous so people will buy it in the hopes of looking as good as you.”
Her face flushes and her mouth twists. We agreed to be friends. But I can’t turn off the fact I find her attractive. If it really bothers her, I’ll stop mentioning it. I can’t deny Carina deserves to be praised.
“Yes, my body allows me to advertise my products in a way that’s in line with conventional beauty standards. But my goal is never to serve as body inspiration.”
I’ve hit a nerve I didn’t think about. I don’t know what’s behind that statement, but I’m concerned she’s hurting herself by forcing herself to look a way that isn’t healthy. Or she’s worried other people will harm themselves trying to look like she does. “Carina, I didn’t mean?—”
She shakes her head and stands up. I think she’s leaving. Instead, she greets a man with sandy blond hair and tattoos poking out of the sleeves of his T-shirt.
“Christian!” she says. “This is the new neighbor I told you about, Orion Edwards. Orion this is my friend, Christian Bailey. He owns Wendell Beach Rum Works.”
“It’s good to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand and refusing to let jealousy take over. They didn’t hug. Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t remember her hugging anyone on the boat. The other women were constantly getting close for selfies. She stayed apart.
“Where’s Autumn?” she asks him.
I make a mental note to check in with her later about the beauty standards. I’m not done getting into her head. She might think she can distract me but I have more focus than she gives me credit for.
“Teacher drinks,” he says, pushing the menu in front of him to the side.
“But this is your launch party.” Her face is full of concern.
“It’s fine, Carina. I opened a bottle with her last night.” He folds his paper napkin.
“Sorry, Autumn is his wife,” she tells me.
“I didn’t realize it was a special event,” I say.
Christian drapes his arm over the back of the chair next to him. “It’s not really. I have a new rum on the market. I told Carina it isn’t a big deal, but she insisted on going all out.”
“This isn’t all out,” she says. “It’s happy hour with a few friends.”
“Who else is coming?” Christian asks.
“Haley and Beckett. As soon as they finish a wedding planning session.”
“Oh, Haley’s engaged?” I ask. I’m not attracted to her, but it would’ve been nice to know.
Carina glares at me. “She’s not getting married. She also doesn’t do hookups. Beckett is marrying our friend, Sienna, who lives in Boston. Haley is the maid of honor so she’s helping.” Her voice is protective and seething. Message received. I won’t have any romantic interest in Haley, like I always planned.
“Right,” I say.
“You okay?” Christian shifts toward Carina. “You said he was cool, but you snapped.”
She freezes in horror. Christian looks like he would hurt anyone who hurts her. I don’t know why she glared at me. I need to smooth this out in a way that preserves both our reputations.
“We had a disagreement earlier,” I say with a smile. “Don’t think she’s gotten over my—what was it? Self-centered arrogance?” Thank god this makes her smile. I’ll be as self-deprecating as she needs and let Christian know the two of us are fine. I’m a friendly asshole.
“Something like that,” she says.
“Okay,” Christian says. His eyes soften as he focuses on her. I think he believes us.
Haley arrives wearing a blue sundress, with a man in a polo shirt and khakis. I note the logo on his shirt and it’s an expensive brand. He checks his watch, either purposefully showing it off or he needs us to be aware his time is more valuable than ours. I assume this is Beckett.
I own two businesses and bought a house close to the beach, but I’ve never cared about material things. If it took up space on the boat, it had to earn its keep. I can tell he’s concerned about his appearance.
I also note Christian is wearing one of Carina’s T-shirts. Haley gives me a hug and thanks me for helping with her cooking shoot earlier. I compliment her food. Beckett’s gaze goes from Carina’s chest to me as he sizes me up. When the formal introductions are made, I catch his last name, Foley, and some pieces fall into place. His family owns the luxury resort at the south end of the island, Coastline Beach House. The exact resort I would love to have designate Lost Craft Charters as their preferred sailing company.
Alex walks over with a server who he introduces to me as Bristol. She places a bottle of rum on the table and lines up glasses for us. Christian takes a few minutes to describe the process of how this rum came to be. Bristol also mentions how proud she is of her big brother taking what he inherited from their grandparents and building on it. How the community has come to rely on him for jobs and to bring tourists into the area.
I want to reach for Carina’s hand under the table and squeeze it. She doesn’t realize what it means to me to be included in this. These people have ties to Wendell Beach and to each other. I’ve been drifting on my own for so long. But this is why I came here—to get away from the cold and find a place where I can build something.
I want to pull Carina in for a kiss and break in my new bed with her. The reasons she had for not hooking up again don’t hold up in this moment.
Christian pours the rum, we toast, and I take a sip. It is good. I need a few bottles of this. I look at Carina for her reaction and find her watching me.
“Do you like it?” she asks.
She’s so transparent. “I do. Christian, I’d love a tour at some point.”
“Any time,” he says.
We finish our samples and Bristol takes our drink order. I try to catch Carina’s eye when she orders a cocktail made with the rum the two of us shared the other night, but she’s fixated on the food menu.
“Haley was telling me you have a boat?” Beckett says, sipping his beer. I’m surprised by the choice since the bar is famous for its cocktails. At least it’s from a local brewery.
“Yeah, I own Lost Craft Charters,” I say. “We have five boats here total.”
“But you do have your own sailboat? One not for charter,’” Beckett asks. “I saw the pictures Carina posted.”
I nod without responding because I know where this is headed.
“That would be a lot of fun for the bachelor trip. Don’t you think, Alex?” Bristol has returned to the bar, while Alex remains seated since it’s slow enough that the bartenders can keep up with the orders.
“You don’t have your own?” I ask.
“No, too much work to deal with the maintenance.”
“Like you said, I don’t offer my boat for charters,” I say. “I’m happy to work something out with the fleet. We have a really nice catamaran for groups.”
Beckett shakes his head. “No, I looked at the others. They don’t go nearly as fast. You made an exception for Carina. You can make an exception for me.” He turns to Alex. “You’re the best man. You should be organizing this anyway.”
To his credit, Alex hesitates when he sees my reaction. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Where have you sailed around here?” Christian asks, shifting away from Beckett who pulled his phone out. “When Bristol isn’t bartending, she does kayak tours around the island. I’m sure she’s worked on your boats before you bought the company.”
“Not many places yet. I’ve been busy with the house. I am sailing to a sandbar south of here tomorrow on a day charter, and then I’m taking my boat to Egmont Key on Monday.”
“You’re going out by yourself?” Carina asks.
“I’ve sailed alone plenty. It’s a popular destination so I need to scout it.”
“I’ve never been,” she says.
This is my opportunity. To get her back on my boat. Just the two of us.
“I haven’t either,” Alex says.
Fuck. Well now I can’t invite her without excluding everyone else, making me the asshole. “You should all come,” I suggest, not letting my tone betray how much I don’t want that.
“Some of us have jobs,” Beckett says.
“I can make Monday work,” Carina says. Haley and Christian agree, suggesting Bristol come along to help me with the sailing.
It won’t be quite the romantic day I had in mind. But I’ll make do with what I have.
Beckett’s phone vibrates and he smirks. “Sienna wants me to approve ties for the groomsmen.” He passes the phone to Carina. “What do you think about this one for Hamilton?”
She tenses. “It looks fine to me.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Beckett asks.
I don’t know who Hamilton is, but I hate seeing her tense.
“Beckett.” A fake smile spreads across her face. “Hamilton and I broke up because he didn’t want to do long-distance.”
I keep my face straight as best I can. Never did it cross my mind the challenge to some kind of future for Carina and me is that she is holding out for someone else.
“Things change, Carina. Weddings are romantic. You never know what you’ll agree to.”
“We’ll see,” she says.
I see the gritted teeth, but no one else comes to her rescue.