Suzanne appeared startled by the question. “Why would you think I’m not happy?”

Annie shrugged. “I’m just…I’m wondering why you’re happy and I never was. I mean, I don’t know what went wrong with Derrick.” She shook her head. “Well, I do know. I shouldn’t have ever married him in the first place. I just…I got carried away with it all, I think.”

“With what?”

“With all of us,” she said. “He and Aaron and Chuck. You, me and Macy. Everything just piled on top of each other. They were best friends, we were best friends. His parents and my parents were friends. I got caught up in it all and I couldn’t get out.” She took another drink of her water, wondering where she was going with this. These thoughts were private, thoughts she’d not shared with anyone before. “I think I knew before we even got married that it wasn’t the real thing for me, yet I went through with it,” she admitted. “And after six months, I was certain that it wasn’t for me. But no matter how unhappy I was, I pretended that I wasn’t. Because I was caught up in the whole group thing. And I put up with it for six years. Six years.”

“Oh, Annie. I could tell you weren’t happy. I thought maybe if you had a kid—”

“Now that was the smartest thing I did…not getting pregnant. I’d still be married to him then, I’m sure. And I’d be miserable.”

“So were you ever in love with him?”

“In love?” Annie shook her head. “No. No, I don’t think so. Not that deep, crazy kind of love. He was just the guy I dated all through high school, the guy everyone assumed I would marry. Before I could even contemplate what was happening, I was standing in front of the preacher saying ‘I do,’ and then it was too late.” She sighed. “I guess I’m telling you all of this so you won’t have this hope that Derrick and I will get back together. Because it’s not going to happen. Ever.”

Suzanne nodded. “Okay. I won’t bring it up again. I’m sorry. I thought it might be an option.”

“It’s not.”



Chapter Fourteen

Jordan waited until Brandon had finished with his customer, then waved him back. The smile that was almost always on his face faltered a bit.

“You wanted to see me, boss?”

Jordan led him into the office. She had stopped asking him to call her “Jordan” instead of “boss.” It had made no difference. He still called her “boss.” She assumed it was because of her dress—the business suits. She’d hoped that once she started dressing like them, in shorts, that he would loosen up, but no.

She motioned to the visitor’s chair. “Sit down,” she said.

“Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?”

She stared at him. “I don’t know. Did you?”

The color left his face. “I don’t think so,” he said.

She smiled, trying to get him to relax. “Then why do you look guilty?”

“Because this is like being called back to the principal’s office. You never ask any of us to come back here.”

She leaned her elbows on the desk. “Why are you here?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Here. At Fat Larry’s. Annie tells me you have your degree.”

“Yes.”

“So?”

He shrugged. “I’ve worked here since high school,” he said.

“Right. And now you have your degree. In fact, you got it in December.”

“You don’t like me working here?” he asked hesitantly.

“I love you working here. You’re a natural with the customers. You’re friendly. And you flirt just enough with the ladies but don’t ever cross the line. At least, not that I’ve seen.”

He actually blushed, and it made him look even more handsome, she noted.

“I guess I don’t understand your line of questioning,” he said.

“What are your goals, Brandon?”

He nodded. “Oh, I see. Is this like a…‘where do you see yourself in five years?’ kind of a thing?”

“Exactly.”

He smiled and brushed his blond hair off his tanned face. “I’m just…you know, hanging out. Enjoying myself. I’m into sailboarding,” he said. “So working here, the hours are flexible, I can still hit the water whenever I want.”

“You have your degree. You work part-time. Your goal is…sailboarding?”

“Look, money is not that big a deal,” he said. “I have a roommate. My Jeep is paid for.” He glanced over his shoulder as if making sure they were still alone. “I have money,” he said quietly. “My uncle…well, he paid for my college. Paid for my Jeep. He and my father were the only children and he never married. And I don’t have any siblings.” He paused. “He’s kinda rich.”

“And he gives you money?”

“Yeah. I’m on his payroll.”

“Unbelievable,” she murmured.

“Yeah. It’s sweet.”

“So if you’ve got it so sweet, why do you work here?”

“I love it here. Like I said, it’s flexible. And I’ve got to do something productive with my life. I can’t sailboard all day long.” He paused. “Besides, I started working here in high school. This is like home to me.”

She leaned back in her chair. “So if I offered you more money, that’s not really an incentive to you, seeing as you’ve got another job that you don’t actually have to work at.”

“I’m always open for more money,” he said with a smile. “What do you have in mind?”

She wondered if this was a good idea, but hell, she liked the guy. And she thought she could trust him. So, she gave voice to what she’d been contemplating for the last couple of weeks.

“Right now, Annie and I take turns closing the store. And I understand that before, Matt would always close.”

“Yes. And?”

“And I want to train you to close. If it works out, I’ll give you a raise.” She shrugged. “I was going to offer you more hours too, but that might cut into your sailboarding,” she said with a smile.

“Like close on my own?”

“Yes. Like be in charge of clearing out the cash register, reconciling the receipts, that sort of thing. Obviously, locking up and setting the alarm when you leave.”

“Cool.”

“Cool? You interested?”

“Sure. And I could take a few more hours too, boss.”

“Great. We’ll start training today.”



Chapter Fifteen

Annie walked into the house, her hands loaded with three grocery bags, but Jordan was nowhere to be seen.

“Jordan? You around?” she called.

She put the perishables in the fridge, then peeked out onto the deck. It too was empty. She heard a splash in the water and looked past the railing of the deck, down to the pier. Jordan was out in the water. She took the stairs on the side of the deck, heading toward the bay. She stopped abruptly when she saw Jordan.

She was up to her waist in the water, wearing a bikini top, and it was the first time Annie had seen her this exposed. She looked stunning. Annie found herself staring. She shook it off, finally settling on her face. It was then she noticed the change.

“Oh, my God! You got a haircut,” she exclaimed.

Jordan looked up and smiled before running a wet hand through her now shorter hair. “Yeah. Thought I’d butch out a little for you,” she teased.

“It looks great,” Annie said.

Jordan came out of the water, and Annie’s gaze dropped to her waist, where she expected to see a bikini bottom to accompany the top. She was somewhat disappointed that wasn’t the case. She blinked that thought away as water droplets ran down Jordan’s flat stomach and onto the water shorts she had on.

“So what are you doing?” she asked.

“Seeing how bad the pier really is,” Jordan said. “I thought maybe a few boards here and there could be replaced, but I think we’ll have to redo the whole thing. Some of the pylons are rotted.”

“Can you get to the Jet Skis?” she asked hopefully, remembering Jordan’s offer of a ride.

“Yeah. I can walk in the bay if I have to. Maybe we’ll take them out on Sunday.”

Annie looked at her questioningly. “You going to close the store early?”

“No.”

Annie frowned. “Wait a minute.” She glanced at her watch. “What are you doing home anyway? Who’s at the store?”

Jordan smiled. “I’m trusting Brandon to close.”

“By himself? You only trained him yesterday,” she reminded her.

“Yeah.” Jordan shrugged. “He did fine. And it’s not that hard. I told him if he doesn’t screw anything up today, I’ll up his hourly wage,” Jordan said. “So, how was the doctor’s visit?”

Annie sighed. “I’ve been poked and prodded, peed in a cup, gave blood and answered more questionnaires than I can possibly remember. But I like her, I guess. She’s young.”

“Good. How often do you have to see her?”

“Every four weeks for now,” she said. “The next appointment won’t be nearly this long, they tell me.”

Jordan eyed her. “So? Are you excited yet?”

Annie smiled. “Excited? A little. Scared? A lot.” She held up her hand. “Let’s save baby talk for later. I thought I’d cook dinner,” she said, remembering the reason she’d been looking for Jordan in the first place.

“Oh, yeah? Well, that was one of your alternate payment methods, wasn’t it?” Jordan teased.

“Yes. My mother will be happy to hear that,” she said with a quick smile. “I picked up some pork chops. I know how you like to grill.”

Jordan walked beside her up the deck and playfully bumped her shoulder. “So you were going to cook, huh?”

“I’m making a very secret recipe. It involves potatoes and cheese and sour cream and it’s way too fattening, but I’m having a craving. So yes, I’m cooking that. You are doing the chops. Deal?”

“I accept. Let me grab a shower first.”

Annie nodded, her gaze following Jordan until she rounded the corner and went into her bedroom.

“What in the world is wrong with you?” she murmured to herself with a shake of her head. Her doctor did warn her of hormonal changes. She made no mention that she might suddenly start ogling her female boss’s body.

* * *

Jordan got out of the shower and toweled her wet hair. She glanced in the mirror as she ran her hand through the shorter strands. The cut was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and she still couldn’t quite believe she’d done it. One minute, she’s standing outside the liquor store with her two bags of wine and the next, she’s seated in a chair at Quick Clips asking for a “summer cut.”

To be sure, it wasn’t drastically short, just different. She’d always been a bit conservative in her dress, her appearance—nothing to call attention to herself. She wore the barest amount of makeup, minimal jewelry, gray or black business suits. Conservative.

Now here she was, wearing shorts and T-shirts to work, no makeup, no jewelry. And a cute new haircut that was more casual than conservative, more sporty than conventional.

She smiled at her reflection, noting the change in her. She was more relaxed, more in tune with her surroundings, more focused on her life, rather than her job. She felt like her life had slowed to a snail’s pace compared to the constant movement that she had been in. There was nothing slow-paced about Chicago, and her job had reflected that as well. Everyone was in a hurry, yet everybody seemed to be behind schedule in whatever they did. Her included. There never seemed to be a time where she could simply stop and breathe.

Here? It was so very different. Despite the tragic reason she was here, despite the fact that her parents weren’t quite back to normal yet—would they ever be?—she was embracing her time in Rockport. She felt…free. She felt like the constraints she’d had on her, constraints she’d mostly placed on herself, were now gone. Did she dare say she was almost a different person?

So much so that she trusted a twenty-three-year-old guy to close up Fat Larry’s after only one day of training. The control she insisted on having in her job, in her life, had disappeared, it seemed.

A byproduct of Matt’s death? Perhaps. Or maybe it was just being away from her real life, her real responsibilities, the constant stress she lived with. Maybe removing herself from that, even if only for a little while, had changed her.

Regardless, she wanted to embrace it. Because it felt good.

So with a smile on her face, she dressed in soft cotton athletic shorts and slipped her feet into flip-flops—a cheap pair she’d snagged at the local Walmart. Feeling relaxed and casual, she decided to skip her bra and slipped a navy-colored Fat Larry T-shirt over her head.

She found Annie in the kitchen, cutting up potatoes. She was surprised—and pleased—that a bottle of wine was opened and a glass poured.

“Thanks,” she said as she picked it up.

Annie glanced up at her and smiled, her gaze traveling slowly over her. Jordan felt a bit self-conscious without a bra. Her breasts were small, and though she doubted Annie would even know, she just barely resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest.