“That’s the whole problem!”
Just as I reach for the doorknob, she puts a hand on my forearm. Her brows furrow like before. “You’ll let me know if it’s too much, right? We can always cut back hours here at the diner.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say again. And after her repetitive questioning, IthinkI’m still telling the truth. This summer is packed, but that’s how I’ve always liked it in the past. Busy helps me stay ontop of things. Busy keeps me safe. I don’t waste time thinking so much when I’m running around putting out everyone else’s fires.
When I get up to the register, Chase is standing there, alone, drumming his fingers at his side as he smiles at something on his phone. That smile probably helps him get away with a lot, paired with that hair and…everything else.
“It’ll be $20.75. We take everything except check,” I say, glancing over to the empty booth. “Is Hunter out on the prowl?”
He slides his phone into his pocket and smiles at me while fishing for his wallet. “With him, anything’s possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s halfway back to LA by now.”
“He’s not a fan of Bender so far?”
“He just hasn’t given it a chance yet. Hunter’s more of a sandy beach, sunshine, girls everywhere kind of guy.”
“And you’re…?” My voice trails as I internally kick myself for sounding interested. I have no business asking that kind of question to a cute stranger who’s been staring at me for the last hour.
“I’m the kind of guy who can wait patiently to learn your real name.” He smirks.
His sudden confidence is a stark difference from earlier, and it throws me off guard. My mouth gapes as I struggle to think of a response, and the butterflies surging through my core are no help. Cute, shy tourists are one thing, but confident, charming ones screamdangerto everything inside of me. I wish he would skip the flirting, pay his bill, and get out of town so I can finish my shift in peace.
“I’ll be here all summer,” he adds. “Plenty of time to bump into each other and get acquainted.”
With my pulse hammering in my ears and the flutters scattering throughout my chest, I almost miss what he said.
All summer?
I have to see him around town for the next three months, withthatsmile andthoseeyes? “I guess it’ll be your lucky day, then.” My attention drops to the register screen.
“Oh, it definitelywill be.”
From the corner of my eye, I watch him slip something into the tip jar on the counter. “Thanks!”
“Sure. The food was great, and the waitress was…” He pauses, waiting until I flick my eyes up to his before he says, “phenomenal.” He winks at me.Winks.Like he’s used to girls melting at the expression. I wouldn’t call what happens to me melting. Maybe a slight warming. And yeah, my face flushes. He can’t see it, but he smirks like he can.
“See you next time,Patty.”
Once he leaves through the door, I puff out the breath I’ve been holding and lean back against the counter. Since when does winking turn me stupid? I’ve been winked at before, and it’s never made me blush. Yet here I am, fanning my face, thinking about his ocean blue eyes and crooked smile. That thing could brighten up any space, especially paired with the tiny sense of humor he seemed to find before leaving. Hopefully, he and his friend find another restaurant to frequent while they’re here and he can wink at some other unsuspecting waitress.
I notice one of Patti’s white business cards in the tip jar, tucked under the cash Chase slipped in. I contemplate putting it right in the trash, but when I pick it up, there’s a phone number and one sentence scrawled on the back:
Next time, try not to steal my breath away.
—Chase.
CHAPTER FOUR
CHASE
The fresh air breezes into the wide-open French doors of my bottom floor bedroom while I enjoy the view from the deck. As I take in the calm, waves crash against the cliff. This place is amazing, perfectly peaceful. I’ll enjoy some much-needed relaxation after the way I powered through my last semester before graduation.
The Bluffs Estates is a set of four coastal style beach houses curved into a cul-de-sac overlooking the Pacific. The property owner rents the houses for the summer, and between my family and Hunter’s, we’ve rented out three of them. My parents and sisters will stay in one, Hunter’s dad and sister in another, and Hunter and I in the third. The fourth, as far as I know, is still vacant.
Hunter snagged a room upstairs, and the heavy bass thumping from his music rattles the windows as I come back inside to unpack. I’m transferring clothes from my suitcase into the drawers lining the wall when my phone rings.
“Hey, Dad,” I answer, pressing the video icon and flopping on the bed.
“Hey, kid! You two make it in okay?”
