“Taken? I…” I shook my head helplessly as Aimee bit her lip to stifle her laughter. “Not last I heard.”
“Excellent! How does he feel about free love and older women?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
I didnotwant to know why she was asking.
“Erm. Pretty favorably about the free love as far as I know? Not much for women of any age. Why?”
(Okay, I lied. I really wanted to know.)
Lorenna sighed gustily. “I thought now that we’re getting the bridge back and people are flocking to the island, there’d be more newmenaround.”
“There are tons of men,” I protested. “Look around! This place is packed with hot guys.”
“Bah. Those are tourists.” Lorenna waved a hand. “They come for a week or two. That’s hardly enough time to let my imagination run wild, let alone break a man in.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it again. This time, Ireallydidn’t want to know.
“There’s Beale’s Toby,” Aimee reminded her. “And the cute new doctor.”
Lorenna snorted. “Can’t fantasize about men who’re that happily shacked up,” she said morosely. “And Gage’ll be next, just watch and see.”
“I’ll be next at what?” Gage sauntered up and handed me a glass of mead, which Bobo had begun stocking when he heard how much I loved the taste of honey drops. “Please say the answer is kidnapped by a hot, blue alien to be the most favored concubine in his off-world harem of incredibly handsome, virile men, like in one of Mom’s old romances.”
“Nah.” Lorenna wrinkled her nose. “I just meant shacked up here on the island.”
Gage laughed so hard he snorted beer. “Oh, Jesus no. The blue alien iswaymore likely. I have many a wild oat left to sow, Lorenna. Wholefieldsof oats.Acresof oats. And when I’m done with the oats, imma sow some carrots and wheat for good measure.Variety, you know?”
“Exactly! Gage is still way too young to consider getting serious with anyone,” Aimee reminded Lorenna. “Right, Gage?”
“I’m twenty-four, Aim. The only people who think I’m too young are the people on this island.” Gage rolled his eyes like it was all a joke, but his voice carried a hint of bitterness. “At least my employment prospects are looking up, though, so there’s that. I accepted a job today.”
“That’s awesome news! Which one?” I demanded excitedly. “The data security company in Miami? Or did you find something in New York? Or—”
Gage held up a hand. “Unless you were gonna say automating an apple orchard, quit guessing.”
“Wait, the job up north? You were mocking that offer last week. You said big city or nothing. You said it was a job for a sixteen-year-old—”
He shrugged. “They agreed to the salary I wanted, and I’m starting a week from Monday.”
“Wow.” I shook my head in confusion. Money wasn’t something Gage had to worry about anymore, I would have thought, since his share of the treasure was more than enough to carry him even if he didn’t work for a decade, but it was none of my business. “Congrats! We’re gonna miss you around here, though. What made you change your mind?”
“Eh. It’s short-term, it’s easy money, and it’s only a few hours from New York City, so it’s within driving distance for interviews. It’ll pop my ‘real job’ cherry and make my resume look less like a blank page.” He shrugged again. “Plus, the whole state is covered by trees, and everyone knows where there are trees, there are lumberjacks.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I have an affinity for lumberjacks.”
“Samesies,” Lorenna agreed wistfully.
“Have you told Rafe yet?” I asked.
“Nope. I’m gonna tell everyone tomorrow at Dad’s barbecue. But Rafe’ll be fine. He’s chilled out a lot in the last year.” He nudged my arm and smiled in a way that made it impossible not to smile back. “He’s still boring as fuck though.”
“Don’t know if I like you being hundreds of miles from the Key, Gagey,” Lorenna lamented. “What am I gonna do if my e-reader freezes while I’m reading again?”
“Um. Call customer service and arrange for them to fix it?” Gage suggested.
“But they’re gonna be way more judgmental than you are about my Winchester brothers fanfic habits.”
“Nonsense! They couldn’t possibly be, Miss Lorenna!” Gage said with such an innocent expression that Lorenna patted his hand indulgently and let the meaning of his words sail right over her head.
He winked at me, and I coughed to cover a laugh. Gage was easy to underestimate. I just hoped the apple orchard lumberjacks were ready for him.
