Neither Daphne nor Rio replied at first. Daphne, I didn’t expect to—she rarely answered mid-shift. And Rio was probably busy at work, too.
I gave in.“I’m drowning in sawdust and chaos. You?”
“I’m good. Lunch break now, another flop of a date last night. Nothing to tell. How’s Sebastian?”Eve replied, the only one of us still genuinely and actively looking for love.
“He’s around. Helpful. Saved my ass, tbh. Good with beams.”
“Beams, huh?”Rio suddenly appeared.“And sorry, Evangeline. I’m sure Mr. Right will appear soon.”
“Thanks, Rio. I dated all the toads. Hopefully, there’s a prince out there. Ruby, are we talking structural or emotional support here?”Eve wrote.
“I vote for both, plus the extra beam he always has for Ruby. Now probably more than ever,”Rio answered.
“Who do I need to arrest?”Daphne showed up.
“Sebastian. For making Ruby play house.”Rio added a house emoji.
“Yeah, if he’s still there, does that mean you and him are ... a thing now?”Eve asked.
I rolled my eyes at the screen.“Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.”
“What they’re asking is, are you and monogamy friends now, Ruby?”Daphne added dryly. She rarely dated, thanks to what she called her “dating constipation.”
“You’re the worst.”I included a poop emoji for good measure.
“Noted. But hey, that’s truth o’clock, babe. You gave it to me with Owen, remember?”
“You don’t have to explain. Just don’t forget to hydrate. Emotionally, too,”Eve added.
“Also, you’re all fired,”I texted.
“You wish,”Rio replied with a kissy face emoji, just as Daphne wrote,“I’m union.”
I chuckled alone in my office.
Later, I headed into town again to replace two coffee machines. Coral Bay’s off-season weekday hum was in full swing. Afternoon shoppers strolled the main avenue, a few familiar local faces chatted outside the bakery with takeaway cups and the bakery’s logoed paper bags, and the smell of ocean salt hung in the air. Evangeline’s flower shop sat just a few doors down from the hardware store, its display window brimming with color. Buckets of fresh-cut blooms flanked the entrance. She and Marcy were busy serving a cluster of customers, so I just waved through the glass, and Evie gave me anI’m sorrysmile and waved back.
Sebastian didn’t answer when I knocked on the door of Sea Glass Cabin later that evening, balancing two bottles of Sierra Nevada and a pizza box I brought from my favorite place in town.
I let myself in.
The sound of running water, soft behind the half-closed bathroom door, welcomed me. I set the food down on the table, slipped off my shoes, peeled off my clothes, and stepped into the bathroom.
He didn’t hear me, giving me a chance to admire the wide back of the well-built body that had been hiding beneath his clothes—the one I’d been ogling earlier.
God, he had a beautiful ass.
“Hi,” I said, grinning.
He turned, surprised, and I caught the flicker in his eyes and felt that electric spark that made us both lose our calm.
I stepped into the tub and pressed my hand to his chest, feeling the beat of his heart under my palm.
“Hey,” he managed to say before I turned the tap off, dropped to my knees, cupped his beautiful, firm ass, and did exactly what I felt like doing all day.
I took my time, savoring how he threaded his fingers into my hair and slightly pulled as I sucked him deep and slow, how he came hard, groaning my name.
THE NEXT MORNING, SUNLIGHTleaked through the curtains, and I found myself tangled in him again—this time in his bed. Bare skin, strong arms, his scent wrapping around me.
