“Why are you out there, then?”
“I can’t come to the beach without swimming.” Alicia dove beneath the next wave, surfacing a few seconds later. She turned to face Clare, floating so that her toes peeked out of the water in front of her. “It’s better once you get adjusted.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Clare told her with a playful grin. From the bag beside her, her phone began to ring. She reached for it, shielding her eyes from the sun so she could read the screen. Seeing her boss’s name, she connected the call. “Hi, Angela.”
“Clare! How’s the beach?”
“Perfect,” Clare told her.
“Good, good,” Angela said. “Listen, we have a new client who’s looking for a location for a bachelorette party weekend, and Driftwood Island is one of the places she’s interested in. I thought, since you’re already there, you could do some scouting for me?”
“Sure,” Clare responded automatically, although she was disappointed to give up some of her beach time with Alicia. This was Clare’s last day on the island.
“Great,” Angela said. “I knew you wouldn’t mind. I just need you to visit a bar downtown to see if it’s suitable for them. I’ll text you a link, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks for being a team player. Just email me after you go to let me know what you think.”
“Will do,” Clare agreed.
“Have a beachy drink for me,” Angela said. “Bye!”
Clare ended the call, shrugging off her annoyance with both the request and the drink reference. Maybe Angela meant for her to have a nonalcoholic drink. Clare pushed her phone into her bag, grinning as she saw Rue digging in the sand beside her. “Searching for hidden treasure?”
The dog glanced at her before resuming her digging. A moment later, her treasure was revealed as a crab popped out of the hole, pincers waving.
“Oh geez, Rue. Leave it!”
Rue yipped, bouncing in the sand. The crab stayed perfectly still, pincers extended. Clare had visions of that crab dangling from her dog’s face any moment now, and while the mental image made her laugh, she didn’t want it to happen. She didn’t want Rue to get her little face pinched, nor did she want the crab to get hurt.
“Leave it,” Clare repeated, more firmly this time.
Rue backed up slightly, still bouncing on her front paws.
“Don’t do it, Rue,” Alicia exclaimed, and Clare looked up to see her walking toward them from the water, her body wet and glistening in the sunshine. Clare’s brain misfired at the sight. Crab? What crab?
Rue barked and bounded toward Alicia, licking saltwater from her legs before darting back to her prize. Unluckily for her, the crab had disappeared. Rue cocked her head, staring at the hole she’d dug.
“Her head tilt is so cute,” Alicia said as she dropped onto her towel beside Clare.
“Agreed. I’m a total sucker for a head tilt.”
Alicia cocked her head, and Clare wondered if she even realized she’d done it. It didn’t have the same effect on a person as it did on a dog, but Clare found her adorable regardless. Her phone dinged, and when she pulled it out, she saw several texts from Angela.
“Tell me that’s not work bothering you again,” Alicia said, her tone hard as stone.
Clare pursed her lips and shrugged as she looked at the link Angela had sent. “My boss wants me to check out a bar in town as a potential location for a client’s bachelorette party.”
“You need to set some boundaries,” Alicia said. “And it’s insensitive for her to send you to a bar when you don’t even drink. Does she know that?”
“She knows,” Clare said. “But it’s okay. I go to bars with my friends.”
“You should say no.”
“I don’t mind visiting the bar, but it would be more fun if you came with me.”
“Not my scene.” Alicia’s lips tugged into a frown that Clare knew all too well. She missed the carefree Alicia she’d seen last night and for a few minutes today at the beach. “I came to the island to get away from people, remember?”
