“Check.” He narrowed his eyes, never blinking, as he nodded toward the office door. Praying he’d leave once he had confirmation James wasn’t here, I made a show of swinging the door wide.
“See, empty.” I stayed near the office, putting a safe distance between myself and the goon. “He left about an hour ago. Didn’t say when he’d be back.”
“I’ll wait.” He stalked his way across the lobby to the library. I didn’t want to challenge him again, but it wasn’t good for business to have a loan shark, or his muscle, hanging around where families could see him.
“Sir, I understand that you want to meet with James, but we’re trying to run a family establishment here. Perhaps it’d be best if you waited in your vehicle.” Or got in the car and drove far, far away from here. Damn James and his stupid fucking loans.
“You’re pretty ballsy for a little guy.” The goon sneered at me as he stood. “Better watch it. Little boys with big mouths tend to attract big trouble.”
I gripped the edge of the desk tightly, willing my body to quit shaking before my knees gave out. I couldn’t be certain, but his parting shot sure as hell felt like a threat. Once the goon was gone, I reached for my phone and typed out a frantic message.
I know you wanted to be left alone, but I need you back here. ASAP.
This time, Dane’s response was immediate.
OMW
Every time the door chimed following the goon’s departure, my stomach flipped. I’d texted James to let him know someone had stopped by to see him, deleting the bit about what an asshole he was to put me in the middle of his bullshit. I wasn’t sure whether I hoped he’d race back to take care of his mess or heed the warning and disappear for a while. My overactive imagination wanted him to get his ass back here and take whatever they had to dish out, but my heart kept reminding me that he was Dane’s family.
The doors to the patio opened, revealing Dane in silhouette. Finally I felt my chest loosen, and I was able to breathe again. I wanted to run to him, but at that same moment, the front doors opened to a family whose kids were squealing in anticipation.
“Welcome to Bird Island Inn.”
Dane leaned against the doorframe, watching as I checked in our newest guests, directed them to their room, and told them where they could find some beach toys for the kids when the time came. So far, that had been one of the best suggestions I’d made; families often didn’t think about the little things when packing their vehicles for a road trip and having some on hand cut back on the number of abandoned tools when guests checked out. Sure, there were still some, but now we added those to the tote on the back deck for anyone to use.
Once the family headed to their room, Dane sauntered across the lobby and behind the desk. I sank into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
He kissed the side of my head and a bit more of my panic melted away. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone came by to see your uncle today, and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t an old friend looking to reconnect.”
Dane’s hold around my waist tightened. “Shit. I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of this, babe.”
“It’s fine,” I lied. It wasn’t, but it also wasn’t Dane’s problem. He was just as thrown into this as I was. “Don’t suppose you had an epiphany while you were out thinking, did you?”
“I have a few ideas,” he admitted. “But I need to make some calls before I say anything. I’m going to run up to the room and grab my laptop so I can work down here. I don’t want you alone until we figure this out.”
I turned in Dane’s embrace, reaching up to grab his chin and force him to look at me. “I appreciate the concern, but you can’t be here every minute. I’ll be fine. I held my own and made him leave once he knew James wasn’t here.”
“What do you mean youmadehim leave?” Dane seemed more pissed off than proud. “Brook, tell me you didn’t do anything stupid. Please. These aren’t the type of guys you can fuck around with.”
“And I didn’t,” I insisted. “All I did was tell him he couldn’t wait in the lobby because we’re trying to run a family establishment. I didn’t think it’d be good for business to have someone who looked like he just stepped out of a mob movie lurking around. If you have work to do, anything that’ll keep them from coming back here, do it. If I need you, I have no doubt you’ll come running down the stairs.”
“Or maybe saying I’ll work down here to make sure you’re okay is just a cover because I like watching you work.” It was a stretch, but flattery went a long way toward soothing my chafed ego. Even more when Dane nibbled at my ear as he ground his hips against me. “Can’t blame me if I like watching the way you dance around when it gets busy. Some people would get flustered, but it’s like the chaos fuels you into motion.”
“Or maybe, if things get that busy, you could step behind the desk and help out,” I suggested. The more Dane talked about staying down here to help run the inn, the more I allowed myself to think about what it’d be like if this was our place. I wanted to work side by side with him, making sure we ran the best damned inn in town. But first, we had to make sure the goon and his buddies didn’t torch the place out of revenge or some shit.
“If you need me, holler,” he told me. “I’m going to grab the computer and make some calls. We will figure out a way to fix this.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Me too, babe.”
