I pause, and then I’m sickened that I have to consider this, that his money has any power over me. But we do need the business. We haven’t had a single customer all day.
“How much?” I ask, trying not to sound too eager.
“Hailey, give her fifty bucks,” he says, snapping his fingers.
“Why do I have to pay her?” she asks. Hailey reaches into her designer beach bag and takes out her wallet.
“A hundred,” I say, surprised they’re willing to pay so quickly. “Per hour,” I add.
Hailey drops her arm and looks at Matteo to convey how ridiculous she thinks it is to pay me that much. Her diamond-and-gold necklace, the one that reads “Best,” sparkles in the sunlight.
“It’s okay, Hailey,” Matteo says to her while still watching me. “I’ll pay you back. Just give her the money.”
“Fucking fine,” she huffs. “She needs it more than me anyway.”
I flinch, but I have to take their money. I’m charging them four times the hourly rate—there should be a victory in that, but her comment gets under my skin. Mainly because she’s right. I do need the money more than she does.
“Actually, I’ll get this one,” Jamie says, stepping forward. He pushes Hailey’s money away as he approaches. He stops in front of me, his voice low and controlled. “Do you take credit cards?” he asks.
I can barely meet his eyes, very aware of how close he is. The way I’ve always loved the spice of his cologne. The warmth. I turn my head, pretending to look back at the Shack. I don’t need his pity. “Sure,” I reply. “But then it’ll be one hundred fifty.”
“Damn,” he replies under his breath. He takes out his wallet, and I notice that Matteo doesn’t offer to payhimback. He must not be an official member of their little club yet.
When I look toward Matteo again, he’s staring Jamie down, his eyes questioning. I laugh to myself. He can’t seriously be jealous. But, to prove he is, he nods toward Jamie as if silently asking me what I think of him. Of course, I’ve never told Matteo anything about me and Jamie, let alone exactly how much I’ve thought about him.
So I smile brightly, giving him the impression that I’mthrilledto be this close to Jamie Matthews. Just living for it. Matteo’s smarmy expression falters, his eyes slashing at the back of Jamie’s head. Good. I hope it stings.
Just then, Jamie interrupts by trying to hand me his credit card. Again, I can barely look at him. I point my clipboard toward the Shack. “You’ll have to run your card at the counter,” I say. “Tech will take care of you.”
He waits a beat, and I can feel him staring at the side of my face, daring me to look at him. And then he sniffs a laugh like I’m unbelievable and walks past me toward the dock. As he does, his arm brushes against mine, and I quickly straighten away from the shot of electricity it sends over my skin. For a moment, I’m still with it—letting it pulse through me, hot. Painful.
“Get me a good board,” Matteo calls to him, dragging me out of my head. “None of that tourist shit.”
Matteo pulls off his shirt and tosses it aside in the sand. He flashes his muscles at me, and I sigh. I’ve seen it all before. I’m not impressed.
“Oh, come on,” he says quietly to me, sounding a little hurt. He darts his eyes behind me toward Jamie. “And him?” he asks. “Seriously?”
I shrug to dig in a little deeper, to wound him. But really, I don’t care what Matteo thinks about anything. He’s burned me too. Hurt me when I was barely hanging on. And I’m just not the forgiving type anymore.
“Don’t worry,” I say loudly, and motion to the girls in the sand. “You have an entire fan club to admire you.”
“I’m actually working on my tan,” Hailey calls out to correct me. Yeah, right. Her face is as pale as porcelain. I’m not convinced the sunlight has ever touched her skin.
“Whatever,” I say, over them. “Just be careful with my board, okay?” I tell Matteo.
He puts his hand over his heart like it’s a promise. For a moment, he even seems sincere. And with that, my guard drops slightly. I step closer to him, lowering my voice.
“Hey, um…” I say, and he tilts his head to listen. “Did Felix leave town?”
He straightens back, caught off guard by the question. Then he nods. “Seems so,” he replies. “I went looking, but…” He shrugs. “I couldn’t find him. No trace.”
Although they weren’t brothers, Matteo and Felix were close growing up. I’m not sure when that changed, but it seemed to be when Matteo started doing more work for his father.
“You have no idea where he went?” I ask. My question is a thinly veiled reference to my brother, and Matteo sees right through it.
He laughs, low. His face changing. “That’s why I asked if Ellis was here,” he confesses. His coldness floods back in, as if he doesn’t like to be reminded that his cousin used to hang out with Chasers. “And if he is with your brother,” he adds, suddenly loud enough for the girls to hear, “then he shouldn’t bother coming home. We don’t like traitors.”
I scoff, both at his hypocrisy and his cruelty. “You are so fucking insecure,” I tell him. He lifts his chin defiantly. “You know what?” I add. “You should be proud. You sound exactly like your father now.” The comment annoys Matteo, as if I don’t even know his father. But I’ve seen and heard enough from him.
