My stomach drops. All loved up. Must be nice to have found the man of your dreams.
Meanwhile, I don’t have time for the man of my dreams. Even if he’s tall, has a chiseled jaw, and chocolate brown eyes I want to drown in. Or a dimple I want to lick. Or hair I want to tug on.
I push those thoughts from my mind. I definitely don’t have time for a man who’s on the island temporarily.
“Penelope! Mila!” I shout. “I’m leaving.”
Mila rushes into the hallway. “Why are you shouting? We know you’re leaving.”
She smiles and my blood chills. It’s her ‘butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth’ smile. A more accurate name would be her ‘shit stirring’ smile.
“Mila! I’m going to kill you!”
It sucks to always be right. I sigh before making my way to their bedroom. “What’s wrong?”
Penelope points at Mila. “She undid my bed.”
Mila sticks her tongue out at Penelope. “You shouldn’t have told Jeremy I like him.”
“But you do. You wrote his name in your notebook and drew hearts around it.”
I slash a hand through the air. “Enough. I need to get to work. Promise me you won’t harm each other while I’m gone.”
“Define harm.”
Why, oh why, does my fourteen-year-old sister have to be precocious? She’s smart – way smarter than anyone else her age on the island – but doesn’t understand social rules. Such as never telling a boy your sister likes him.
Otis stumbles out of his room. “Go. I’ll watch them until they leave for summer school.”
My baby brother never volunteers to help around the house. I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you want?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Money for the team pizza party this weekend.”
“An hour of watching your siblings isn’t worth very much.”
“I’ll watch them every morning this week before they have to go to summer school.”
I lift my eyebrows. “You’re going to get out of bed before noon?”
“If you give me money for the pizza party.”
I hold out my hand. “Deal.”
I check the time again. Smugglers drowning in the sea. I’m seriously late now. “I’m going. If I have to wash blood off the walls, our deal is off.”
I wave as I rush out of the house to my bike. The brewery isn’t far. I can bike there in five minutes. The advantage of living in a small town on a small island.
I fly through the rear entrance toFive Fathomsand nearly run into my boss, Chloe.
“What’s your hurry?” She narrows her eyes. “Did someone tell you about the football players who are eating here for lunch?”
Football players. My heart skips a beat. I wonder if Gage is here.
I immediately push the thought away. Even if I had time for a man – which I don’t – he wouldn’t be interested in a small-town girl like me.
“Don’t want to be late clocking in.”
She sighs. “What did your sisters do now?”
