Page 16 of At First Catch

“Nothing says romance like municipal paperwork.”

“I’ve dated worse. I also brought coffee,” she says, lifting the carrier. “Which feels more emotionally supportive.”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“How bad the coffee is.”

She gasps as if I’ve personally insulted her ancestors. “Excuse me? I work at Sweet Gum.”

“Exactly. High standards.”

Hadley narrows her eyes at me before stepping up beside the office doorway. Up close, I catch details I missed earlier in the café. Tiny freckles scattered across her nose. Gold flecks in her eyes. The faint flush spreads beneath her skin while she looks at me.

She’s nervous, too.

“Mrs. Pace made it herself,” she says. “So if you hate it, keep the criticism internal.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“You won’t.”

“No.”

A snicker slips out of her unexpectedly, low and warm and real enough that something in my heart physically tightens.

Christ. This woman is going to destroy every ounce of peace I have left.

Hadley holds out one of the coffees. Our fingers brush when I take it.

Her breath catches.

Neither of us moves.

For one stupid second, I’m back in that rental house with her hair sliding across my chest and her smirk against my skin.

Hadley clears her throat first and steps back onto safer conversational ground.

“Lark mentioned you’re hoping to open portions of the marina before peak summer season.”

“Trying to.”

“You’ll need temporary event approval if you want live music or food vendors.”

“I figured.”

“I brought the applications.” She lifts the folder. “And contact information for local licensing people.”

“You came prepared.”

“I like spreadsheets and organization more than is probably healthy.”

“That’s…concerning.”

“Says the man who bought a collapsing marina for fun.”

A smile threatens unexpectedly. I haven’t smiled this much around someone in a long time. The sudden understanding startles me, making me look away toward the docks for a moment.