I balled my free hand into a fist. “What kind of comments?”

  “It doesn’t really matter, Brody.”

  She tried to walk off, but I stepped in front of her. “It matters to me, Sutton. What did he say to you?”

  With a one-shoulder shrug, she attempted to downplay it. “He said I was making a mistake, that he’d make me regret leaving him. Then he accused me of having an affair.”

  Laughing, I asked, “With who?”

  When she wouldn’t meet my gaze, I knew the answer. My stomach felt sick, and I had to force down the bile at the back of my throat. “Me?”

  She looked up and nodded. “He was always jealous of you, and he used to accuse me of…”

  “Of what?”

  With a quick shake of her head, she let out a bitter laugh. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s over, and I just need him to sell me his half of the boutique so I can be done with him for good.”

  I let her go by me as she walked back toward the kitchen. I pushed a hand through my hair and cursed under my breath. This is all my fault.

  What in the hell had Sutton gone through because I’d been too scared to admit my feelings?

  Sutton

  June

  “What is it with you and lights?”

  Excitement filled my chest at the sound of Brody’s voice. I looked down from the ladder I was standing on and laughed. “I can’t figure out why this light stopped working.”

  He winked. “Good thing I’m here. And I brought food.”

  My pulse picked up some as I continued to stare at him. Why was his wink so freaking sexy?

  “You brought me lunch?” I asked, finally climbing down the ladder.

  “I did, indeed. I ran into Palmer at Seaside Grill, and she said she’d left your shop to grab lunch for you guys. Then she got a call from the vet’s office, asking if she could come in and cover for Judy at the front desk since she’s not feeling well. So, I offered to bring you lunch.”

  He handed me a brown bag, and I took it from him with a smile. “Thank you so much, Brody. It was sweet of you to bring it by.”

  “No problem.”

  I walked over to the counter and opened the bag to find a turkey and swiss on rye with a bag of chips and a small piece of pie. The sight made my stomach growl.

  “Where’s your breaker box?” Brody asked.

  “It’s in my office, right behind my desk.”

  He nodded and headed that way as I dug into my lunch. A short while later, Brody walked back out into the store. He glanced around the place, and I wondered what he thought of it.

  Whenever I looked at my little boutique, I was filled with a sense of satisfaction. I’d worked so hard to open this shop, and it was my pride and joy. My favorite part of the store was the front window display. I’d decorated it with an old dresser that Palmer had painted white and distressed. Each drawer was open, holding different items. Next to the dresser was a display of hats. I loved hats. All different kinds of hats. Next to those, I’d placed a beautiful piece of artwork that a local artist had made.

  When you first walked into the store, the check-out counter was on the left wall. I used different pieces of vintage furniture throughout to display clothes and other items for sale. I had a beautiful baby blue armoire where I displayed scarfs and other accessories. I’d picked up the large vintage table where I displayed sale items at an estate sale not that long ago. To me, it was boring to walk into a store and see the usual racks of clothes.

  A large, beautiful white rug sat in the middle of the store and added a touch of warmth. On the wall opposite the check-out counter were two dressing rooms. Toward the back were a few steps that led to a small seating area and more storage. There was also a cute little loft that I wanted to do something fun with at some point. I hadn’t had any great ideas for it yet, which was a good thing because my budget was stretched thin these days.

  Finally, there was a large stockroom, my office, and a full bathroom. The theme throughout was coastal chic, hence the name of the shop.

  Brody’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Looks like the fuse blew. I can swing by and pick up a new one. Your toilet is running as well.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got that on my list of things to fix.”

  “I’ll pick up a new float. I tried adjusting it, but I think it’s best to replace it.”

  I wiped my mouth and placed the napkin back in the cardboard box that contained the other half of my sandwich. “I feel like I’m totally taking advantage of you…but can we add something else to your list?”

  He laughed. “What else do you need?”

  “Well, there’s a plug in my office that’s never worked.”

  He nodded and pulled out his phone to start making notes. “I’m going to head to the store. If you think of anything else, text me.”

  I followed him to the door. “You may have opened Pandora’s box. There are too many little things around here that need to be repaired.”

  Brody stopped, turning to face me. “Did that asshat you married ever do anything?”

  I looked over my shoulder at the store. “No. He never really wanted anything to do with Coastal Chic,” I said before focusing back on Brody. “He said it was my little pet project.”

  His brows shot up. “Pet project? What the fuck was wrong with that guy?”

  Laughing, I replied, “Everything.”

  With a shake of his head, Brody continued out the door. I watched him walk to his truck and climb in. I pressed my hand to my stomach, drawing in a deep breath to settle the flutters there.

  “He’s a friend who’s helping me out. It doesn’t mean anything,” I told myself.

  It was the mantra I’d been repeating for the last couple of months. Brody had helped me with the house so much, fixing countless things. He’s painted, installed new floors, helped when furniture was delivered. And all the while, I’d been fighting the same attraction that had been there for as long as I could remember.

  I smiled as I thought about how he’d even helped me stencil a saying along the top wall of my dining room. He’d been spending nearly every weeknight evening at my house, and some Saturdays as well. I was starting to get used to him being there—and that was something I had to put a stop to. I didn’t need Brody coming to my rescue every time something went wrong. And if I missed another Saturday lunch with Harlee and my sister, they’d start asking questions. That was the last thing I wanted.

  Once he drove off, I turned and headed back to my lunch. I stared at my sandwich and mumbled, “You may not need him, Sutton. But you certainly want him.”

  The bell above the door rang, and I quickly turned around. I let out an anxious breath when a customer walked in.

  “Hi! Welcome to Coastal Chic,” I said, putting my lunch under the counter. Two more women walked in, and as I helped my customers select outfits for an upcoming boat party, I forgot all about Brody.

  At least for now.

  Two months later - August

  I stood in my office, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. Life had been going great lately, so I should have known something bad would happen.

  My older sister Addie had moved back to Seaside from Boston. She and Gannon were officially back together. My parents were over the moon, and my father was doing amazingly well. His heart attack earlier this year had really scared all of us and was one of the main reasons Addie had come back home. Well, that and the fact that Gannon was out of the Navy and had been home for a couple of years. Their story was a romance novel in the making. After all these years, fate had brought the two of them back together.

  Soul mates.

  I closed my eyes and cursed inwardly. Yep. Everything had been going far too well.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Now Jack was back in town.

  On the surface, it was another good thing. It meant he could finally sell me his half of the boutique. But it was also bad. Knowing he was here made my skin crawl.

  A light knock at the office door pulled me from my thoughts. I spun around and saw Harlee standing there.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  I forced my voice to stay calm. “Yeah, just trying to figure out how to get things organized.”

  “Are you really going to turn the back room into a…fun house?”

  Laughing, I leaned back against my desk and folded my arms across my chest. I’d had lunch with Harlee and my sister Addie earlier, and Harlee had suggested I carry—of all things—dildos in my shop. Coming from her, it was funny as hell—and brilliant.

  If the gossip column ever got wind of the naughty side of Harlee, the anonymous writer would be all over it. At the moment, they were focused on Addie and Gannon. Which was fine by me. When Jack and I were going through our divorce, we were the subjects of that column one too many times. It came out every Thursday, and even though people pretended not to care, everyone rushed to read it.

  The last time I was mentioned, post-divorce, the writer had called me out for selling “old lady clothes.” I’d been angry and hurt at first…and then realized they were spot on. For years, I’d been so afraid of what Jack would say if I carried anything too sexy that I’d played it way too safe.

  As soon as the divorce was final, I’d gotten in touch with a friend from college who was now a big fashion designer in New York. Together, we’d designed some new items for me to exclusively carry in the shop. They were mostly summer-chic outfits, but we’d played around with a few pieces of lingerie as well. I hadn’t really thought much about carrying a larger selection…until the conversation at lunch today.

  “I think your idea of carrying sexier clothes, as well as toys, is a good one,” I said to Harlee.

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh my God! You’re really going to do it?”

  I laughed again. “I think so.”

  Harlee pulled me away from the desk and hugged me. “I think that’s amazing, Sutton! And it’ll be good for you to get in touch with that inner goddess we all know is hiding in there.”

  “Are you quoting the gossip column?”

  She laughed. “I guess I am. But at lunch, I was being serious when I mentioned working here part time to help out. I’d really love it.”

  I raised my brows. “Are you sure you want to sell sex toys? After all, you’re the unofficial Princess of Seaside.”

  Harlee rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure who put me up on that pedestal.”

  Reaching for her hand, I gave it a squeeze. “You deserve the recognition. You do so much for this town, Harlee.”

  She smiled sweetly. “Thanks, Sutton. Moving on…let’s take a look at the back room and make a game plan.”

  “Sounds good.”

  After measuring the space and drawing out different layouts, Harlee and I finally came up with a configuration for the new sexy area of Coastal Chic. I was planning on incorporating pieces of white furniture with one round display in the middle.

  “Okay, so…the toys. Do we put samples on display?” I asked, studying the back room.

  Harlee glanced around. “I mean, wouldn’t you want to pick one up and hold it? Check out the vibration level and all that?”

  I closed my eyes. “I can’t believe I’m really going to sell vibrators in my boutique.” My eyes snapped back open. “Wait—you touch them before buying them?”

  Harlee slowly tilted her head and asked, “Have you ever used a vibrator, Sutton?”

  I laughed. “God, no. If Jack found out I’d used one, he would have been pissed. He was more of an it’s-all-about-me kind of guy.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I hate that man so much.”

  “Join the club.”

  “Anyway, I think we should keep the toys in a more private space. I mean, the sexier clothes and lingerie will be in here, but what if we…”

  She trailed off in thought—then we simultaneously looked toward the loft area tucked beneath the roof. It was a storage space now but could easily be turned into a spot for the toys.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked as we looked at each other.

  “The pleasure loft of Coastal Chic.”

  We both fell into a fit of laughter. The kind of laughter that makes you cry and gasp for breath.

  “I’m totally going to call it that from this point on,” Harlee said, letting out a long sigh.

  I wiped away my tears and drew in a few deep breaths.

  “So—what’s going on between you and Brody?” she asked.

  And just like that, my smile disappeared. I stared at her. The change of subject was so sudden, I wasn’t even sure I’d heard her correctly. “I’m sorry?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Sutton, you should have seen how embarrassed you were when Brody walked up to our table today while we were talking about vibrators.”

  I was positive my eyes were as wide as saucers. “You were talking about dildos, Harlee! You asked him what he thought of sex toys.”

  She waggled her brows. “Did you see the way he looked right at you when he said they were fun to use on partners? Oh, I have an idea! Why don’t you ask Brody to help you test them out?”

  My mouth fell open. “I told you at lunch that Brody and I are only friends, Harlee.”

  Before she could say another word, the bell above the door alerted us to a customer.

  “Oh! Let me go test out my sales clerk skills,” she said.

  Thankful that I had literally been saved by the bell, I stepped toward the short hallway and motioned for Harlee to head out to help the customer. I turned back toward the back room—and came to an abrupt halt. “Brody!”

  He flashed me his innocently boyish smile. “Am I interrupting something?”

  I slowly shook my head. “Nope. Nothing. Harlee’s going to be working here part time. I’m, uh, I’m going to be, uh…changing up the use of this back room.”

  The way he was looking at me made my entire body shiver. “And what are you going to be doing with it?”

  I felt my cheeks flame. “I’ll be carrying a special line of…um…lingerie. Some that I helped design with a friend of mine from college.”

  His brows shot up. “You designed lingerie?”

  “Well, I helped. She did most of the designing. We also did some super cute summer outfits. And, um, well, Harlee and I were thinking that the upstairs loft might make a good spot for the, um…” My voice trailed off.

  “For the what?” he asked with a smirk.

  “Ahh…” I glanced up and stared at the loft space. The image of Brody using a vibrator on me immediately popped into my head, and I licked my suddenly dry lips.

  He smiled, still staring at me. “Where you’ll be carrying the orgasmatrons?”

  I brought my hands up to cover my face and groaned. “I can’t believe she said all of that in the middle of my parents’ restaurant!”

  Warm fingers touched mine as Brody pulled my hands away from my face. He placed a finger on my chin and lifted it until our eyes met. “You don’t have to be embarrassed to talk about things like that, Sutton. Not with me.”

  The way his voice sounded, all deep and husky, nearly had me offering to be his test subject for every vibrator I could find. I blinked a few times, then cleared my throat. “Yes, well…Harlee and Addie seem to think it would be a great idea to carry vibra—um…personal pleasure…toys.”

  Oh, dear God, this was humiliating.

  He dropped his hand to his side. “Do you like them?” he asked in that same seductive voice, sending chills up and down my spine and giving me that wonderful visual again.

  I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut.

  “Sutton?” Harlee called out before walking into the room. “Oh—hey, Brody. What are you doing here?” she asked, shooting me a sideways look.

  “Just stopped by to make sure everything was okay and that Sutton didn’t need help with anything.”

  Harlee stepped closer to me, smiling coyly. “Do you? Need help with anything, Sutton?”

  If looks could kill, Harlee would be dead at my feet. “Nope!” I said in a fake cheerful voice. “Everything is great. Fine. Perfect! No issues.”

  “A customer is asking about a piece of art you have hung up.”

  Smiling, I replied, “I’ll be right there.”

  She looked between us once more before turning on her heels and heading back out to the front.

  “Do you need anything built for your space upstairs?” Brody asked.

  I chewed nervously on my lip. “I think so. Probably. I’m not sure yet, since I don’t… I’ll need to talk to Harlee about it. It was her idea.”

  Brody chuckled. “It’s a great idea.”

  I crinkled my nose and watched as his expression softened. “You think so? You don’t think I’ll be judged for carrying them, do you?”

  “Who gives a fuck what you sell? It’s your store, and you can carry anything you want.” He looked thoughtful. “Maybe to test the waters, you should have a little party up there.”

  “A party?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve heard women have those types of parties. But keep it on the down low, or the gossip column will have something new to write about.”

  I placed my hands over my heated cheeks and groaned. “God, no.”

  We both laughed, and an awkward silence settled between us. “Well, I’d better go help Harlee with the customer,” I said.

  He nodded. “I’ll head on up to the loft. Send Harlee up when she’s done. She can tell me her ideas, if she has any.”

  “Brody, I don’t expect you to—”

  He pressed his finger to my mouth to silence me, then adjusted his hand so he could run his thumb over my lower lip. My knees wobbled, and I nearly reached out and held on to him before my legs went out from under me. “I know, Sutton. I want to help you. Plus, it gives me an excuse to be here.”

  What did that mean?

  With a nod, I rushed out of the back room and attempted to calm my racing heart, trying hard to push that conversation from my mind.

  Brody

  “Did you get everything boarded up at Sutton’s?” asked her dad, Keegan.

  “Yeah. Brax and Gannon are going to Brax’s place, and I wanted to stop by and see if you needed any help here at the restaurant.” There was a hurricane coming, so that meant storm shutters on all the windows, and anything on the floor that could be damaged in a potential flood needed to be picked up and stored somewhere high.

 

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