She’s so damn beautiful.
“Depends on what needs fixing,” I say.
“The freezer door in the storage shed is sticking, and Mikki said you might still be nearby and to go find you.”
I wipe my hands on a rag and stand. “You found me.”
“I can see that.”
“Give me five.”
“I can wait.”
I look at the pontoon owner, who is sitting in a folding chair with a glass of sweet tea and no real urgency. “You good for a few?”
He waves me off. “Go rescue the pizza girl.”
Rayna groans. “Please don’t let that nickname stick.”
I chuckle, grabbing my toolbox.
She falls into step beside me as we head back toward Mercury Slice. “You don’t have to come right away,” she says. “If you’re busy.”
I shrug. “It’s no problem.”
We walk in silence the rest of the way, Rayna leading the way to the freezer. I spot the problem immediately. The freezer door is jammed because the bottom hinge has shifted and the weather stripping is catching. It’s a ten-minute fix, tops.
So, I take twenty. Just to spend more time with Rayna.
She stands nearby and hands me tools when I ask for them. She guesses wrong twice, then gets determined about learning the difference between a flathead and a Phillips screwdriver, which makes me smile.
“So,” she says after a minute. “Boat repair, dock repair, freezer repair. Anything else you take care of?”
“Small engines. Golf carts. Jet skis. The occasional grill.”
“Grill?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many tourists don’t know how to use a grill. They usually call me because they can’t figure out how to turn the damn thing on.”
She laughs softly, and the sound settles into the shaded space between us.
“What brought you here?” I ask.
Her smile fades a little, not all the way, but enough for me to notice.
“Work,” she says.
“At Mercury Slice?”
“For now.”
I glance at her, waiting.
She leans back against a stack of folded chairs and crosses her arms. “I needed a reset. My last job was awful. My apartment lease ended. My cousin lives here, and she told me Mikki needed summer help. One of her roommates was going to be away this summer, too, so I had a place to crash. So, here I am.”
“Just for the summer.”
“That’s the plan.”
