Ava pours me a cup of coffee without asking. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for rescuing my Summer yesterday.”
At that moment Summer comes out from the back. I notice her wrist wrapped in a bandage. She doesn’t look happy to see me. “Don’t be nice to him. He didn’t rescue me. He almost drowned me. I didn’t need his help.”
Ignoring Summer, I give Ava a winning smile. “It was no problem at all.”
Ava chuckles and reaches over to give my hand a pat. And then she shuffles back into the kitchen. “I’ll whip you up a toasted cheese." She calls out.
“He’s not staying.” Summer says. And then to me in a low hiss. “What are you doing here?”
I should feel insulted or offended, but instead I find her anger charming. The way her green eyes light up makes me feel alive. And that’s a feeling I haven’t had in a very long time.
“I came to talk to you.” I say with my best smile.
She scoffs.
“Actually, I came to hire you.” The idea forming on the spot. “You said that you take on extra jobs during the summer and I need a decoy girlfriend to get my family off my back.What if I hired you to pretend to be my girlfriend?”
She stares at me and I try my best to keep a serious look on my face. Despite the desire to grin like a loon, feeling extraordinarily happy about this idea I have just come up with.
“Your family is not going to believe you are interested in me.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest. A defensive stance she takes all too often.
“Actually, I think they would believe it. But the point is, they will be so overjoyed that I’m showing interest in someone that they will leave me alone.”
“This all sounds like ayouproblem. What’s in it for me?”
“I would pay you.” I say. Holding my breath, waiting for her answer. Getting a yes from her suddenly feels very important.
She pauses for a long time. Thinking it over. Her eyes glancing to the old coffee machine and then to the leak in the roof. “Whatever figure you have in mind you would have to double it.”
“Okay.” I smile. “Three hundred dollars a date.”
She grins and nods. “Deal.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Aunt Ava asks, putting a delicious looking toasted cheese sandwich in front of me.
I smile a thank you and then say, “I thought I better go up and fix that leak of yours. We can’t have Summer here getting hurt again.”
“Such a nice young man.” Aunt Ava says with a sigh.
I see Summer roll her eyes but I also saw the way she checked me out yesterday, so I know she is not immune to my looks. And I am overjoyed at the chance to get to know her better.
Chapter 5
Summer
I can’t believe I am doing this. And I keep telling myself it is just for the money. But when I see Ridge pull up to the dock in a speed boat, I tell those butterflies in my stomach to keep quiet and stay still.
Okay, he is a good looking guy. And okay, when he looks at me it makes my pulse race. And okay, at night I've thought about what it might be like to be touched by him. Kissed by him. Held in his arms. And he was very nice to spend the morning helping to fix things around the cafe.
And when I’d feel him looking at me I‘d feel hot all over. I’m sure I spent most of the morning with a permanent blush on my face. It’s unfortunate that he has this effect on me. Turns out I’m just like all the other women wanting his attention. But I know the reality of it. He doesn’t want a girlfriend. And I don’t need a man to come in and fix everything.
All I need from him is the money he is offering. Then I can buy a new coffee machine. Maybe we can hire another waitress to make my Aunt’s life a little easier. This is a business deal. And as I take Ridge’s hand to step onto his boat, I kept telling myself that.
“What do we do out here?”
Ridge has driven the boat and stopped it just off shore close to his family's mansion.
He chuckles. “We relax. Sit around. Soak up the sun.” I watch as he lays out two towels at the front of the boat. Even placing a couple of pillows around for extra comfort “Come on, come lay down and I’ll fix us a drink.”
