Chapter One
“Why am I looking at your face instead of my fiancée’s?”
With the grin he was famous for, Slater preened for the laptop camera. “What, no hello? No nice to see you? What’s that about?”
“Ugh, fine. It’s nice to see you, Slater,” Milo said with just a hint of weariness. “I’m just surprised to see you on my screen instead of Nora.”
“Yeah, well…her hike ran a little long and she has ‘Video Chat with Milo’ scrawled in big letters on our office calendar so I figured I’d better answer when you called.”
“Ah. Okay. I wish she had just texted me. I would have called later.”
“It’s not a big deal. You and I haven’t chatted in a while.” Pausing, he looked closer at the screen. “You’re like…wearing pants, right?”
For a moment, Milo sputtered before snapping, “Why would you even ask that?”
He shrugged. “Maybe this was a sexy video chat. How the hell should I know? Maybe that’s what the two of you do when you have to go a few weeks without seeing each other.”
Milo groaned. “You’re the worst. Seriously. What is wrong with you?”
“You can’t be too careful in situations like this,” he said easily. “So, how’s life treating you?”
“Lousy. Nora’s there, I’m here, and the only flight she could find to come and visit this weekend has something like three layovers.” He let out another long breath. “In another week, I plan on being there to launch the new satellite office, but we were going to spend time together here in Seattle before settling in back in Harbortown.”
Nodding, Slater made himself more comfortable. “Nora mentioned that you’re going to live in your cabin here until you find a place in town.”
“It made the most sense. She’s already moved her stuff out of Axel’s place and into mine. I wish we had cabins that were a little larger.”
“Why?”
“She loves living on the property, and it makes things easier for her. Plus, it’s kind of cool staying there and seeing everyone every day.”
“You know that’s not really a thing anymore, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…Walker and Harlow aren’t here nearly as much anymore. They rented a place by their new resort and spend most of their time there. Connor and Lexi still have their rental place in town, but their house should be ready in the next month, so they’re not here nearly as much either. Plus, Connor hasn’t said anything definitive, but he’s got his eye on a location in town for his restaurant.”
“Really? I thought he put that on hold until after the baby’s born.”
Shrugging, Slater replied, “You know he can’t sit still for too long. It makes him crazy. I don’t think he’s doing much with it, but…he mentioned it the other day and you know it’s only a matter of time before he starts working on it.”
“True.”
“Axel and Maisie are here full time but some days I swear it’s easier to find Waldo. Maisie’s super busy. Besides helping Connor and Lexi with the house, she’s helping Walker and Harlow with their resort, and she has a ton of clients in town. And Axel? Well, I don’t know when he sleeps because he literally has his hands in everything all over the resort. This has been good for him.”
“That’s why we all decided he was the perfect one to run the place, right?”
“Yup. So things are changing and we don’t really do group dinners as much as we used to.” He paused. “I mean…they’re not gone altogether, but it’s rare. We’ve got some great fresh additions to our activities team starting up now that the holidays are over and we’re gearing up for the spring. Once you’re here with your new office and Nora’s traveling less, I’m gonna take my leave and move on.”
“Do you have any idea where you’re going to go or what you’re going to do?”
He shook his head. “Not a clue. But…I’m just ready to move on to something else.”
For a moment, neither spoke, but he could tell Milo was studying him. Hard.
And that was never a good thing.
“Any chance you’re planning on going to the ceremony for your dad? They’re retiring his jersey or something, right? Cal Slater Day?”
