Page 17 of The Other Room

I gave the water an envious glance. “Can I fish when it’s not busy?”

“Yep. You can almost cast right out of the kiosk.” He tapped on the side of the small wooden building just a stone’s throw from the water’s edge.

Now that was something I could work with. “Hours?”

“Pretty flexible. We can work around your schedule.”

“Pay?”

“I’ll beat whatever you’re making in Baileys Harbor.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal!” Tucking the fishing pole beneath my elbow, I stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

“Great! Come in on Wednesday when it’s slower and I’ll give you the tour and show you around the rentals.”

“I’ll let the town know to start looking for a replacement, and as soon as they have one, I’m all yours.”

“Looking forward to working with you, Matt!”

With a grin as wide as if I’d just hauled in a big fish, I marched over to the side of the dock and cast my lure into the water.

Place to live. Check. Fun job in Sister Bay. Check. Winning back Jo’s forgiveness...

No check yet, but with the way my luck was going, it was only a matter of time.

I hoped.

CHAPTER FIVE

JO

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The day shift at JJ’s provided a welcome reprieve from the insanity of the night shift. I’d agreed to switch out today so Valerie, the day bartender, could go to a friend’s wedding. The day shift consisted of mostly burgers, sandwiches, and sodas, making my job a hell of a lot easier.

Even though I couldn’t see my cabin from behind the bar, I still glanced out the window in that direction. I wondered what Matt was up to today. He hadn’t been back before I went to work at noon, and I wondered if he was there now. Hopefully if he was, he was keeping his mitts out of my underwear drawer. I’d never had a roommate before, much less a guy, and I had no idea what kinds of trouble they could get into home alone. I valued my privacy, and the thought of someone pawing through my belongings sent a shudder through my body.

Especially someone as untrustworthy as Matt.

Untrustworthy. Now that was a word I’d never thought I’d utter about Matt. But now... now it was the first word that popped to mind when I thought about him.

“What up, sis!” My sister’s voice pulled my attention away from thoughts of my cabin.

I turned to see her waltzing up to the bar with a leggy blonde in tow. A bride, no doubt. Jenna was a wedding planner who had a thriving business up here in Door County.

“Hey, Jenna. What are you doing here?” I walked over and leaned on the bar while she and her companion settled in.

“Wedding planning. And we got a lot done, so we earned ourselves a margarita.” She grinned, her white teeth gleaming in the ray of sun that leaked in through the window. “Darcy, this is my baby sis, Jo. Jo, this is Darcy, the beautiful blushing bride whose phenomenal wedding I have the honor of planning.”

“Nice to meet you.” Darcy extended a hand and my eyes bulged at the size of her ring. I could have slapped on some ice skates and taken a few spins around that bad boy.

“Nice to meet you, too.” It took everything I had to lift my eyes from the rock on her finger. Not that I would ever want one that big, that wasn’t my style, but it was near impossible to ignore it.

“Can we get some margaritas, JoJo?”

If she hadn’t been with a client, I’d have ripped her a new one for calling me JoJo. At least she didn’t say Josephine. Only my grandmother could get away with that unscathed.

“Sure thing, JennaJenna,” I answered, and she gave me a coy smile.