Page 27 of Playing It Forward

“I’m sorry. I’m being a bitch. I see the car and the money and the fame. I should have looked beyond the surface.”

“You’re looking now.” He kisses my nose. “How about that date?”

I growl.

“I can speak to Hudson. Clear it with him.”

“Terri!” Nadia shouts. “Where are you?”

In all the chaos of discovering Nolan was flirting and injured, I forgot I’m supposed to be working.

“We’ll discuss this later,” I say before rushing off.

We shouldn’t discuss it. What sense is there in dating Nolan for the summer? He’ll be gone at the end of the summer when the NFL season starts.

And I’ll still be here. I won’t leave this island as long as Dad is alive. I won’t leave him on his own. Not the way my mom left me.

Chapter 10

If only raw eggs were the biggest problem in my life.

Terri

I survey the buffet. It’s the first day of the Seals’ training camp and Hudson asked us to make the breakfast extra special. If he meant providing enough food to feed an Army, we’ve succeeded.

All the usual suspects are available – eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, etc. As well as a few ‘typical’ athlete foods – oatmeal, berries, avocado toast, Greek yogurt, protein smoothies. There’s also raw eggs, massive jars of peanut butter – apparently athletes add peanut butter to everything – cottage cheese, and pickle juice. I do not want to know what the pickle juice is for.

And – because this is Smuggler’s Hideaway – I’ve added mermaid shaped pancakes, cranberry bog muffins, blackberry moonshine French toast, and fried oyster breakfast tacos. I wanted to add Mermaid Mimosas – it’s not a breakfast without them – but Hudson nixed the idea. No alcohol. I never knew my boss was this boring.

Achoo!

I frown as I make my way to Nadia. “Go home.”

Her eyes – her red rimmed eyes – widen. “I can’t go home. This is my job. It’s bad enough you got stuck fixing the whiskey barrel cake for my event.”

Ugh. The whiskey barrel cake made me feel nauseous for hours. I never knew the combination of sugar, chocolate, and whiskey was unappetizing before. Now, I do.

“You’re also sneezing into the food. Do you realize how paranoid athletes are? If they notice you and your runny eyes and red nose, they won’t eat an ounce of this food. And there’s a lot of food.”

She sniffs. “It would be a waste of food.”

I snatch her clipboard and nudge her toward the door. “Go. And don’t come back until you no longer resemble Rudolf the red-nosed pirate.”

She doesn’t argue. She must be feeling worse than a seasick pirate. Poor girl.

I check her list. She’s mostly finished. I check the time. The team is still in a meeting with their coaches, but they should finish and be here in less than fifteen minutes. I rush around finishing the items on her list.

By the time the doors open to welcome the athletes, my forehead is beaded with sweat and I’m gasping for air.

I find a corner to stand in as the team attacks the food. Technically, I could go back to the office. I’m not needed until it’s time to clean up the venue. But my legs feel heavy. And I’m tired. I slept nine hours last night, but it wasn’t enough.

I hope I’m not coming down with whatever bug Nadia has. The last thing I need is to get sick. Summer is the busiest season at the resort. And this year is even busier with the addition of the Steel City Seals.

“You okay?” Corbin asks me.

We’ve never met, but I know who he is. I’m a smuggler. I can’t not know he’s living with my friend Siena. She’s not answering her phone and messages, but she can’t avoid me forever.

“Just tired.”