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Uh-huh. No question. Gus and Pammy were perfect for each other. “It’s all Gus ever orders.”
“I’ll go with my usual, Berryoxidant. Pammy?”
“Um...you decide for me.”
“Okay. For you...” Gus waggled his eyebrows. “Honeybush Peach.”
“Coming up.” Chris turned to get the juice before she started gagging.
“Yo, so, Chris, have you seen Bodie? The dude didn’t show up at the beach today and he’s not answering his phone.”
“Haven’t seen him since Friday night.” Chris put the bottles on the counter. “He dropped me off and said he was going back to the A-Frame.”
“It’s weird. He’s never missed a session without letting me know.” Gus held up his fingers half an inch apart. “I’m this close to calling the police.”
“Hmm.” Chris frowned, trying to look concerned, but thinking the police wouldn’t be too impressed by one broken surf date. “I’d wait another day. He’s probably busy, or his phone died, or both.”
“That’s exactly what I said!” Pammy stroked Gus’s arm. “I’m sure he’s fine, sweetie.”
“It’s just freaky, is all. Oh, well.” He passed the Honeybush Peach to Pammy and hoisted his Berryoxidant. “Ready to catch some waves, babe?”
“Totally.” She clinked her bottle to his and turned to Chris. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same here.” She watched them leave, hoping the relationship worked out for Gus, feeling a little wistful about their blissful coupledom. Not that it was right for her just now. But someday she’d like a guy to go that crazy over her. Gus was so sweet.
The next couple of hours were fairly quiet, and she was able to escape to the office to work up a fun poster for the Valentine’s event, which she then emailed to a print shop in San Luis Obispo for overnight printing. In the morning, she’d pick up the posters and deliver them to a company that had promised to plaster the area for a reasonable price. Terrified she’d run out of food, she’d also scheduled a run to a big-box store for bags of everyone’s favorite Valentine candy, along with extra decorations.
Chairs, tent, extra tables—was she forgetting anything? Something for the prospective groom—or bride—to kneel on? Romantic music to play throughout the day? Yes, and yes, add those to the big-box run.
She heard the front door of the shop open and bolted up.
“Hi, Chris.” Summer’s voice floated back. “I’m here. I’m so sorry.”
Startled, Chris glanced at the clock. It was after two. She’d never known Summer to be late. “Don’t worry about it. I had plenty to do here.”
“Yeah? It’s been busy?” The younger woman appeared in Chris’s doorway, eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed. “Anything I can do to help?”
“No, actually, I think it’s all under control.” She described the event briefly, delighted to watch Summer react with genuine enthusiasm.
Chris gathered up her lists in a neat pile, wondering how far she could pry. “So did you have a good morning?”
“Yeah, it was fun.” Summer grabbed her Slow Pour apron from the wooden peg on the wall outside the office and lowered it over her head. “Luke and I hung out in San Luis Obispo.”
“Oh, how...nice.” Chris wasn’t so sure. Summer had admitted to Chris sometime ago that she made bad dating choices. Now she was hanging out with a bar brawler? But then...Luke was Zac’s brother. He couldn’t be all bad. At least, she hoped not. “He seems like a nice kid.”
“Yeah.” Summer blushed ruby red. “Yeah, he’s nice.”
“Okay, Summer.” Chris pushed back her chair from the desk. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Summer...”
“Okay, okay.” She smiled her fantastic white-toothed smile. “He’s great, actually. I’m still being careful, but underneath the attitude he seems really solid. He’s amazingly honest and he can be really sweet.”
“And the whole arrest thing...?”
Summer pressed her lips together. “Like I said, I’m being careful. So far, though, it seems like he’s working hard to change. And it seems like the kids he hung out with back east were jerks. Plus, I don’t know...I feel safe with him. It makes me realize I never did with the other guys.”
