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“She’s real!” Keisha insisted.
I sat on the beach blanket, and Felix wrapped my towel around me while he dried himself off. I opened the cooler and unwrapped a ham and cheese sandwich for myself and handed him his. He sat next to me on the blanket while we ate our lunch.
Harper gave me the type of look you’d give a cute puppy.
“What?” I asked.
“You two are cute!” Keisha said.
I felt heat against my face, and it wasn’t just from the hot afternoon sun. I shoved my sandwich in my face so I didn’t have to say anything. I heard my phone vibrate, and I pulled it out and saw a text from Declan.
DEC: Have you decided yet?
I rolled my eyes, and unfortunately, Felix noticed.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said as I shoved my phone back into my bag and out of the direct sunlight.
“Tell me,” he urged.
“Declan.”
“Does this have to do with your forced vacation?” Harper asked.
I furrowed my brow at her.
Keisha swatted her wife’s leg. “Babe! I told you to stop eavesdropping at the coffee shop.”
She must have overheard my conversation with Avery on the phone. I was probably being loud, so I didn’t blame her for listening.
They looked at Felix for an explanation. He sighed. “They offered her a promotion, and it’s a great opportunity, but she turned it down. Our boss made her take a vacation to think about it.”
“Why don’t you want it?” Harper asked.
“That’s what I asked,” Felix said and nudged me.
“It’s too much pressure,” I explained. I glared at Felix. Even after I had admitted about my mental breakdown, he was still pushing me, and that pissed me off.
“But she’s good at it. She hasn’t stopped thinking about work since she got here. Or posting stuff on our social media. Except for yesterday,” Felix said.
I shook my head. “That’s because Dec changed the passwords on me.”
“It sounds like you’re already doing the job then, no?” Harper asked.
Felix pointed at her. “Yes, she is! And she’s good at it. But she’s stubborn.”
“I don’t want to talk about this,” I said.
I got up and walked down toward the water to get away from their prodding. I picked seashells as I walked and thought about my career.
The idea of failing the brewery made me break out in hives. I didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on Declan’s face when he realized giving me the job was a mistake. I didn’t want to spend weeks depressed in bed because I couldn’t measure up to the responsibility. But Felix had a point. The whole time I’d been here, all I thought about was marketing strategy for the brewery. I was already doing the job I claimed I didn’t want.
But what if Declan fired me when I fucked up? Then I could never work at the brewery again.
I chewed on my lip and walked down the shoreline, collecting more shells in my hand as I did. The sun beat down on my body, but it felt good. I tried to put out positive vibes into the universe, begging it to give me a sign to tell me what to do. About both the job and the situation with Felix.
Here was the truth. I had fallen in love with him. Was it too soon? Absolutely. But in the past couple of days, he had shown me the real Felix. When he came to check on me during the storm, he showed his caring side. Now that I knew he sacrificed his own happiness to care for his little sister, it made me like him even more. I realized the age difference between them meant he had probably been doing that since he was her age. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a love life. Maybe he just didn’t want that with me. Maybe his sister was just his excuse.
