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“I want to see my son.”
Well, damn. Guess she was also Dylan’s mother.
Andy’s gaze darted to the workshop.
Dylan’s mom caught the shift in her attention and charged for the “Staff Only” door.
“Hey, you can’t go in—”
Too late, the woman beat her to the door and barged right in. Impressive feat considering she was teetering on four-inch heels.
In the workshop, Luke looked up from the sheet of fiberglass he’d spread over a board and was cutting to size. Immediately, his hand stilled, and a scowl darkened his face. “What the hell are you doing here, Colette?” Abandoning his task, he marched over to Dylan’s mother. “You know you’re not welcome in the shop.”
“I wanna see Dyl—”
“Save your breath. He doesn’t want to see you. Now get lost.”
Andy had to give the woman credit for not backing down. Especially considering Luke was holding a wicked-looking pair of shears and sporting a mean-ass scowl to go with his seven-o’clock shadow.
“Where ish he?” Colette’s foggy gaze swept the room, which was empty save for the three of them.
Luke rapped the scissors on a workbench to snag her attention. “Obviously, not here. Now can we skip this song and dance? I’m really not in the mood to call the cops and watch them arrest your drunk ass again.”
“You can’t keep Dylan away from me! I’m his mother!” Colette shrieked.
“Ha. I’m not keeping Dylan away from you. I’m keeping you away from Dylan.” Luke closed in on the woman with scary-eyed intensity. “And we both know you were never any mother to him. You’re just the womb he borrowed and the poison that lingers in his head.”
“Screw you, MacCallum!” Colette stormed off through the propped-open back exit. “I know that ungrateful little shit’s out here some—”
Luke slammed the door and locked it. Then he turned to Andy. “She’s not welcome here.”
“Y-yeah,” Andy stammered, “I got that.”
Exhaling an angry breath, Luke strode back over to the board he’d been working on. “Next time push the fucking button.”
Well, okay then.
Eyes smarting with tears, Andy returned to the sales floor to finish her craptastic evening.
Fortunately, there were only two hours left of her shift, and both passed with far less drama. Reg — doing what he did best — chatted up the last of the guests to swing in, while Andy spent the remainder of the time moving apparel racks around in various configurations, determined to find the perfect arrangement to showcase Mary’s display. Also determined not to think about the woman’s moody-ass brother.
By closing, Andy felt she’d largely succeeded in the former, if not the latter, and the shiny new fixtures Kyle had been so sweet to splurge on were now dead center of the store and flanked by perfectly angled rows of beachwear. Not a hanger out of place. Not a distracting swimsuit in sight. Everything aesthetically pleasing. Soothing, even.
“Nice!” Reg said after locking up. “That looks so, like, symmetrical.”
“Thank you. I measured the distance between each row. They’re all wheelchair accessible. I’ll need to mark the floor. Why don’t I take care of that and stock the quiver while you count out and prep the deposit?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Reg headed back to the office with his till as Andy went to fetch a roll of duct tape and the ladder.
A half hour later, tasks completed, they were done for the night. Walking out through the workshop as they usually did, Andy was unsurprised to find Luke still there. He and Dylan didn’t have set hours like the rest of the team, but that didn’t mean they worked any less of them.
“Dude! That’s rad!” Reg said, stopping to admire the colorful fish-style surfboard laid out on two board cradles.
“Thanks, man. You two taking off?” Luke’s gaze flickered her way, frustratingly unreadable.
Andy couldn’t tell if he was still pissed about that crack she’d made earlier about his love life, or if he was pissed about Dylan’s bitchy mom crashing the store, or whether he was even pissed off at all.
And the anxiety this was causing her was makingherkinda pissed. Narrowing her eyes, she made it a point to communicate in perfectly clear silent communication just how pissed she was becoming. Something about her expression appeared to amuse Luke because he cracked a grin.
