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Did he offer them jobs as well?
Did he take them out on his parent’s yacht?
Did he create nightclubs for them? Or whatever they desired or missed from home?
The more she thought about it, the more her stomach turned and twisted, making her feel ill. She turned to the right and headed up the slight incline until she got to the next block and then walked down the narrow road until she could turn and head to her cottage.
Caroline bypassed the place she longed to be, where the man she had fallen in love with waited for her and stepped into her rental. She shut the door behind her, locked it, and closed the curtains. The last thing she wanted was for Dune to show up and ask why she wasn’t at work.
She crawled into bed and pulled the blankets over her head. One inhale of Dune’s cologne and a guttural sob wracked her body. Hot streams of tears came from her eyes, ruining what little makeup she had on, soaking her pillow, the sheets, and her T-shirt. She had been foolish to think someone like Dune would want to be with someone like her. They were like night and day. It didn’t matter that she stopped dressing the part. Caroline Taylor was society rich and lived on her daddy’s money. Dune had been right to call her out on it, and now she missed it. Her clothes gave her power. It was stupid to think that way, but it’s how she felt.
Now, she was a blubbering mess, crying over a man who would move on to his next flavor of the week, month or however long, the next one that came to town and caught his attention. That’s all she was, an attention grabber. Dune Carter saw her as a challenge, and he had won. She didn’t play hard to get. She loved the attention and fed right into his Captain Blue Ball's lifestyle.
Caroline’s phone rang, and she ignored it. There wasn’t anyone she needed to talk to. Not now, at least. Besides, what would he say? Dune couldn’t deny it. There were images of him and his conquests. And she was now one of them, the newest addition to his wall of shame or the notch on his bedpost. Probably the latter, since he never took her to his house.
“So many red flags,” she said to her bedroom, as if the walls could tell her what to do. She closed her eyes and willed the morning away.
dune
Dune made his way to the pier and unlocked the shack they used for a ticket counter. Earlier in the week he had his father bring over the snorkeling equipment for this excursion. Blue Lobster Adventures stored a lot of their extra equipment in the garage on his parent’s property. It was easier than renting a storage unit nearby.
While Dune worked to get the snorkeling gear down to the boat, he kept his eye out for Caroline. She should’ve been there by now, as she was going to finish her cup of coffee and then be on her way. He looked toward the diner and hoped to see her, but all he saw was groups of tourists, stopping and taking pictures of the bay.
Dune checked each diving mask and snorkel tube and made sure to set the fins out so the guests could grab a pair easily. There were only ten guests for this trip, and between him, Speed and Wilson, they’d fit each guest properly before they boarded the boat. With Caroline sailing with Dune today, that freed Speed and Wilson up for other trips.
Ana opened the gate and the snorkeling excursion group walked down the ramp. Dune greeted each one of them and had them stand on the dock. He looked around, hoping to see Caroline, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. He sighed heavily and faced his group.
“Welcome and thank you for choosing Blue Lobster Adventures. I’m Dune, your captain and tour guide. Each one of you will have your own equipment, and we’ll make sure it fits before we get on the boat. Today, we’re heading out to Martha’s Vineyard, where we’ll anchor. Once you’re in the water, you’ll be able to see gray seals in their natural habitat. If they approach you, don’t panic. They’re curious creatures and a bit nosy. You’ll also encounter striped bass, bluefish, tautog, and scup. You might also see schools of mackerel, herring, and sand lance. Because of the rocky shoreline, you’ll definitely see lobsters and crabs, as wells as sea stars, snails, mussels, and barnacles. Feel free to get up close, but please don’t touch. They’re live creatures and we don’t want to disturb them.”
A woman raised her hand and Dune pointed to her. “What about sharks?”
Dune hated that question but respected it. “It would be foolish for me to say there won’t be any in the area because we don’t know. There hasn’t been a sighting in this area for over ten years. We’ve never encountered one on this excursion.”
