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“And I have the absolute best leading lady in the entire world.”
THE END
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SNEAK PEEK
REELING HIM IN: LEVI & LARK’S STORY
Levi
Most places, January means a fresh start, the end of the holiday season. Out with the old, in with the new.
Not so much in Candy Cane Key, where it’s Christmas all year-round.
Lucky me.
It’s not that I hate Christmas or anything. It just gets kinda old after a while. Thirty-five years of tinsel, twinkling lights, and pitchy holiday tunes is enough to drive anyone a little mad.
“Bro, why’d you take the wreath down?” My twin brother, Maddox, breezes through the door of our bait shop, the screen door banging shut behind him.
I shrug. “I dunno. Change of pace. Thought I’d mix it up a bit.”
“Nah. That wreath’s been there so long, the sun faded the rest of the door. Looks awful. I’d hang it back up if I were you.”
“Thanks for the decorating advice,” I mutter as I continue checking inventory on the computer. “You have clients this morning?”
“Sure do. A nice couple down from Colorado. Snowbirds, here for the winter.”
“They book half-day or the full?”
“Full. So I’m gonna need lots of shrimp. Maybe some mullet. We’ll head out deep this morning, then circle back and fish the flats in the afternoon. I checked the wind and it looks like it should hold until later.”
“Not a problem. We have plenty of shrimp. Load up your bubbler. I’ll grab the mullet from the cooler.”
I pause my admin tasks to help my brother prepare for his fishing expedition. Between the two of us, we make a decent living running the bait shop and the charter fishing business, catering to tourists visiting the Keys. It’s not glamorous, but I wouldn’t trade it for a desk job, that’s for damn sure.
Jingle, jingle.
The bells on the front door signal a customer. I pop my head up from the cooler and my entire body tenses.
“Hey, Lark. Good morning!” Maddox says, his voice cheerful.
“Hi, Maddox. Is your brother around?” Her tiny brunette head moves from side to side, her wide eyes roving the shop. I duck down even lower, wishing I were invisible.
“He’s in the back, he’ll be up in a sec. Can I help you?”
“No. But thanks!”
I’d rather climb into the fish cooler than talk to Lark, but figure there’s no way out of the convo at this point.
“Here’s the mullet.” I swagger up to my brother, shoving the fish in his direction.
“Thanks. See ya.” He tips his head at me, then dips out of the shop, leaving me alone with Lark.
Perfect.
“Hey, Levi. I was just in the neighborhood, thought I’d stop by and see if you gave my proposition any more thought.” She licks her pink bottom lip and stares at me with eyes the exact color of the ocean on a clear, sunny day.
