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But that kiss?
Definitely not safe.
Definitely not following my rules.
And the worst part? I want to fucking kiss her again. More than I want to breathe. I want to lay her on the nearest surface, strip her down to her tiger-striped cotton panties and kiss every damn inch of her, if I’m being perfectly honest.
Insane. Insane, I tell you. And stupid as fuck.
This is not why I moved to this town. I didn’t quit my job, leave my home, and start over just to get tangled up with my boss-slash-best friend’s little sister.
I’ve got to get my head on straight.
After a deep breath, I walk out of my office, eyes straight ahead, deliberately avoiding eye contact with my roomie.
Still, I’m very aware of everything that’s happening at the front desk. Including the idiot intern leaning over the counter and blatantly hitting on my Karli.
Shit. Not mine. Just Karli.
“And my favorite thing about Crescent Harbor is strolling along the boardwalk in the evening,” Todd is saying. “It’s quiet. Secluded. Romantic. Then it’s always nice to end the night with a room at the Kingston Family Inn. If you catch my drift. You look like you need a getaway. I know a guy who knows a guy who could get us a booking. Next weekend?”
The nerve of this guy. Especially after Karli had to jump in and help deliver that baby—in other words, doing Todd’s fucking job—because he was too busy crying like a little bitch and emptying his guts into the paper tray. I can practically still smell the throw-up on his breath from here.
When he leans over and sniffs Karli’s hair, my palms violently start to itch.Mind your business, Mason. Mind your business.It’s taking every ounce of my willpower to maintain my composure.
In a desperate attempt to keep my head on straight, I have to force myself not to intervene.
Karli doesn’t even look up from the pile of folders she’s sifting through with shaky hands. “Oh, I’d love to keep chattering it up with you, Todd, but I have files to alphabetize, so your lazy butt can find them when you need them.”
Clearly not a fan of being rejected, Todd flares his nostrils. “Well, let me help you out, Princess. ‘B’ comes before a whole bunch of other letters in the alphabet,” he snarks.
Karli’s head snaps up, those blue irises bathing in fire. “Are you calling me a b–?”
I find myself stomping my way into the middle of their conversation. “Have you ever tasted plaster wall, Todd?” I hear myself saying.What part of minding your business is this, Mason?!
He dumbly shakes his head, those thick stupid eyebrows furrowed at me. “No. Why?”
“Because if you’re notextremelyrespectful toward the women around here, that’s exactly what you’ll be having for dinner.” Nothing would make me happier than to shove the intern’s head through the plaster wall if I see him bugging Karli again.
He huffs in offense. “You can’t talk to me like that.”
I blink in faux-shock, clutching my chest. “I can’t? Gasp!”
Todd trudges off, grumbling under his breath. And now Karli’s eyes are on me, full of questions waiting to bubble over. Questions I clearly don’t have answers for since I don’t know what the heck has gotten into me. Shit.
Before she can start ripping into me, I grab the next patient file from the organized stack Karli prepped and head into another exam room for my next patient appointment.
When I finish up with the sick kid and his mother, I head back out into the hall. As I go, I hear Felix’s voice. So I backtrack toward the reception area to get an update on Yvonne and her hastily born baby.
But when I overhear Felix talking to Karli, I stop dead in my tracks.
“Please, Karli,” he’s begging. “You have free time on your hands.”
Wait. Is he…is he asking his sister to fill in for the receptionist position?
She scoffs, eyes wide and blinking rapidly. “I don’t have free time on my hands. I…I’ve been busy.”
“Busy doing what, Karls?”
