She giggled and I cringed. I didn’t like the gigglers. They annoyed the shit out of me. Bliss didn’t do the flirty giggle thing. Two years back that was the primary reason Bliss became attractive to me. Of course, after raw beauty.

“My grandparents are members of The Kerrington Club. I normally spend a month each summer in Rosemary Beach with them. I’ve seen you there.”

The two beaches were only two and a half hours apart. But seriously, the place had to follow me here? Jesus.

“Well now,” I replied. “Now you see me here.” I tried my hardest to sound like an asshole so she’d leave before Bliss got here. I didn’t need her walking up to me while talking to Miss Big Tits, especially after last night’s kiss.

She did the giggle again. “Yes, I do. Want to sit with my friends and I? I saw you yesterday with the young girl and pointed you out to them. They’re fascinated that your grandfather is Dean Finlay.”

My dad’s dad is the famous drummer for Slacker Demon. They’re the iconic rock band that was now retired for the most part. They’d become grandfathers and the new generation wasn’t to their liking. When asked they came together for fundraisers, but that was the extent of their performances. Still though, there were the worshippers. They had a lifetime of fame that spanned three generations of fans that would never forget them.

“Most people are,” I replied. And just as I said those words Bliss’s dark hair came into view. She was walking this way somewhat casually. The simple white lace cover-up she wore over her hot pink bikini didn’t show nearly as much body, compared to this other girl. Bliss looked classy and sure of herself. She had the brain to go with everything else. “Excuse me, my girl is here,” I said without looking back. I then headed to meet Bliss in my eagerness. Had I been another guy, one who wasn’t in love with Bliss York then I’d gone the other route. She would’ve been my first and I would’ve enjoyed every moment of losing my virginity. I knew that, but no, not now, she wasn’t what I was looking for.

Bliss York

LUNCH WITH NATE and Octavia. Great. Just what I wanted to do. Never.

Sitting across from them at some fancy lunch place that I didn’t even know was in Sea Breeze I tried to keep a polite smile and I didn’t make eye contact with Nate. Which was difficult when I could feel his steady gaze on me. Watching me. Trying to read something into my expressions. I was easy to read. I hated that. Knowing he could see how uncomfortable I was.

“I like the way you incorporated the scarf into the summer pieces I’ve chosen. It works and it’s exactly what I had in mind. You have an eye for this thing. We just need to get you into the clothing. Your wardrobe doesn’t fit with the look of the place. But with your body advertising the inventory then we will sell more.”

In other words, my clothes were too cheap. My momma had always bought me designer clothing. I had never been accused of not being stylish. However, compared to Octavia I might as well be wearing clothes from a thrift store. She had another level of acceptable. I had seen the price tags on the items she bought for the store. I imagined her closet was full of similar items.

“I’m open to whatever you need me to do,” I assured her. I was thankful I had this job. It gave me my independence and I was finally able to live like an adult. Not a kid.

She flashed a very white glamorous smile my way and I wondered how much that smile had cost. There was no way those teeth were real. They were too white, too straight, too perfect. My braces hadn’t even given me those straight lines.

“Now that the summer line is in and I’ve chosen everything, I’ll give it a couple weeks then begin buying for the fall. It’s still warm here then so I’ll keep that in mind.” I wasn’t sure who she was talking to, me, Nate or herself. But she continued to rattle on about profit and design and expanding. She hadn’t even been officially open yet and she was talking about opening five other stores within the US. I wouldn’t be surprised if she started planning her stores in other countries before the salads got to the table.

“The tourist arrive here the first week in June?” Octavia asked as she looked at me.

“Yes sometimes sooner. We start to see more traffic the last week in May. Depends on when schools let out in the surrounding states.”

She nodded and the waiter arrived with our salads. I took a peek at Nate and he was frowning at his salad in disgust. I assumed he was used to places like this. I knew his lifestyle outside of Sea Breeze was very different.

“A shrimp poboy would have been a helluva lot better than this,” he grumbled.

Octavia rolled her eyes with an amused smile. “You’d have those shrimp poboys at or wedding reception if I let you. What is a poboy anyway? Why call them that? It’s so degrading. Why not just call them a hoagie. It’s what they are.”

A hoagie? What was a hoagie?

“Jesus,” he muttered but that was the only response he was giving her.

“I see you two have worked well together,” Octavia said as she went to take a bite of her salad.

I froze. What did she mean? I hadn’t been looking at Nate or even saying anything about him. I’d been very careful. Had his staring at me gave it away? Dangit Nate! I needed this job.

“She’s a hard worker. You hired well,” Nate said then took one of the long toasted pieces of bread that came with our salads and shoved it in his mouth.

Octavia cocked an eyebrow at him as if she wasn’t thrilled with the way he was eating then turned to me. “Agreed. I can tell you’re going to be easy to work with. I like you and I don’t like people easily. You’ve got that something about you that people are drawn to and that will only help the store. I need the store to flourish so daddy will let me continue with more Octavia’s.”

A part of me felt admiration for her. A very, very small part. She wanted to do something with her life. Make a mark. Be more than a socialite and I admired that. You had to. I saw so many like her on the news and media that were just living off their parents wealth. Sure, Octavia was also living off her father’s fortune but she was trying to make a fortune herself. He was just her stepping stool. . . . Or her very high ladder. Or her private jet. It wouldn’t be too hard to make a success with the money she had to play with. But still. She was trying. That counted for something.

I wasn’t much better. I’d lived with my parents well past the age I should have. I had let them feed me and put a roof over my head. And buy me a car, and buy my clothing . . . it was all on a much smaller scale but in comparison it was the same.

“Nate won’t be here much and I will need to travel once we get things going. So, it will be on you to handle everything soon. I believe you can do that. We will look into hiring two other employees to work under you before I leave for Spain at the end of the month. Nate will more than likely be back in Rosemary Beach or in Beverly Hills by then. But I feel confident I can trust you.”

Why would Nate be in Beverly Hills? He hated it there. Other than visiting his other grandfather he tried to go there as little as possible. I glanced at him and he was watching me again. I only met his eyes briefly before dropping them back to my salad.

“Thank you,” I told Octavia. “I’ll do my best.”

“Great.”

After we returned to the store I made myself busy in the front. Although my thoughts stayed on how odd Octavia and Nate were with each other. There was no connection of any kind. They seemed annoyed by the other. Did he realize that?