Page 96 of That Time I Kissed My Beachfront Boss

These were taken by their own photographer. Yes, they brought one along with them, not because they’re snobby. But apparently, Sam—that’s the photographer’s name—is gathering footage for a documentary Link’s agent and manager are trying to convince him to do with Hadley. Sort of a year-in-the-life-of-a-celebrity-couple kind of thing. They aren’t convinced yet. But they brought Sam along anyway.

He’s a good guy. A real family man. When he tells us he wants to bring his wife and daughters to the inn over Christmas, Brady pipes up.

“Oh, yeah. This place is completely different in December. It’s a whole other world. I was raised here, and you’ve never seen anything as beautiful as Abieville during the winter holidays. I love the 4th of July, and all the summer vibes for obvious reasons.” He nods to indicate Natalie across the porch. “But you can’t beat the Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Main Street. Or the caroling. The snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. It’s incredible.”

“Man, I’d love to have the girls experience that,” Sam says with an appreciative nod.

“You?” Link tosses him a smirk. “Mr. California, in the snow?”

“Hey. It could happen.” Sam splays his hands. “I’ve spent enough time in North Carolina with you and Hadley now to know there’s more than just one season.”

The conversation continues like this. Easy breezy. Down to earth. Still, catering to a celebrity couple is new territory for me.

At least Olivia’s by my side for this. And after Link and Hadley leave, Teller and Winnie will arrive. To be honest, I’m more excited for them to get to know Olivia than I am to be meeting Hadley and Link. Especially since Teller leaked the top-secret news that he’s thinking about proposing to Win.

When the charcuterie boards are mostly decimated, our group decides to split up for the rest of the afternoon. Brady and Natalie go home to change for our boat excursion later. Hadley and Link say they’ll be up in their room until then, too.

“I think I need a nap,” Link says, standing to stretch. “I always get so jet-lagged after weeks in LA.”

“Take your time,” Olivia says. “We aren’t expected at the dock until five. Hudson’s going to cruise us around the lake before the sun sets.”

As she says this, I glance at her sundress and sandals. She’ll get cold as the sun goes down and the wind kicks up. “Do you need to head out and grab warmer clothes for later?” I ask. “Or did you want to borrow something?” I arch a brow. “A sweatshirt, maybe?”

“No, I brought a bag with other options and layers today.” She shrugs. “I thought I’d stick around to clean up here, and make sure everything’s all set and prepped for dinner.”

My chest starts to rattle.

Did she do this on purpose to spend time with me? Or is she just being good at her job? I guess the right answer could be both. Either way, Link, Hadley, and Sam head up to their wing of rooms, leaving Olivia and me out on the porch.

Alone.

She starts stacking the plates and collecting napkins, and I move in to help her. Almost immediately, our hands touch. Just the slightest brush—her pinkie, my thumb—but she draws in a quick breath. Man, I love that sound. I especially love being the one who brings it out of her.

She freezes for a moment, then she slowly looks up at me.

As we lock eyes, I feel the jolt of our connection. But when I open my mouth to speak, she tilts her head.

“Hudson. We agreed we weren’t going to talk about this”—she waves her free hand at the space between us—“until after Link and Hadley leave. We said we’d put a pin in it, right?”

“I know.” I set down the plates I’m holding and straighten. “I just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

“So far everything’s going better than I could’ve hoped, and I never would’ve agreed to this situation if it weren’t for you. Your confidence in me and your encouragement is everything. So. Yeah. Thank you.”

“Well, this experience has been really good for me too.” She stacks the used plates onto the charcuterie board. “But probably not in the way you’re thinking.”

“In what way?”

“I mean, obviously getting to meet Hadley and Link has been fantastic. They’re fantastic, right? And Brady and Nat are always so much fun.”

“They are.”

“But all day I found myself enjoying being around Link and Hadley as … people. Not as guests of the inn. This feels more like fun than work. And that’s new for me.” She smooths her hands down her dress. “I used to be the one showing everybody else how to have a good time—in person and online—but I don’t think that’s who I am anymore. Maybe it never was.” She scoops a stray olive off the table and plops it on the board. “I leaned into that role because I was good at it. And it gave me a direction. A career. But I got stuck on a hamster wheel, believing that was my only avenue for success. And now I feel like I might want something … something …” Her voice goes soft, then trickles off completely.

“More?” I offer.

“Not more.” She shakes her head. “What I’ve been doing is plenty fulfilling for a lot of people. It’s a dream career for some of them. But maybe there’s a different path for me.” She drops down onto a chair. “Am I even making sense?”

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