Page 97 of That Time I Kissed My Beachfront Boss

“Sure.” I lower myself onto the bench across from her. “But I’ve always moved around a lot, so I could stand to focus on one path.” I cough out a laugh. “Before I took this job, I promised myself The Beachfront would be it for me. And I said it in front of my dad. Not that I’m a kid dependent on his approval anymore. But still. He’s the only family I’ve got. And I want to make him proud. He told me to make myself proud. So that’s what I’m trying to do here. And I’m going to stick it out no matter what just to prove I can commit.”

“I get it.” This earns me a small smile. But then, just as suddenly, she pulls down her brow.

“It’s just … Darby had this boyfriend. Angus Scott. They were committed to each other for years. She thought their future was all laid out. And then—out of nowhere—things just ended abruptly. With zero warning. No explanation. And now my totally together, super-smart, amazingly strong sister is an absolute wreck. So maybe no matter how hard you try, you can’t count on anything.”

My throat constricts. I barely know Darby, but I do know how it feels when a relationship goes off the rails. And anyway, I don’t like the worry in Olivia’s eyes.

“When did this happen?” I ask.

“I’m not sure, exactly,” Liv says. “She called me yesterday. I think I was able to talk her off the cliff. But I still feel so bad for her. It’s just a lot to lose, you know?”

“I know she’s lucky to have you.”

“I guess,” Olivia says, but there’s a flicker of doubt in her eyes.

So I take her hand. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Olivia

Hudson wants to show me something?

I lift my chin to meet his gaze. “I was going to save this for later,” he says, “but I think you could use this right about now.”

My face screws up in confusion. “But we already toured the entire property today. What could possibly be left?”

“It’s a surprise.” He stands and waits for me to join him. At the door to the lobby he lays a hand at the small of my back, guiding me inside. In silence, he leads me to the wing with the hallway under the stairs.

“Hmm.” Goose bumps prickle along my neck. “Is it the room you earmarked for the library?”

“You’ll see.”

I don’t know exactly what’s coming, but my pulse picks up anyway. We approach the door, and Hudson goes in first.

“Ta-da!” He sweeps a hand out in front of him, and I step past him into the room. Late afternoon sunshine streams through windows, drenching the room in light. The rolling ladder and step stools are still in their spots along their respective walls. But now there are two clusters of chairs in the middle of the room, with low tables and a braided rug between them. More importantly, the floor-to-ceiling shelves are stocked with books.

“Ah!” I suck in a breath, spinning around to shove his shoulder. “When did you do all this?”

“Yesterday. After your mom picked you up.” He ducks his head. “Your cousins helped a lot.”

“Which cousins?”

“Pretty much all of them.” He rests a hand on one of the chairs. “Ford and Lettie. Three and Nella. Natalie and Brady. It didn’t take too long with seven of us unloading the bins and throwing the books on the shelves. I just wanted to get them inside. I’ll organize everything later.”

I turn back around moving in closer to examine the shelves. They don’t look like a museum display or anything you’d see in a fancy library. Instead, the books are set out in a riot of color and size. There’s no rhyme or reason from what I can tell. Romance, mystery, thriller, non-fiction. All mixed up in one big eclectic collection.

There’s a complete set of old encyclopedias and a few rows of dusty leather-bound classics. Besides that, most of the donated books are paperbacks. A lot of them have cracked spines. Some pages are dog-eared or warped. But this is just evidence that these stories have been well loved, just as they are.

Still, the best part of the library is on a middle shelf, wedged between two bookends. That’s where Hudson put the Bronte sisters’ books, right next to his favorite Stephen Kings.

My heart hopscotches in my chest, and I turn to face him again. “You don’t have to change a thing.” I smile at him. “It’s perfect, Hudson. It’s Abieville.”

It’s us, is what I think.

A grin splits his face. “The town really came out to represent, huh?”

“I love it so much.”

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