Page 99 of That Time I Kissed My Beachfront Boss

Hudson crosses his arms, only hearing half the conversation. So far, he still doesn’t know what a mistake it was to put his faith in me.

“Well, it’s too late for that,” Francine quips. “The pictures are all over the internet. Video footage too. ZTV even picked up the story. You’ve put The Beachfront Inn on the map, Olivia.”

My heart slams in my chest, and I brace myself against one of the bookshelves. I feel like I’m being cracked down the middle, like half the paperbacks in the inn’s new library.

“How did this happen?” I choke.

Francine chuckles. “You should know the answer to that better than anyone,” she says. “Your entire career is based on spotting trends and capitalizing on these kinds of stories. The fact that Link is there to discuss a film collaboration with B.R. Graham? Well, that’s catnip to every media outlet and online platform out there.”

“Wait.” My insides plummet. “They know about my cousin’s movie deal, too?”

“If ‘they’ is the entire internet, and your ‘cousin’ is bestselling mystery author B. R. Graham, then yes. They know about your cousin.”

“Oh, no,” I moan.

Hudson’s eyes go wide. “Are you okay?” he mouths.

“I’m not sure why you aren’t tooting your own horn, Olivia.” Francine clicks her teeth. “This is quite the coup. Why on earth do you sound … so perturbed?”

I swallow a strangled gasp, deciding I might as well confess that I’m the one who actually messed up. It’s not like Francine Tomlin is ever going to hire me again. Especially not after she finds out the leak was my fault.

“I promised Link and Hadley total privacy while they were here,” I groan. “And I don’t think Brady—my cousin—wanted their contract talks splashed all over ZTV.”

A guffaw sounds on Francine’s end of the call. “Well if Lincoln James didn’t want his whereabouts known, then he and his fiancée shouldn’t have posted all about it on their socials.”

“Wait. What?” I expel a shaky breath. “They posted?”

“Yes,” Francine says. “Although I’m fairly certain Link doesn’t manage his own profiles. But Hadley’s quite active on hers, and they’re both tagged in each other’s pictures and videos. You and your cousin are in some of them too. Hadley gushed all about The Beachfront Inn in her captions, and hinted about some kind of collab with B.R. Graham. Then the news broke that it’s a movie deal.” Francine pauses for a sigh. “How wonderful for your cousin. Have I ever told you I just love his books?”

“So do I.” I exhale most of the air in my lungs. I’m so relieved, my vision swims. When I begin to sway, Hudson reaches out to steady me.

“Please tell Brady congratulations from his biggest fan,” Francine says.

“Yes. I’ll be sure to pass on your support,” I say. “And now, if you’ll excuse me …”

I think I’ll go throw up.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Hudson

“Sorry again about posting stuff without checking with you all first.” Link nods at the back of the boat where Hadley’s seated on a half-circle bench with Liv and Natalie. “We definitely should’ve cleared it beforehand.”

“Hey, man.” Brady bites back a scoff. “Don’t apologize to me. The buzz about our movie project’s gonna be great for book sales.”

“Yeah,” I say. “No worries.” I adjust the wheel, bringing the boat back parallel to the shoreline. We’ve spent the past half hour cruising the opposite side of the lake. Now we’re skimming past The Beachfront in the other direction. The property is off to the right of us, just beyond the docks, sprawling above the sand.

“We were thinking you’d appreciate the publicity, with the reopening coming up and all.” Link rubs his sunglasses on his shirt, then shoves them back onto his face. “Well, Hadley thought that. Personally, I’ve got a complicated relationship with the media, so she usually handles most of that for us. My agent and publicist deal with the rest. Me? I try to ignore any mentions we get in the press. Kind of like a horse with perpetual blinders.”

“Anyway, Hadley’s right,” I say. “We could use the boost after being closed down for a couple years. Thanks to Liv, we were already booked up for July, but since your posts, we’ve been flooded with messages and requests through August and into September.”

Brady tosses a smirk Link’s way. “Maybe your fans haven’t figured out you’ll be long gone by then.”

“We’ll be back though, for sure.” Link cocks his head. “I can tell Hadley loves it here already.” He gazes across the water where the setting sun sparkles on the rippling waves. “I do too.” A wake rolls toward us from a water-skier getting in some runs before the daylight’s gone. “This place is so peaceful and green, and the air’s kind of humid, but still sweet, you know? Reminds me of Harvest Hollow, where Hadley’s from.” His lip quirks. “Except here, she doesn’t know everybody around each corner.”

Brady guffaws, pulling a couple of dripping bottles from the cooler. “I know what that’s like.” He pops the tops off one at a time and hands one to Link, then one to Sam. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’m related to half the town. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He turns his face toward the horizon. “Literally. At the end of the day, this lake’s the best place in the world to be.”

Link nods, glancing at me. “How about you?”

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