Page 41 of Hooked on a Feeling

“No. This is not your fault. I own this. Not you.” He used his thumb to wipe the wet streak below her eye. What was it about a woman crying that gutted him? “Don’t cry. Not for me.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back when I can.”

John left his car parked in the marina lot and took his time crossing the bridge over to Blue. He was a grown fucking man. He owned this. There was nothing more to think about. What happened once he walked inside was on his shoulders. He had no one else to blame.

Raven was at the front desk, and she was decent enough to not say anything to him. She just raised her eyebrows and gave him a sympathetic look.

“Dad’s been sitting in your office all morning,” she warned when he was past her desk.

“Figures.”

John took the stairs, not enjoying feeling as if he was doing either the walk of shame or walking onto the plank. “I guess I am,” he muttered to himself.

True to Raven’s word, their father was sitting in John’s office behind the desk, taking up John’s seat. His eyes were a murderous blue—a shade John had seen on more than one occasion when the four boys had caused trouble. “You heard,” John said.

“The whole fucking town of Emerald Port has heard.” His dad leaned forward and gripped the edge of John’s desk, his knuckles white. “What in the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.” He kept standing, unable to take a seat in one of the open chairs. “He was harassing Starr.”

“I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“I wouldn’t call it proud.”

“Over her? A Young? After what your grandfather went through, you had the nerve to befriend someone from that family.”

“First of all, I’m a grown fucking man. I can date whoever I please. I don’t ask for permission. Second of all, I don’t even know what the hell happened between those guys, and even if I did, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m in love with her.”

His tirade was met with complete silence. He was in love with Starr, and he wasn’t going to let anyone talk to her the way Tyson Lowe had—cop or not. She didn’t deserve it.

“You’re right.” His dad pinched the bridge of his nose. “You can date whoever you want. What you can’t do is go around punching a cop and expect there to be zero consequences. You made your bed, and now you will lie in it.”

John released a deep breath and met his father’s gaze head on. The heaviness in his chest settled in the pit of his stomach as he waited for his dad to say whatever it was he had to say. That he wasn’t going to give John the role of CEO. “Just say it already.”

His dad shook his head. “You’re fired. Get your shit, and get out of this office.”

* * *

Starr sat on the patio of the cottage, taking a sip of crisp white wine. The sides of the glass had a slight frost, and she never thought she’d enjoyed a glass of wine so much. She didn’t even care that her shoulders were sunburnt. She’d finished painting, and it wasn’t even Wednesday yet.

The marina looked amazing.

And she’d done it all on her own.

Victory.

Apple and pear flavors floated across her tongue, and the wine was cold and welcoming as it went down her throat. If only she’d heard from John earlier, he could share this with her. She left in a few days. The weird part was that she wasn’t anxious to go home. If she was totally honest with herself, she wasn’t missing the yoga studio anymore. Not as much as when she’d first shown up in Emerald Port. She took another sip and waited for Deanne to call her back regarding the trust paperwork Starr had sent to her. Deanne mentioned having some concerns, and Starr had zero clue what that could be.

It seemed like forever since her plane had landed and Lyle had picked her up at the airport. In reality, it had been almost two weeks. Was it even possible to fall in love so fast? Her heart fluttered, and her stomach got that butterfly feeling it did every time she thought about John.

She wasn’t missing the yoga studio because her thoughts were on the muscular, sun-kissed skin of a man who had her wrapped around his fingers.

“Can I join you?”

She sat up and glanced behind her. John stood on the other side of her patio. Even though he was smiling, she could see the anguish on his face. “Yes. I thought you’d never show up.”

“It’s been a day. Let me tell you.”

He hopped over the fence and pulled her up from her seat. That single move shouldn’t make her so giddy, but she grinned like a lovestruck fool. “I could have opened the gate for you.” She pressed her lips into his neck.

“And lose the opportunity to show off for my lady? No way.”

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