Page 34 of Resorting to Romance

“Yes. You know.” I cross my arms over my chest, looking at Kai seriously now that I’m the one laying out parameters. “Rules. Like, no kissing unless absolutely necessary. Only kissing in front of other people. No catching feelings. Things like that.”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. Well, since you are the one with all the research, write some rules. I’ll follow them.”

“Unlike the men in my books,” I say under my breath.

“What?”

“I said, I think you’ll do a far better job of following the rules than the men in my books.”

“I am a rule-follower.”

“That you are.”

ELEVEN

Kai

You've got to have a motive, you know.

There are only five important ones.

Fear — jealousy — money — revenge —

and protecting someone you love.

~ Frederick Knott

Ihear voices inside the shack when I come back to work for the afternoon. Mila and I have a plan. I’m still not quite sure how we got here, but she needs me, and that’s all that matters now.

Ben’s at the back of the shop, talking with a couple and their teen son when I walk in.

“Hey, Kai!” Ben shouts. “Folks, this is Kai, the one I was telling you about. He’s an ex-pro surfer, and one of the best teachers on staff. Also, my boss, but I’d still say all that good stuff about him even if he weren’t.”

I wave at the family. “Nice to meet you.”

The teen boy has a slightly awestruck expression on his face after that introduction. It’s been a while since anyone looked at me like that. The dad steps away from Ben andover to me.

“Jack Snider,” he says, extending his hand. “We’re here for two weeks. Visiting from Kansas. Not much surfing there. I’m military, so we move around every few years. My wife, Shelly, homeschools our kids. Cody here has always wanted to learn to surf. So, we’d like to sign him up for lessons with you while we’re here.”

“Sounds good. Though, Ben’s a fantastic teacher too. It might be good to have him with me for a few lessons and then with Ben, just so he gets exposed to a variety of approaches to surfing. The basics are going to be the same, but we each have our style. My future brother-in-law works here too. If he were going to be around, I’d have Cody pair up with him as well.”

“Bodhi Merrick?” Cody asks from across the room.

“One and the same.”

“Wow.”

If I thought Cody looked a little starstruck when he saw me, that was nothing. He’s nearly drooling at the mention of Bodhi’s name.

“We’ll take good care of you, Cody. Do you play any sports back home?”

“Yes, sir. Football, basketball, and I swim.”

“That’s all going to help. I’m betting you’ll stand up and catch a wave your first lesson, but there’s no pressure. Some people get the hang of it on day one. Others take a few sessions.”

“I’m looking forward to it, sir.”

Military family from Kansas. Still, the way Cody says,sir, makes me want to check the mirror for gray hairs. I’m not getting any younger, that’s for sure.

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