Page 3 of Just One Summer with the Grumpy

“She does. Her family owns a hotel chain, so they’re putting up the entire wedding party on the island. According to the tabloids, it’ll be the event of the season.”

There it was again—the slightest note of disappointment. Resignation, even. Could it be that he regretted his engagement? Was he harboring second thoughts? Were any of those second thoughts about me?

“And you?” he asked after a long silence, seeming reluctant to end the conversation quite yet. “Unless you’ve won the lottery since the last time I saw you, your boyfriend must have some serious wealth.”

I nodded, my cheeks heating again. He knew about my rocky past when it came to employment. I’d only managed one year of college before fleeing my Arkansas hometown, and my livestock and harvesting skills weren’t exactly appreciated here. Why was New York so blasted expensive?

I couldn’t think of a profession that would justify being a client here, so I merely said, “He does very well for himself.”

“Secretive as ever,” Ty said. “Mystery Man is a lucky guy.”

I felt an almost overwhelming urge to scream at him. Couldn’t he see that my life had only fallen apart since that awful night? How could he go and marry another when something clearly still existed between us? Even now, his eyes held mine with a certainty that hooked me like a fish on a line.

Still there. All the magic from before, all the fate and meaning…

Ty was supposed to be mine. I had no doubt of that now. We were supposed to meet here, the two of us, and get back together.

Only one thing stood in our way—the tiny little matter of his destination wedding.

Ty seemed resigned, but it wasn’t over till the rings exchanged hands and the pastor said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” I just had to stop the event from happening. Was that what the horoscope meant by becoming the pursuer?

“Well, it was good to run into you again. I hope your wedding goes well.” He turned toward the door.

No, no, no.“Ty, wait—”

The elevator doors opened and a stream of curses arose from the woman inside. My wedding planner boss, Blythe, stormed out and practically sprinted for the doors, her arms full of belongings, her purse dragging along behind her. A trail of papers followed, and she didn’t seem to care, shoving through the glass doors as if driven out by a fire. Before I knew it, she was gone.

Ty and I looked at each other in confusion. What in the world?

“Daphne,” a male voice said from the elevator.

We both turned to find Chase Everett standing inside, his eyes fixed on me. His gaze sent a jolt of live electricity up and down my limbs, and I was suddenly very aware of my appearance.

Then I realized what this looked like—that Chase was my boyfriend, and my entire body warmed at the very thought. Me and the most eligible bachelor in New York. I mean, I could definitely do worse. If I meant to make Ty jealous out of his mind, that would do it.No goals, indeed,I wanted to spit back at him.

Instead, I smiled sweetly at my ex. “It was good to see you too. If you’ll excuse me.”

As I took my place next to Chase Everett—theChase Everett—in the elevator, I watched as Ty stared at me, a stunned expression on his face, until the doors closed between us.

TWO

“Was that a client?”Chase asked as the seconds passed. His voice sounded odd in here. Too loud and a little echo-y.

“Yes.” My voice was clipped, and I couldn’t help it. Thanks to Chase, I didn’t know if I’d ever see Ty again. I’d deleted his number from my phone a long time ago, and surely he’d blocked me on social media. I doubted the guy still lived in his dumpy apartment if he was engaged to some hotel chain heiress. That meant I’d either have to hunt down his number in company records or rely solely on fate to bring us back together. But what if that encounter downstairs was it, my one chance? If I never saw Ty again, I’d wonder what might have happened for the rest of my life.

All because of a stern billionaire boss who wanted to meet with me at the worst possible moment . . . who also happened to smell really,reallygood.

I recalled Blythe storming out and realized what all this meant. Had he fired her?

Was I next?

The doors finally opened, and Chase waited for me to step out. I’d expected another lobby and perhaps a personal assistant, but no. There were only tall windows, bright white furniture, tall grasses in standing vases, and string music blaring from a speaker in the wall. A glass desk sat next to a far window, its contents neatly organized. The entire floor had to be this guy’s office.

Chase motioned to one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”

I thought of Ty downstairs. He couldn’t have gotten far. “If you’re firing me, I’d rather you do it now so I can gather my things.”

He blinked. “Why would I fire you?”

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