Page 60 of Lovingly Restored

“Hey, what the hell? I’m playing around.”

“Use her name and the word dick together in a sentence again, and I’ll drown you.”

Chris sinks down on a log, dumping water and sand out of his shoes.

“I’m trying to give her a break,” I say, joining him on the log. “Nobody knows better than us what it’s like to work for my father.”

“Fair enough. I have a set of keys at home, I can drop them off to you tomorrow.”

I’m finishing up some errands when my phone buzzes with a text from Ashlyn.

It takes me a second to interpret her text. Root vegetables. I bark out a laugh that gets lost in the wind.

I do know her. How can I not after living with her for this long? She’s type-A to the max, but wickedly funny. Flowers and plants are her favourite thing in the world, except for maybe her cousin. By the end of the weekend, I have a feeling we’ll know each other even better.

The Tipsy Mermaid is tucked far enough away from the downtown core of West Isle that tourists rarely visit. Most of the customers are long-time patrons looking for a good meal or a cold drink, and the guys and I are amongst the most loyal of those. Dean rubs his knuckles over my scalp as he approaches our table from behind and slides into the chair next to me. I nod at him as I take a deep pull of my cold beer.

“Got one of those for me?”

“You bet, take your pick.” I point at the cold bottles in the centre of the table.

He twists the cap off and clinks his bottle against mine. “Cheers.”

“What are we toasting?” I ask.

“Health, wealth, happiness…and taking your hot nurse to a cabin.” A shit-eating grin spreads across his face.

Fucking Chris.

“First off, she’s notmynurse. Second, it’s not even anything serious so don’t worry about it.”

I squeeze the tense muscle between my neck and shoulder. I’ve been riled up all afternoon since getting interrupted in the pantry. The way my dad spoke so rudely to Ash and Mummo made my skin crawl. I can’t wait to get her far away from the stress.

“Man, I’m just busting your balls. Life’s been kind of shit for you the last few months, so you should take your fun wherever you can get it.”

I start my next beer as a waitress delivers calamari and a plate of nachos.

“Berg or Chris gonna make it?”

“Nah, Berg couldn’t find a sitter, and Chris has some big hike this weekend so he’s taking it easy.”

I’d hoped to have all four of us here to treat them to a beer and food before we kick the project off next week. I make a mental note to take them out for an early breakfast or something instead. We dig into the battered squid and cheesy nachos while they’re still hot, glancing between the handful of television screens. Four of them play sports games or highlights, but the fifth one, without fail, always plays an ocean-themed movie. It’s a stupid tradition, but one that makes the Mermaid what it is.Jawsis currently playing with subtitles on. At first, I think Dean’s far off gaze is because he’s lost in thought, but a smirk tugs up one corner of his mouth.

“Hey, ladies, glad you could make it.” His voice is low and inviting as he greets the two women who seem to have appeared out of nowhere next to our table.

One looks at her feet rather than meeting Dean’s intense eye contact, the other holds his gaze steadily.

I speak out of the corner of my mouth, “D, what the hell?”

The chairs skid as the women take the seats across from us, the bolder of the two choosing the spot across from Dean.

He leans into me so only I can hear, “You need to have some fun.”

The only thing I need is fast asleep at home, tucked into my childhood bed. My pants tighten when I remember the way she tasted this afternoon. I see why Dean didn’t mention it would only be the two of us tonight. I’ve been volunteered as wingman.

“Isaac, this is Katrina,” he says, gesturing to a curly blonde across from me.

I offer a tight-lipped smile. “How you doing?”

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