Page 51 of Beach Vibes

Beth grinned. “How do you know about fear of missing out?”

“I’m very in tune with young people today,” Agatha said with a laugh. “They adore me.”

“We all adore you.”

She thought about what her aunt had said. Yes, avoiding her mother’s path of destruction had always seemed wise, but she supposed a case could be made for beingtoocautious. And while she hated to admit to moping, seeing the billboard and all the pictures on Ian’s Instagram account had rattled her. Her business was thriving, but that was only one part of her life. She needed more than just the success of her sandwich shop. Just as important, she wanted more. Connections, a man who cared about her, and yes, maybe a couple of hobbies. Kids.

The latter seemed the least likely. She was thirty-eight and single. She wasn’t the type to go out and find a sperm donor,which meant getting pregnant the old-fashioned way or accepting it simply wasn’t going to happen for her.

“About your young man,” Agatha began.

“He’s not mine. I told you, he’s still in love with his late wife.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You weren’t there.” Teddy had looked so stricken as he’d talked about Valonia. “They were in love when she died. There was no time to prepare. She was just gone.”

“Which is tragic, but even the most shattered heart heals. You should call him.”

Beth looked at her aunt and started laughing. “Because that’s so who I am? Call him and say what? ‘Hi. We just met, and I’m pretty sure you’re in love with someone else, but did you want to come over for sex?’ I don’t think so.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of dinner, but if you want to jump right to dessert, then that’s another option.”

Beth rose and set her half-finished brandy on the counter by the sink, then returned to the table and kissed her aunt on the cheek.

“I love you, and I appreciate how you worry about me. I’m going to take my Teddy obsession and carefully lock it away where it won’t hurt anyone. Especially me.” She smiled. “But I promise to think about the passion thing. Maybe there’s a slightly safer way to channel my wild side into something a little more productive than an unrequited crush.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan.”

11

Beth did her best to put the irresistible and unobtainableTeddy out of her mind. Monday at the shop, she focused solely on work and her employees, doing her best to act completely normal. As no one seemed to be whispering about her behind her back, she thought maybe she was doing all right. Sure, she was still thinking about him every forty seconds, but that was okay. By this time next week, she would bet she could go a whole ninety seconds without him crossing her mind.

The lunch crowd poured in, and the line of waiting customers stretched out the door. Beth stepped up to the counter, completing sandwiches and upselling the sides, while Kai and Albert expertly manned the cash registers. The small printer on the counter spit out phone orders one after the other.

By one thirty the crowd had thinned to something moremanageable. Beth stayed up front until everyone had taken a break. She was about to retreat to her office when the front door opened and Teddy stepped inside the store.

In less than a nanosecond, the air went from normal to electrically charged. Her chest got tight, and she couldn’t catch her breath. His gaze scanned the space before settling on her face, and while it was very unlikely, she would swear she heard the upswell of a movie score at that point where the hero returns to claim his woman.

He was just as gorgeous as she remembered with deep blue eyes and dark hair. He had on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt—normal attire for the average American male, yet on him, it took on supermodel importance. She was instantly aware of her bright yellow apron over her Surf Sandwiches T-shirt and that she was wearing a hairnet and no makeup. Frustration joined the heat in her belly. Just once, couldn’t she dazzle?

He stepped toward her and smiled. Fortunately she’d thought to grab onto the counter so she didn’t fall over.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“I came by earlier. You were slammed.”

“Lunch is like that around here.”

Wait, what? He’d come by earlier? To see her? No, that couldn’t be right. He must want a sandwich, and she sold sandwiches. Things were working out already.

“Can I, um, get you something?”

The smile returned, inspiring more heat and a nearly buzzing tingle in all her girl places.

“I thought maybe we could take a walk.”

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