Page 7 of Summer Love

I wasn’t looking for a man. Not when my life was up in the air. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life. I wasn't even positive that I could have a sustainable career here. It was the reason why so many of my island classmates went to college and never returned.

I was lucky to get a job related to my career even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do with my life. But I still had to prove myself, and I wouldn't let Hudson Kingston ruin my chances of staying.

* * *

I walked into the bar on the beach where the locals hung out. We met here because we could dig our toes in the sand while we chatted. Most evenings, there was a live band playing too.

I grabbed a drink at the bar and made my way to my friends seated at a picnic table in the sand. A candle flickered in a clear jar with the writing:You're exactly where you're supposed to be.I wondered if that was a message for me.

Tonight, only a few friends were able to get together. Kinsley worked at Kingston Construction as an office administrator, Ivy was a Realtor, Hazel was a librarian, Daria owned a seashell store, and Nora was a teacher at the elementary school on the island. One of our other friends, Penny, recently moved to Colorado for a change of pace and fell in love with a local doctor.

"You made it!" Kinsley exclaimed when I sat down next to her.

"I went for a walk with Grams first." I cherished those walks with her. They reminded me of my childhood when I’d stay with her overnight. I loved it because of the time I got with her, but also because she lived on the beach. My parents had lived in a newer development away from the sand and waves.

"How's she doing?" Kinsley asked me.

"She's great. She's probably on the phone now talking to her friends about my feature with the Kingston boys."

Kinsley raised a brow. "How did your meeting go with Hudson? He didn't look happy.”

Ivy leaned closer. "Oh, I'm dying to hear about this."

I shook my head. "He wants nothing to do with me or the story."

"He's the oldest one?" Hazel asked me.

I nodded, moving my straw in my colorful drink. "That's right."

"Hudson seems like the most responsible. So it makes sense that Jonathan picked him."

I nodded. "I remember that from school."

Ivy leaned in close. "No one even knows if he's dated because he's so quiet about everything. He seems to focus on work, and that's it."

Ivy tended to hear the gossip before most people because of her job as a Realtor.

"Well, I'm going to find out because I have to shadow him." I checked my email, finally seeing his response to mine. "He just sent me his itinerary for tomorrow. I have to be at this house at seven a.m."

Daria whistled. "Early morning for you."

"I want him to take me seriously, and I can't pass up this opportunity."

"Why wouldn't he want to be featured in a magazine? I'm sure it will do wonders for his business," Nora asked.

"I don't think he's interested in attention," I said, remembering how angry he was about the story. "He doesn't want me following him around either." I had a feeling that might be partly about my safety, but I wouldn't let him push me out over some misguided sense of chivalry.

"You should talk to their sister, Luna, too. I went to school with her. She lives part-time here and in Maryland."

"What's she been up to?" I asked Kinsley, knowing she took over Luna's position at the Kingston Construction office.

"She's flipping houses."

"Wow. Why wouldn't she just work with the family?"

"Apparently, Jonathan didn't feel like they had room for her in the business. He wanted her at the front desk," Kinsley said. "So she went out on her own."

"Good for her," Hazel said.

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