Page 8 of Summer Love

"Jonathan has a lot of guilt about it. But Luna's doing great, and she's happy. That's all that matters," Kinsley added.

"It doesn't really matter why he doesn't want me there. I just need to get to know him. I hope he doesn't make that impossible." So far, he'd been grumpy and growly, wanting nothing to do with me. Would it be more of the same tomorrow?

"I know a lot of women who'd love to be in your position. How much shadowing are you going to do? Will you be hanging out with him after work, at the bars?" Ivy asked.

Kinsley frowned. "I never hear him saying he's going out after work. He always works late, then either goes home or to his parents for dinner."

There was something about him going home to his parents for dinner that had me feeling warm inside. It was sweet and was similar to how I felt about my grandmother.

I'd heard the Kingston brothers worked hard and played harder. Was Hudson the exception? Was he a family man?

"I've seen the rest of them out at one time or another," Ivy said.

"Yeah, they talk about meeting up at various bars, but they also like hanging out at their houses. I think one of them has an impressive game room with a pool table and arcade games. They're always talking about it."

"I'm hoping to get more insight into the entire family. Valerie really wants to know more about all of them, but Jonathan seemed to want me to just talk to Hudson. I wonder why."

"Because he's the mature one. He's not going to take you out to a bar while he picks up a woman."

I'd had a crush on him back in the day, and I was fairly sure I was over that now. But he was even more attractive than when we were in high school. He'd filled out, probably from his time on the job, and there was something about his growly tone that shook me to my core. "I don't want to hang out with him while he's picking up women."

"It might be fun," Nora said with a shrug.

"I don't know what my days are going to look like, if I'll be able to go out for a while," I said.

Ivy lifted her glass. "I hope you are having fun with the Kingston boys, and you snag one for yourself."

"Not happening. This is a job, and I'm a professional." There were few jobs for me on the island, unless I snagged a coveted work-from-home gig, which was doubtful.

Kinsley bumped shoulders with me. "Live a little. Have some fun. You deserve it."

"Is there anything else I should know about them?"

"I just started working there, so I don't know much. It seems to me that Hudson is the one most likely to take over the business. The middle ones are the troublemakers—at least, in the family's eyes—and the youngest are a little more easygoing. They don’t bear the responsibility of the business, if you know what I mean. And Marshall is in the military; I haven't seen him come home yet."

"That's one Kingston brother I don't have to worry about."

"I think you'll have your hands full with the rest of them," Nora said with a smile.

"For now, I'm focusing on one." Hudson Kingston, the one I had a crush on when I was in high school. But I was so far beyond that now. I wouldn't let a pretty face and a grouchy tone reel me in. I couldn't forget that I'd never made an impression on him, and I was unlikely to do so now. He didn't want anything to do with me. He'd made that clear.

ChapterThree

HUDSON

Iwas up early in my uniform of a navy-blue Kingston Construction T-shirt, worn jeans, and work boots. I added a Kingston Construction hat because I felt the need to be somewhat shielded from the journalist who'd be shadowing me. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with her.

I'd emailed her the schedule for the day and told her to dress appropriately. But now I was worried I should have been more specific. Would she show up in a summer dress and sandals anyway? The safety concerns of opened-toed shoes gnawed at me.

I wouldn't let someone get hurt on my watch. If she showed up in open-toed shoes I'd send her home. Easy-peasy. I'd have a reason to tell Dad that it wouldn't work out. That she wasn't taking the assignment seriously. I still had the last word on my jobsite when it came to safety.

Ralph popped his head into the room. "Hey, boss, there's a lady here."

"That's the magazine journalist I told you about," I said as I headed to the front porch of the house we were renovating. This one was empty, so I didn't have to deal with the owners living here at least. It was a complete redo with the house stripped to the studs.

On the porch, I felt dusty already, and I hadn't even gotten started yet.

The woman in question, Elena Perkins, got out of her cherry-red sports car, and walked toward me. She wore low waisted jeans tucked into boots, her button-down shirt tied in a knot at her waist and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the protests died in my throat.

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