Page 84 of Tourist Trap

My jaw goes tight, and I go to speak, to tell him I won't send a thing until he signs an agreement at the behest of my lawyer, but then I realize the line has gone silent.

I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, shooting off a quick text to my lawyer. He's probably going to insist Paul sign something, stating that he's okay with the number of payments halving, which I know Paul isn't going to want to sign, but he'll want to make sure I'm financially and lawfully covered.

"Everything okay?" Claire asks, walking over to me as she slips an earring in. She's in a little tank top with a flowy skirt that stops at her knees and a pair of sandals, and as always, she's fucking gorgeous.

"What?" I ask, taking a step closer, always distracted by her.

Why did I used to think that was a bad thing?Right now, getting distracted from the mess of Paul is exactly what I need.

"You okay? You look stressed."

I smile and shake my head. "No, just normal shit. You ready to go?"

She stops into my space, her hand lifting to cup my cheek, her thumb brushing over my mustache in the way I love before she smiles.

"Yeah, baby," she whispers, then moves to her tiptoes to press a kiss to my lips and step back. "Let's go."

TWENTY-NINE

MILES

"One car?" Claire asks as we walk out of the house. "We can park in my spot."

I glare at her as she gives me a wide smile, then tug her into me, pressing my lips to hers.

"You gonna let me live that down?" I ask against them.

She shakes her head. "Maybe next year."

"Next year, huh?"

"I have to try and keep my reign," she whispers. But all I can hear as I help her into the passenger seat is that she's planning on being here next summer.

"I can't believe they're already putting up signs for fall," she says a bit later, tipping her chin to an apple festival sign as we drive past it.

"Yeah, but the Apple Fest is fun, though. Have you ever been?" She shakes her head, though I already know the answer. I've been taking note of when Claire is in town for as long as I've known her. "We'll go together. The bakery makes apple cider donuts and sells them fresh; it's my favorite thing every year."

She smiles at me, and I reach over to squeeze her knee. Her fingers trace over the veins in my hand before she speaks again.

"You know, technically, my contract is up in five weeks."

"I know," I say, because I do. I'm intricately aware of just how long Claire has a job in Seaside Point.

"What do you think…" she starts to say, then hesitates, then restarts her sentence. "You know, we are new…" Then her words fade off again.

I look at her quickly before moving my eyes back to the road, turning off the main road toward the bay. "We'll figure it out, Claire," I say, squeezing her knee again, then shifting my hand to grab hers, twining our fingers together.

"Really?" she asks, disbelief and hope in the words. When I slow to a stop at a red light, I turn to her, confused.

"What do you mean, really?" My pulse quickens, because what if we're on separate pages and I didn't realize?

"We'll figure it out?"

My brow furrows as I realize there's hope on her face, and I shake my head gently. "What did you think I'd say?"

She shrugs. "I…I don't know. I thought…" I sit patiently, waiting for her to find the words so I can understand where she's at. "I wasn't sure how things would go at the end of the summer. We haven't talked about it, so?—"

With that, I put the car into park at the red light and shift in my seat to face her fully.

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