Page 95 of Release Me

I can’t get hung up on another woman right now.

I’m still sort of in love with Henry Wolf’s wife.

The truth is, I doubt I’d have the guts to say any of those things, just like I never had the guts to say half the things swimming through my head where Abbi was concerned. I always kept it cool and superficial. It was an act, but it protected me where she was concerned.

“How long do you think that coffee line will take?”

“With Amanda making the orders?At leastthirty minutes.”

“Damn.” Imutter more to myself, “All right. Shit coffee from the pit it is.” For all the money Wolf spent on construction, you’d think they could invest in decent coffee machines for the staff.

“Hold, please.” Blondie holds up a manicured finger. “I’ll be right back.” She ducks through the doorway before I can say a word, leaving me alone. I wander over to the far wall to the pictures I didn’t notice the first day, too enthralled by the beauty behind the counter. It’s a timeline of Sea Witch’s long history in Mermaid Beach, reminiscent of a family portrait wall—dozens of group photos of staff huddled around the same woman pictured in the original Sea Witch plaque, her long, blond braids adorned with a tropical flower.

In the earliest ones, a teenage girl stands in front of her, Gigi’s hands resting possessively on her shoulders. Gigi’s daughter, I presume. With each year, the girl grows older, until suddenly she’s cradling a baby. She can’t be more than twenty.

And I’ll bet that’s Sloane.

From that point, Gigi and her daughter take turns holding Sloane, then standing with her, the little ash-blond girl wearing a bathing suit and a goofy expression.

There are a dozen pictures of the three generations together through the years as Sloane grows from an impish child to a gangly prepubescent, and then the younger woman is suddenly gone. The smiles are more forced across the group that year. Sloane’s is nonexistent.

As I move down the line, I note that her mother never reappears.

A creak of a door opening in the back sounds, and a moment later, King Kong strolls through. He grimaces when he sees me. “This side’s closed.”

“Yeah, I know. I came in to see Sloane.”

“She’s not here.”

“Thanks. I got that. I’m gonna head?—”

“Morning, big guy! Missed you at the fire last night.” Theblond swoops past him, patting his trunk of an arm, before she crosses the room to hand me a large coffee. “If you need cream or sugar, you can grab it at the side bar.”

“Black is perfect. How much do I owe you?”

“This one’s on the house.” She winks. “I’m sure Sloane would agree.”

I chuckle as I dig out a ten-dollar bill and set it on the counter. “I think she’d charge me double. But thank you …”

“Skye.” Her eyes shift from the cash to me, batting long, salon-made lashes. “Have a great day.” She skips back to the coffee shop, stealing a glance over her shoulder to flash me a playful grin.

Frank glowers at me. “She’s not interested in you either.”

I would beg to differ, but I don’t want to die today. Does he know what happened between me and Sloane yesterday? “I’m just gonna …” I toss a thumb toward the door.

“Yeah, you do that.” Frank’s distrusting gaze sears into my back.

“Late, and you arrive likethis.”Belinda falls into step beside me as she glares at my open collar and rolled-up sleeves. “You love to test boundaries, don’t you?”

At least I’m wearing a fucking dress shirt and pants. I despise golf shirts and wasthis closeto throwing on my usual jeans and T-shirt. “Since when does senior management work weekends?”

Belinda flips her blond hair over her shoulder, and I’m hit with a waft of perfume. “Henry owns the entire company, and I’ve yet to see him take a weekend off. He was answering calls on his honeymoon.”

“I’m not Henry.” I sure as hell would love his bank accounts, though.

“Believe me,I know. He personally watched every interviewvideo for Wolf Cove because he was that invested in its success. If you were Henry, you’d be doing the same. But you’re not.” In a slightly more conciliatory tone, she goes on. “Besides, we’re running on a super-condensed timeline. Our people have already done all the heavy lifting. Just approve the final staffing lists that our managers spentall nightvetting and then run off to do whomever you want for the rest of the weekend.”

I smirk. “You meanwhatever.”

---