Page 110 of That Kind of Guy

“People are really upset about this,” Hannah whispered. “You should have heard Keiko giving Isaac a piece of her mind after you left town hall. Even the council looked upset.”

I thought again about the words Elizabeth had said to me yesterday, about how Emmett takes care of everyone, and no one takes care of him until me.

“It’s not uncommon for bosses and employees to be in relationships,” Hannah continued, “and companies find a way around that all the time.” She hummed. “I guess Isaac not wanting to lose the election factored into his quick decision today.”

Emmett and I were married now. Maybe it wasn’t a real marriage on paper, but I loved the guy. I told him that, and I meant it.

I wanted to fix this. Not just for me, but for Emmett. This time, I wanted to the be the one in Emmett’s corner.

Hannah’s words registered and something clicked in my brain. “Wait. What did you say about managers and employees dating?”

“Oh. That. Uh.” She sounded embarrassed. “I read it in a book. A romance novel. A boss wanted to date someone who worked for him so they signed a contract that said all the decisions about her employment would be made by other managers. She wouldn’t technically work for him.”

My scalp tingled and I could practically feel my neurons firing. “Hannah. You’re a genius.”

“I am?”

I smiled and stood, picking up my bag. “You sure are. I need your help, do you have some time today?”

“Of course! Yes. I want to help.”

“I’ll be at the bookstore in five minutes.”

29

Emmett

Waves crashedon the sand as tide came in, and I sat on Castle Beach wondering how the hell I was going to get us out of this mess.

I love you,she had said.

My hands made fists, eager to call her, find her, pull her towards me and tangle my fingers into her soft hair, but she didn’t want that. She wanted space.

Right now, she was probably regretting having anything to do with me.

I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face.

She wasn’t going to give up her restaurant, I’d make sure of it. No fucking way. It was the only thing she wanted. The Arbutus was everything to her, and she was everything tome, so there was no way in hell I’d be the reason she didn’t buy it. Not after what we’d been through to get here. Especially not after what she told me about her dad. I’d never do that to her. I’d made her a promise right on this beach.

My heart twisted in my chest. I missed her. It had only been about eight hours but I missed her.

My phone buzzed again in my pocket and I shut it off without looking at the messages. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I needed to be by myself so I could concentrate and come up with a plan.

Avery snuck into my thoughts, though. The soft, content expression on her face when I woke her up this morning. The way she rolled her eyes and bit back a smile when I teased her. And then the look of horror and confusion on her face at today’s town hall, when she realized I stood in the way of her restaurant. Exactly what she was trying to avoid this whole time.

I wanted this marriage between Avery and I to be real, but if she didn’t get her restaurant, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to forgive me. I don’t know if I could forgive myself.

I rubbed the scar on my lip and stared at the water. The only way that I could help Avery buy the restaurant was to step out of the mayoral race. If I did that, this whole problem would vanish.

But what about Will? What about Kara and Nat? What about all the business owners in town who lost power every time we had a windstorm? What about Div, who had worked his ass off on this campaign so that I would be elected?

No one would say a word if I quit. Will would understand. I’d feel like a failure, though. I made them a promise, too.

It was one or the other, though. Anguish tore at me and my chest ached. I couldn’t keep my promises to both Avery and Will.

“You’d be a difficult guy to find—” Avery took a seat on the log beside me, and my heart leapt into my throat. “—if I didn’t have the top-secret directions to this place.” Her pretty mouth pulled into a smile, and she dropped a kiss on my cheek.

I stared at her with confusion. She didn’t look mad, worried, or upset. It was like the whole town hall thing never happened.

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