Page 18 of For the Promise

I hold up my food. “I was grabbing some lunch.”

“Lunch? Dude. It’s past lunchtime.”

“I thought time was a construct devised by modern society to put the man down,” I say as I inch toward the door.

Blossom’s head rears back. “Time is not a construct devised by modern society.”

“Really,” Kai drawls. “Why are there clocks everywhere if society isn’t trying to shape me into a time following sheep?”

“Time wasn’t devised by modern society,” Blossom argues. “Calendars and thus time have been around for over 4000 years. Maybe even before then, if you consider many ancient historians believe the tally marks in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings represent lunar months.”

Kai’s jaw drops open as he stares at Blossom. “You’re one of them.”

“One of whom?”

“One of the people trying to keep man down with the construct of time.”

I nearly chuckle at the disgust on Blossom’s face. “Time management is essential to running a business. How do you manage to get all your tasks done if you don’t manage your time properly?” When Kai goes to answer, she throws up a hand to stop him. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

She storms toward the door where I’m lurking and I rush down the hall before she catches sight of me. I make it to my office and slam the door shut behind me. For good measure, I lock it.

The last thing I need is for Blossom to barge inside my office again. She’s entirely too distracting. I don’t want or need any distractions. What I want is to figure out the recipe for this new blended whiskey. I don’t need anything else.

Chapter 7

“I’m making a tactical withdrawal. It’s not the same as giving up.” ~ Blossom

A month later

Blossom

“Why are we doing this again?” I ask Dakota as we fit a sheet over a bed at theMermaid Motel.

“I don’t know why you are doing this. But I’m doing this because housekeeping is short-staffed.”

We finish making the bed before I have the guts to say the next part. “But you’re dating a millionaire now. Surely, you don’t need two jobs anymore.”

To no one’s surprise, Rhett wore down Dakota’s resistance to him and the two are now a couple. A solid, sweet couple I’m not envious of at all. Nope. Been down that road and was launched off the cliff when the road ended without warning.

She sighs. “You remind me of Rhett. Quit your job, Dakota. I’ll take care of you.”

I giggle. “Your imitation of Rhett is horrible.”

She blows me a raspberry. “Probably because I’m not a controlling man.”

“You love that man.”

She sighs and I swear cartoon hearts appear in her eyes. “I do.”

“Have you told him you love him?”

Her nose curls up. “Why would I do a foolish thing like that?”

I don’t question her further. Dakota’s former husband screwed her over bad when he died. I can’t blame her for being reluctant to share her feelings.

I glance around the hotel room. “What next?”

She consults her phone. “New water glasses and towels.”

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