Page 18 of Sex, Lies, & Techy Guys (Love on the Sunshine Coast)

“Have you ever wanted to do that?”

Her eyes are still wide. “Maybe if you’d led with that question, my Danish wouldn’t be laying on the floor.” She laughs and flops a finger toward the pastry.

“Sorry, I’ll give you half of mine.” I tear mine in two and hand a piece to her. “It’s wild, right?”

“Holy shit. Who with? I didn’t know you were hooking up with anyone.” Using a napkin, she retrieves hers from the floor and shoves it back in the bag.

Taking a bite of my pastry, I put off the inevitable.

She cracks up, not waiting for me to answer. “Was this all sparked by me taking you to see the male strippers to lift your spirits after the divorce? I’d kind of like to think I played a role.”

When I finish chewing, I say. “It was spontaneous. So, here’s the part you’re going to judge me on…”

“What? Judging you isn’t about hooking up with two guys?”

“Okay, yeah, I did think you would judge me for that. But this is the worst part.”

“I don’t think you can top that.”

“It’s the two tenants who booked my bed and breakfast.”

“Shut the fuck up.” She pauses and lowers her voice. “You didn’t.”

“I can’t believe it either. I’d taken them sightseeing and we had a few moments where I caught them looking at me…anyways, we got back and there was a water leak and the ceiling collapsed and one of them…never mind, next thing I knew, there was only one dry bed in the house and way too much stress.” I rub my hands over my face and continue. “And now I’m worried that my bed and breakfast could get a reputation. I mean, you know me…I wouldn’t normally do that.”

She shakes her head and smiles. “Apparently I don’t know you as well as I thought I did but I will absolutely bring you cigarettes when you go to jail because you’re a motherfucking badass.”

I can’t help but laugh. How did this become my life? “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I don’t know that I’m going to jail, right?”

Shaking her head, she mumbles no around a bite of the pastry.

I worry my lower lip. “Let’s hope my lawyer can punch those holes in the evidence.”

Mila and the Danish help settle my nerves. Depression and jail don’t feel like my only options anymore.

And if Mila didn’t have another client to meet, she’d head to the computer store with me in case whoever helped me was as hot as my nerdy tenants. Maybe it’s Kyle’s glasses and the way he’s much more reserved than Lance, but they’re nerdier than I expected travel writers to be.

Who am I to judge? I’m on the verge of being convicted as a skilled internet thief, bet I don’t look the part.

My appointment with the geek gurus at the tech store is my desperate, thrift store solution on how to defend myself in this stupid case, on the off chance they can educate me enough to matter.

When I arrive home, with no additional advice on my defense, I’m surprised that the guys are still in their office with the door closed. I shake my head.

But after a day with my best friend, I’m reinvigorated.

If Kyle and Lance want to spend all of their time locked in a room instead of experiencing the sights, that’s their loss. I might be biased but between the mountains and the coast, Gibsons is gorgeous.

How many hours a day can travel writers stay cooped up? My stomach knots. Could they have lied? What good would it do to call them out? My brother Zac had said they were his friends and needed a place they could stay and work. I hadn’t asked more than that. All I’d heard was that they were paying guests.

With my brother’s life revolving around the military, could they work for the American government? What would they be doing in Canada?

Fuck it, I don’t want to mess things up. I’ve got a week to enjoy heaven. If I find out I’ve tangled my life with secret government agents or international spies, I could live with that. I laugh out loud at the ridiculous notion. My life may be messed up but that’s a little too much.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun.

CHAPTER 8

lance

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