Page 51 of All I Desire

Just as he’s sliding the crotch of my panties to the side, there’s a knock on my door.

“Dammit,” I whisper, collapsing against Matthew’s chest.

He groans. “Are you expecting someone?”

“No,” I whisper. “Maybe they’ll go away. Or be consumed by fire.”

“Nat? Nat! I know you’re in there. Open up!” comes a woman’s voice.

“Oh, shit. It’s my neighbor. My friend, Sadie.” I grunt and launch myself off Matthew’s lap, rolling my eyes. “I’m sorry, I have to open the door for her. She might be having a crisis with the ship.”

“The ship?” Matthew’s hand is on his crotch, adjusting his substantial hard-on. He grabs a pillow and puts it over his lap.

“She’s the owner of the pirate tourist ship. I told you about her. Maybe it sank or something. She just started the business. She lives down the hall, in the other condo on this floor. She moved in recently.”

“Nat! Please open up. I can hear you in there,” Sadie calls.

Straightening my dress, I holler, “Coming.” I pause, then mutter, “Or, at least I was going to, before you knocked.”

I fling open the door. Sadie, my extremely emotional, red-headed neighbor is standing on my black doormat. Her cheeks are pink and her velvet-brown eyes are hard with fury.

“I can’t believe he did this,” she cries, brushing past me.

“Who? Who did what?” I love Sadie, but right now, I feel like shaking her by her freckled shoulders.

“Justin. The mayor. He wants a ban on all kiosks at the marina. So, I can’t sell tickets to my pirate ship — oh, hey.” Sadie stops abruptly in the middle of my living room, staring at Matthew. “Sorry. Didn’t know you had company.”

“Well, if you hadn’t busted the door down and then barged in here, I would have told you,” I say crossly, wanting to inform her that she’s the only thing standing in the way of my mind-blowing orgasm. “Sadie, this is Matthew. He’s new on the island. Opening a helicopter tour business. Matthew, this is my next-door neighbor, Sadie. She runs Salty Sadie’s Pirate Ship and she’s known my sister-in-law, Kate, for years.”

Sadie leans over the coffee table and shakes Matthew’s hand. “Sorry to interrupt. I was just so pissed when I saw his proposal to the city council. Justin, of all people. Doing this to me.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t personal.” I put my hands on my waist, waiting for Sadie to take the hint. I tap my foot.

“Personal? How could it not be personal? It makes me hate him. And you know I don’t want to hate him. You know how I feel about Justin.” Sadie balls up her little hands, her black-tipped fingernails disappearing into her palms. Today, she’s wearing khaki shorts and a T-shirt with her business logo — a redheaded pirate woman with a knife in her mouth. It looks kind of like the old Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo from the eighties, but more badass.

Matthew blinks. “How do you feel about Justin? Who is Justin, anyway?”

Oh hell. “Don’t get her started,” I mutter.

Sadie flops into a red, overstuffed chair and kicks off her flip-flops, putting her feet on the matching, fabric ottoman. “Well. That’s an excellent question.”

“And one for another day, over drinks? We can bring Matthew up to speed on the inner workings of Paradise Beach politics later.” I say pointedly.

Sadie turns to Matthew and waves her hands excitedly in the air. “Justin’s the mayor of Paradise Beach. He also runs a hot dog cart on North Beach.”

“The mayor runs a hot dog cart?” Matthew is obviously baffled by this. I’m a little surprised he didn’t already know this detail, since it was all over the national news when Justin was elected last year. Handsome Millennial Sells Hot Dogs, Wins Mayor’s Seat in Florida. That kind of thing.

“Yes,” Sadie and I say in unison.

“Well, it’s actually his father’s cart. But he helps run it. He has some other businesses too. And Sadie’s had a massive crush on him ever since she saw him campaigning at the farmer’s market,” I add helpfully, hoping I will annoy her into leaving.

“Had. I had a crush on him. Now I think he’s a jerk. Why does he want Paradise Beach businesses to not have kiosks there? I just opened my sunset cruise business. This is going to kill it. I spent so much money. Business loans. Crap.”

“Kiosks?” Matthew asks. “Where?”

Sadie huffs impatiently. “At the Marina, there’s a spot on the sidewalk where the businesses have booths so we can grab tourists’ attention as they walk past. Usually, the tourists are going from Main Street to the beach. I staff the kiosk myself in the mornings, so people can make plans for later in the day.”

“Oh, I know where you’re talking about. Shit. I guess I’d hoped to eventually have a booth there too for the helicopter tours, once I hire someone.” Matthew leans forward, interested.

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