Chapter Nineteen

Lola

"I couldn't have been imagining all of that…right?" I say to myself as my feet slap against the pavement on the walk home. I'm more than ready to fall into the pile of cushy white pillows on my bed. "I didn't make it up. It happened ."

A man I'm passing on the sidewalk gives me a look when he catches me talking to myself. "Good morning," I say cheerily.

He mutters a good morning with a horrified expression before he scurries away, likely thinking I'm crazy.

But I'm not. Talking to myself helps me sort things out. Besides, I read online once that it's actually a sign of intelligence, so there, judgy sidewalk pedestrian!

I grumble as I climb the steps to the bungalow and roll my eyes when I realize that I left the place unlocked. "Great. Just great." Such an out of character thing for me to do. Not that I blame myself. I was clearly walking on a cloud of disbelief when Perry asked me to join him on a ride out to the island. When the grumpiest man in town said he wanted to show me around Willow Cove, how could I have even attempted to remember something as mundane as locking the door?

Pushing inside, I nearly leap out of my skin when I see there's someone waiting for me. "You didn't answer your phone. All night . Then you didn't answer the door when I knocked. And my brother is nowhere to be found either." Jerica rushes up to me and grabs my hands, holding them out at my sides like she's checking me for injury. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Once my heart reaches its normal rhythm, I laugh. "Pretty sure this is breaching the contract I electronically signed when I rented this place."

She pins me with a look. "This is serious. Are you okay ?"

I take a deep breath. "I'm fine. Your brother is fine. But we went out on his boat yesterday evening and—"

"You got caught in the storm?!" Her shrill voices makes me wince. "Sorry. You look rough. Probably don't need me screaming in your ear at seven a.m."

"Thanks," I mutter, brushing past her toward the bathroom.

"So, what happened, exactly? Where'd you guys go?" She fires off one question after another as she trails after me. "Did you end up staying out on his boat all night or…Oh. My. Gosh. Did you stay all night with Perry?" Her accusatory tone has me whipping around to face her.

"No. We didn't…I mean…" I blow out a breath. "I mean, we did stay out on his boat, but not…together."

Her brow puckers. "Huh?"

I press my hands together in prayer pose and bring them to my lips. "Okay. Let's rewind. First, he took me out to Cocoa Island. Then, on our way back, we got caught in the storm. Perry slipped on the deck, hit his head, and went unconscious."

Jerica gasps.

"I know. It was awful. But thankfully, I got us back to Willow Cove. By that time, I was exhausted. I tried to move him down below, but you can imagine how that worked out." She smiles, and I continue. "Anyway, he did wake up when I shook him a bit. I told him I was going to find help, but he assured me he's had worse head injuries and asked me to stay with him. I did, then I accidentally fell asleep."

I bite my lip and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. "Now that I think about it, I probably shouldn't have listened to him. At that point, he was still a bit out of it."

"And your phone?"

"It died and I left my charger here."

She nods, then crosses her arms. "And he's okay now?"

"Yes. He was totally lucid this morning." My mind goes back to when he first woke up, and the sweet words he fed me like he really did find me attractive in that moment. Then it remembers the way he rejected me a second later.

I clear my throat to ward off the ache that spreads through my chest. "I told him to go see a medic to get the cut taken care of and his head looked at, but I think he'll be fine."

Jerica steps forward and wraps me in a hug. "I'm so glad you guys are okay. I had no idea what to think with both of you missing. I was just about to head to the dock." She leans back, holding me at arm's length. "I hope it's okay that I contacted Bree and Buzz. They're on their way over here now."

I press a hand to my forehead and laugh. "It's fine. After I use the ladies' room, I'll call Bree and let her know everything's okay."

Jerica backs away with a sheepish expression, allowing me some privacy.

I feel a little better after using the facilities and washing my face, but also a whole lot less confident in Perry's earlier usage of the word pretty . I burst out laughing when I catch my reflection in the mirror. To say that I resemble a rabid racoon who may or may not have gotten into a fight with a sea creature is putting it mildly.

Definitely not pretty .

Jerica's on her phone when I step into the living room, so I take the opportunity to call Bree. After half a ring, she picks up. "Lo? You okay?" I give her a quick rundown of everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours, minus the particularly flirty parts. Or at least the parts that could be construed as flirty.

It still doesn't stop Bree from saying, "I expect all the details of last night on the water once you're well rested, Lola Anne. Got it?"

"You got it. See ya, Bree."

Jerica's still on her call when I hit the red button on my phone. I pretend not to overhear her conversation while I head to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.

"Good. I'm glad you're okay," she says. "Thank God Lola was there to help." I peek around the wall separating us to see her half turn in my direction. "Yeah, I'm here with her." Pause. "Mm hmm. Okay, see you later."

I slip out of sight and get to work on the coffee, singing praises that it's one of those quick brew machines you don't have to wait long for. I grab two mugs out of the cabinet when Jerica enters the kitchen with a smug smile. "Well. He certainly sounds chipper for a man who spent the night trapped on his boat during a storm."

"Perry?" I mock a gasp. "Chipper?"

"Well," she hedges as she crosses her arms and leans back against the wall. "For him, anyway."

The coffee machine sputters, and I swipe the half-and-half from the fridge, feeling the weight of Jerica's heavy gaze.

"So…" she starts. "Are you going to tell me what happened between you two last night?"

Doing my best to ignore the fluttery sensations taking off in my midsection, I say, "Nothing. Nothing happened last night."

She laughs as if I made a joke. "Ah, so something happened this morning , then."

"What? No. Not this morning either."

Continuing to stare at me like she knows something I don't, she sighs. "Lola, if there's something going on, I'd like to know."

I pour a cup of coffee and offer it to her, but she shakes her head. "There's nothing going on between me and Perry," I say as I hold her gaze and note that her earlier smug expression is long gone. Now she looks more concerned than anything.

"Look," she says. "I care about my brother's well-being. And I can tell he's starting to become invested in…whatever's going on between the two of you."

I start to object, but she holds up a hand to stop me. "I know you say it's nothing, but I also know Perry. And as much as I like you, I can't watch my brother fall for someone who's leaving."

Her words steal the breath from my lungs. What she's implying isn't possible. Right?

"Jerica, he hasn't fallen for me. I swear, it's not like that between us."

She steps away from the wall with a somber expression. "Maybe not yet. But you've only been here for a couple of weeks. The closer you guys get, the greater the chance there is of him being hurt when you leave. And he doesn't deserve to have his heart broken again."

She releases a breath, then continues. "You guys spent the night together on his boat, which is perfect fodder for the gossips of this town. And it probably didn't help hinder his attachment to you. I think you made a mistake."

Hurt lances through me sharp and swift. I blink away the sudden moisture that burns behind my eyes and straighten my spine. "I'm sorry if you feel I crossed a line. Everything I did was for Perry's own good; I can promise you that."

Her face softens a fraction. "I know you don't mean any harm, Lola. You're sweet and a good friend. You're just…not right for Perry. Because Willow Cove isn't your home."

"You're right," I say. "I'm not. But we're just friends." I scrunch my nose, knowing slapping that label on what Perry and I are to each other doesn't really fit.

Are we friends? Frenemies, maybe? Possibly attracted acquaintances? I inwardly laugh at that last one. I may be attracted to him, and he may have called me pretty, but I still wouldn't say I know for a fact that he's attracted to me, despite what Jerica insinuates.

And this time, I am not reading into things.

"All right, fine." Jerica stops next to me with a small smile. "Just think about what I said, okay? I'm glad you ended up safe and unharmed." With a squeeze of my shoulder, she exits through the back door, leaving me hurt and confused.

I wake to the sound of soft waves crashing along the distant shore and faint music carrying on the breeze. With a groan, I push up from the bed and check the time on my phone— 9:15. "Uhhh, I slept the day away."

And I'm not even mad about it.

When Jerica left, I ate and took a shower, then promptly fell into bed. I can't say why I was so tired, but it probably had to do with the sobbing mess I devolved into when I let Jerica's words sink in.

I shouldn't care so much. It's not like Perry even thinks of me that way, but Jerica's warning was just another reminder that I'm alone and will be for a while. Then I started to think that maybe Perry was right and there isn't a once in a lifetime love out there for everyone. Maybe some of us are just too unlucky for that.

Pushing the depressing thoughts from my mind, I focus on more pertinent problems. We lost two days out at the shipwreck, which won't bode well for Hal's opinion of my competence. The last thing I need is for him to decide that I'm not doing my job properly. I wouldn't put it past him to fly down here and take over should something go wrong. I need to remind myself that I'm not here to snag a guy; I'm here to successfully complete an investigation so my boss will finally see my worth as a maritime archeologist. Time to focus on what matters.

I drag myself to a sitting position just as a knock sounds on the back door.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I shuffle to the kitchen and flip on the light. A large, masculine shadow looms behind the screened door. I'm not surprised to see Perry standing there when I open it, but I am a little taken aback by what's in his hands.

"Hey," he says first. Dressed in jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, he looks like he's been up and active for hours. All while weak little me slept all day. There's a small bandage on his forehead, and for some reason, that makes me smile. Probably because it's evidence he listened and went to see a doc.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

He clears this throat and lifts the tinfoil covered plate. "I, uh, had some leftovers and thought maybe you'd like them. It's lasagna. From the diner. Best weekly dinner special around." He finishes his clearly practiced speech with an awkward laugh that's so endearing I almost can't take it.

"That's so kind of you, thanks." I take the proffered plate and step back. I'm about to invite him inside when Jerica's admonition blares in my brain like a foghorn. Gripping the side of the door for support, I say, "Was that all?"

Perry's mouth opens and closes like he wasn't expecting me to dismiss him so quickly.

Yeah, neither was I. Shut up, inner self. I'm not here for a man; I'm here for a job. Mentally warring with myself, I bite my tongue before I cave.

"Um. Yeah, that's all." He slides his hands into his front jean pockets like he's in no hurry to go anywhere as his gaze skates over me. "Are you feeling all right? I didn't see you leave at all today and got worried…thought maybe you really were sick or something."

He raises a hand to grip the back of his neck like it physically pains him to admit his concern out loud.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I force an even smile. "Just tired. I slept all afternoon," I say with a laugh, tugging on the hem of my pajama shirt. At least this time I'm wearing shorts.

"Sorry I kept you out all night." His sheepish smile makes my stomach twist. "Still wish things would've gone differently last night."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad we made it back safe despite my inexperience."

He rocks back on his heels, his smile growing. "I think you might have missed out on a career in navigation. The Navy could probably use someone with such an impressive natural compass."

I can't help but giggle. "Right. I'll get right on joining up with the military."

Perry laughs with me, but when our amusement dies down, something vulnerable and, dare I say, hopeful takes over his expression. He's not even trying to hide that he wants to spend more time with me.

And that thrills yet scares me .

He doesn't need anyone else to break his heart.

When his eyes catch on the door, I realize I'm not giving off the kind of vibes that say you need to go home . Instead, I'm joking with him like I want him to stay.

Because I do.

"Well, thanks for this." I hold up the plate. "I'll see you in the morning?"

"Uh, yeah." He nods and backs away with a wave. "See you tomorrow."

I turn and shut the door with a wince. The tears from earlier collect on my lower lashes once again. But this time, I don't let them fall. And I won't let my heart fall either.