Kiss of a Stranger (Lost Coast Harbor #1) (11 page)

Ten years of electronic files were kept on the servers, but Gabe would remind her how easy it was to doctor a spreadsheet.

If she was going to prove him wrong, she couldn’t cut corners. Paper copies were kept at an off-site document storage facility. On Thursday afternoon, she ordered the boxes to be delivered, but this was Lost Coast. They wouldn’t arrive for several days.

While she waited, she looked for information that had nothing to do with Gabe. Something had bothered her since the party.

According to Oliver, the real estate deal was intended to be a boon to tourism in the area. An all-inclusive facility for hikers, sea kayakers, anglers, and mountain bikers who didn’t want to spend their nights sleeping in canvas tents. It was supposed to be good for the town. It was one reason she’d been drawn to the project.

But a deal that was good for the town shouldn’t demolish the town’s only nursery. The one she visited countless times with her mother. Maddie worked there in high school, and she still went every Saturday. More often than not, she felt her mother at her side as she shopped for seeds or picked up a new fern, or when she chatted with the Farrows, the old couple who’d owned the store longer than Maddie had been alive.

If the plan went through, the Farrows would lose their business. Lose their entire livelihood. It was impossible that Oliver would agree to that—except he already had.

The parcel of land was so big. Surely there was room to spare for one small nursery. According to the agreement they’d signed with the current owner, the Farrows had the right to buy the land based on a predetermined rate of appreciation…but that clause expired the minute Hastings Enterprises completed the sale.

More than ever, she wished she were involved in the project, except this time she didn’t want to help. She wanted to slow it down, at least until she figured out how to save the nursery.

By Friday, she was exhausted. Too many late nights staring at files meant all she wanted was to curl up on her sofa with a glass of wine and the finest Netflix entertainment.

When she opened her front door, she immediately knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“No,” she told Bree and Erin, before they could say a word. They sat on her couch, patiently awaiting her arrival. She really should have gotten her keys back from Bree.

“Yes,” Erin corrected. Erin had been her close friend ever since Charlie was arrested. When the rest of the town looked at her with suspicion, Erin had swooped in and brought wine, cake, and sympathy with her. She was a couple years older than Maddie and Bree, but she’d dated Bree’s brother a while back. Erin and Adam were still friends, which meant she was friends with Bree, and therefore friends with Maddie. It was the way of small towns.

Erin wasn’t the same force of nature that Bree was, but when Erin made a decision, few things could stand in her way. No matter how much Maddie protested, she knew she’d already lost this battle.

“Exactly what do you think our plans are tonight?” Maddie asked her two best friends.

Maddie expected them to say they were having a girls’ night, complete with junk food and several films that prominently featured shirtless men. It was their go-to plan when they thought she was working too hard.

Then she looked a little closer. Bree was wearing a pair of ripped-up blue jeans, a striped sweater, and black eye liner, looking like she was ready to take on the town. Erin was always pretty, with her light brown hair and gray eyes, but she’d taken it up a notch with a green cashmere sweater, dark wash jeans, and a nice pair of boots.

“First,” Bree announced, “you are going to change out of that outfit. You should only wear brown when you’re working with plants and want the dirt to match. I’ve laid clothes out on your bed. There will be no substitutions. Then we’re going to Donnelly’s and you’re getting drunk.”

“What? Why?” She tried to think of an excuse. “I don’t know if I’m feeling well.”

“Bullshit.” Erin walked to her and pressed a hand to her forehead, then felt her pulse. “You just need a break from all the stress and recycled office air. Nurse’s orders.”

Maddie scowled. “You think breathing the air of a bunch of drunk men is a better choice?”

“Hell yeah.” Bree pointed her upstairs. “And we’re doing this because it’s time. We’ve been trying to get you to rejoin the world for ages now, and you can’t tell us you’re not ready anymore. Between the dates with Declan and that tattooed god, we’ve decided you’re back. Now go. Change.”

Maddie stopped fighting a battle she’d never win. She went upstairs, then took the time to wash her face and even put on a dab of mascara and lip gloss. She didn’t have time to do her hair, but she brushed it and pinned it into a looser bun than she normally wore. Maddie pulled on the black skinny jeans and her favorite pale blue sweater Bree had left for her, though she skipped the thong. If it turned out to be a thong night, Maddie was in real trouble.

She felt an unexpected shiver of excitement at the thought of going out. A night on the town held a bit of possibility, a chance something would happen. A chance to run into the man she hadn’t seen in six days.

Bree and Erin whistled when she came downstairs. She flipped them off, and they followed her out the front door, laughing.

The three women walked into town, keeping each other distracted from the cold with the kind of teasing only best friends could get away with. By the time they reached Donnelly’s, Maddie was glad her friends had forced her to join them.

They stepped into the welcome warmth of the pub. Like a magnet, her gaze was drawn to the bar and the man sitting on one of the stools.

Gabe was there—and he wasn’t alone.

Chapter Eleven

G
abe still looked like trouble, but he also looked good. He wore a black v-neck sweater she hadn’t seen before. The material was thin, and it clung to a new muscle every time he moved. He held a beer—so much for his claim that he didn’t drink—and gestured with his right hand while speaking to the woman next to him. Maddie knew her a bit. Sally had been two years above her in school, and now she worked at the local elementary school. She was also pretty and graceful, even sitting on a bar stool, and their two dark heads bent toward each other looked damn good.

She’d never had a reason to hate Sally, but now she wanted to claw her eyes out.

“Need me to hold your earrings?” Bree asked.

Maddie forced herself to turn away. She’d spent a week trying not to think of that asshole, and here he was, already moving on to his next victim. “She’s welcome to him. Poor girl doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”

Erin made no effort to hide her amusement. “Yeah? Then how about you go to the bar for our drinks?”

“You’re the ones who dragged me out. You’re buying.” Maddie stalked away, choosing a booth on the opposite side of the room. One side faced away from Gabe, and she immediately claimed it. He’d never even know she was there.

As soon as she sat down, she wanted to change sides. Just so she could keep an eye on him.

A minute later, Erin and Bree returned with the drinks. As usual, Erin drank red wine while Bree had some unfamiliar concoction with too many ingredients, the sort of drink that was closer to alchemy than mixology. To Maddie’s horror, she’d ordered two.

“Were they out of white wine?” She tilted her head, regarding the dark brew with suspicion.

“I’ve decided you’re no longer allowed to drink chardonnay. It’s been three years of one oaky note after another. Even I’m bored, and I didn’t have to taste it.” Bree raised her glass in a toast. “To trying something new.”

Bree’s movement was enthusiastic. Erin’s was steady as always. At last, Maddie joined in. The drink looked dark and deadly, but it tasted like caramel. She took a second appreciative sip.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked. “We drink till one of us gets sloppy and threatens to embarrass herself, then go home?” That sounded far too appealing. If she got drunk, she might not care who Gabe was with. “If that’s what we’re doing, I vote for Erin. She’s too responsible.”

Erin threw a balled-up napkin at Maddie. “I’m fucking reliable. It’s a good quality when you’re in charge of saving people’s lives. You, on the other hand, are boring.”

Maddie made a face. Erin returned it, unrepentant.

“It’s a wonder we’ve stayed friends with you all this time.” Bree was teasing, but there was a bite to her words. A reminder that Maddie wasn’t the same woman they’d met years before. “Seriously. Remember when you used to
do
stuff? Skinny dipping in December, or sneaking out to catch the midnight screening of
Rocky Horror Picture Show
—in costume? We love you, Maddie, but sometimes we miss that woman.”

Maddie stared at Bree, hurt. “The woman who made so many bad choices she almost ended up in prison? Who lost everything because she married the wrong man? You think that was a
better
version of me?”

Erin leaned across the table. In contrast to Bree’s wild looks, Erin was sweet and pretty, with dimples that flashed every time she smiled. She almost looked innocent, until she started cussing like a sailor. “Bullshit. That’s not what we’re saying. We know what you’re capable of, Maddie, and it’s not becoming some soulless business drone who only has fun when her friends force her to.”

That was too much. “You guys need to let that go. You’ve been against me going to school this whole time.” Maddie knew she was twisting their words, but she didn’t care. Friends were supposed to support your choices, not question your entire life plan.

Bree gave Maddie her best “are you fucking kidding me?” look. It was one she’d practiced a lot over the years. “School’s awesome. I’m glad you’re finally able to go. But working toward an MBA? No. You might be good at math, but you used to sleep through algebra. That was never what you wanted to do with your life.”

“No, I wanted to be a trapeze artist. Plans change. And going to business school will help me be secure. I’d actually have a cushion for the first time in my life.”

Bree shook her head. “You’re not building a cushion. You’re building a wall. One that keeps you so safe no one can take anything from you ever again. That’s not how life works. It doesn’t matter how much you protect yourself. Shit happens, and it will happen to you. Might as well meet it head-on, instead of hiding in your house with only a paycheck and a degree for company.”

“The house I almost lost! The one I only managed to pay off because I was being cautious!” Maddie reminded her friends. This night wasn’t nearly as much fun as they’d promised her.

Erin kept going. “Which means you own a house outright before you’re thirty. You have more security than most people your age. This isn’t a night out. It’s a goddamned intervention. No more chardonnay, no more Friday nights at home. We all know there’s no fucking chance you’ll be the woman you were. You’ve changed too much, and that’s good
.
We’re supposed to grow up, but we’re supposed to get braver the more we go through. You went in the other direction. No one
aspires
to be in middle management. If you keep on this path, you’re still letting Charlie make decisions for you.”

Bree pointed at Erin. “Exactly what she said. Plus, you’ve got two guys in your life, and for once they’re not named Ben & Jerry. You still planned to hide at home tonight. We don’t care if you decide to keep them both or throw them out, but we do care if you run away from a chance to have a fuller life. So I’m saying this with all the love in my heart: get over it. Get over Charlie and the past and move on.”

Maddie focused on the easiest part of Erin’s speech to dispute. “Two guys?” She barely held back a snort. “I haven’t seen or heard from Declan since the party, and Gabe…you’re not seriously suggesting I take a risk on him? Not only has he given me zero reason to trust him, but he’s here with another woman.”

“Then why does he keep looking over here?” Bree asked.

Maddie banged her head against the padded booth. “Stop it. You two may have your careers in order, but you’re in no position to offer relationship advice.”

Erin shrugged. “Our relationships may suck, but at least we’ve had sex since the last presidential election.”

“And sometimes the sucking part isn’t so bad.” Bree grinned. “Hey, Erin. You need to go to the bathroom?”

“I do, Bree, thanks for asking.” Her friends climbed out of the booth.

Maddie blinked at them in confusion. Her friends had never been the sort to pee in pairs.

Before she left, Erin leaned over and whispered, “Remember—no more running.”

Before Maddie could grasp what was happening, Gabe claimed the spot vacated by her friends. “We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t,” Maddie replied.

He knew she wouldn’t make it easy, but he was still unprepared for the look she gave him. His hope that her anger had mellowed over the past week looked pretty foolish now.

“We can talk here, or I can follow you home and talk the entire way.”

“That’s not talking. It’s stalking. It rhymes, so I can understand your confusion.”

Gabe lifted his bottle, trying to hide his smile, and took a long swig. “I thought you never went out.” He picked up her drink and took a sniff. “That’s not a Coke.”

“And I thought you didn’t drink.” She looked pointedly at his beer.

He shrugged. “Non-alcoholic. You can probably taste the difference, if you want to try. I wouldn’t know.”

Maddie shook her head, the movement a little too fast. Bothered by the thought of placing her lips where his had just been? That shouldn’t make him hot, but he wasn’t surprised. She could probably wear a muumuu and an Easter bonnet and he’d still get a semi.

“Won’t your date miss you?” she asked.

Her jealousy
definitely
made him hot. “Sally? Nice girl. I met her tonight. Should I go back to her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mean that?” He stretched his hand across the table, and she snatched hers back before they could touch.

“What do you want?” The words were brusque.

“I want to have a drink with you.”

“That’s it?” Glaring at him, she took a long swallow of her drink.