Page 17 of Villainous Summer

As I walked out of my office, Lucia raised a brow. “Aye, look at you. Está buena!”

I gave a mock curtsy and shrugged. “Thank you, thank you.”

“This guy better treat you good.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s nothing serious. Not even a date.”

She crooked a sculpted brow and pushed me out the employee door.

I didn’t want Van to see my place, so I had asked him to meet me at work. With over twenty minutes before he got there, my stomach was in knots.

At the bar, Neil was restocking after the brunch rush of mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Never having a chance to try signature cocktails I had been recommending to the guests, I thought a quick drink could help.

On the high-back leather stool, I ordered a cherry fizz and took stock of the bar. It had become second nature to think of improvements at the hotel. Moving the tables in the center closer to the window would allow us to install a second armchair and create a little nook in the corner. The small candlelights were already looking worn; maybe something metal instead would look better than cloth.

On my phone, I pulled up the restaurant supply store and scrolled through options.

Beside me, a stool pulled out, and a man sat. He was slender, with shaggy dark-auburn hair.

Not Van.

The man ordered an IPA and turned toward me. “Summer. Hey.”

I raised my head to see Nicolai Evjen smiling at me. He stepped down from his stool and strolled to me.

“Nico. Hi.” I leaned forward and gave him a one-armed hug.

He had been good friends with my older cousin Oliver since they were kids, but I didn’t know him well. He was at least ten or eleven years older than Autumn and I. In a small town, we had a level of familiarity with each other.

“Ollie mentioned this was your spot.” He settled into the chair beside me, pulling it forward by reaching between his legs.

“It is. Been managing it for a little over a month now.”

Nico leaned over the bar to grab his beer and pulled it closer to him before angling his body toward me. “It’s wild seeing you. I wanted to reach out a while ago but wasn’t sure.”

I quirked a brow. “Me?”

Nico was handsome, all lean lines and hair a touch too red to be called brown. I remember when I would have sleepovers at Autumn’s, when we’d catch Oliver and Nico sneaking back in after a night of teenage debauchery. Nico had a kindness to us Oliver never exhibited.

Growing up, Autumn and I were more like sisters than cousins, and Ollie treated me like a sibling, grudges included. He never forgave us for the time we spilled Sunny D all over his gaming keyboard. Or when we stole all his socks and dyed them hot pink. Yet he was fiercely protective of us. When my homecoming date had left me at an after-party without a ride, Ollie had come to get me and then tracked the guy down and threatened him to tears. Fond memories indeed. But he was still a pain in the ass.

I had a certain warm regard for Nico. I think all four of us had a small crush on him.

We ignored the brief infatuation Wren had for Ollie. Absolutely disgusting.

Nico was a known entity. He wouldn’t have been flirting with me if he had a girlfriend; to do so would incur the wrath of his best friend.

Tucking a wavy strand of hair behind my ear, I leaned closer. “What did you need to talk about?”

A muscle ticked in Nico’s jaw, and he swallowed. “Look, don’t shoot the messenger, alright?”

That didn’t sound good. If this was his version of flirting, it was terrible.

“Okay—”

“You know how I work with contractors on base, right?”

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