Page 1 of Summer with a Navy SEAL

CHAPTER ONE

WILHELMINA “WILLY” GENARO

Just one more nail andI'm done… for the day, at least.

I shouldn't have taken on the project but it's too late for regrets. I accepted the job and here I am a month later with three days left before the deadline wondering how the hell I'm going to complete it without any help.

If only Mrs. Hollister would stop changing her mind, the project would have been completed two weeks ago. But no, she has to change her mind about every little thing, from the couch which is awaiting its replacement to the kitchen cabinets which now have to be replaced with the new ones that arrived this morning, the ones I had originally recommended.

Only, I’m the only one left working on the place after the crew had to go to their next job. Luckily, it’s just the kitchen cabinets that need to be installed. Everything else is pretty minor like painting trims and cleaning up. I'll askCrystal if she can help me later. It shouldn't be too difficult for two people to do the job, even if one of them might complain about a broken nail or two.

I’d returned to Love Beach three months earlier to help my parents sell the house after they’d moved to North Las Vegas where it’s cheaper to live. Hotter than hell, but cheaper. Plus, they get to be near relatives who moved there years earlier.

For the house, they needed someone to stage it for the listing and I’d done such a good job that realtors started asking me to stage their latest listings. But that was before Mrs. Lorraine Hollister requested I renovate one of their properties, a tiny beach house that one of her sons inherited from his grandfather years earlier.

I can’t fathom how he can stay here for weeks on end with the place looking the way it is, she told me when I met her at the beach house.If my father-in-law hadn’t given it to him, I’d have had the place torn down and a new one built in its place. But that would only upset Brogan so I’ll have to settle for a renovation.

Does he know you’re doing this?I asked as Mrs. Hollister walked around the small living room, a look of distaste on her face as she glanced at the faded beach posters and vintage surfboards, their bright colors dulled by years of sun exposure through the sliding glass doors that led to the deck overlooking the beach.

Heavens no, he doesn’t. But he has given me permission to have the place tidied up whenever it’s needed. She grimaced as she looked at the well-worn couch next to her.And right now, it’s sorely needed.

But what you’re asking for is a full renovation, Mrs. Hollister. This is not just ‘tidying things up.’

He’ll like it, I guarantee it, she said.Besides, you’re leading the project. Can you imagine that? A Love Beach local working for Holden Designs. I just had to request that you take care of the renovation. Who better than to head the project than someone who grew up here?

With my boss Bryce Holden signing the project off to me, I took it on despite my reservations. While Mrs. Hollister has always been nice toward me, her sons never were. At the very least, this beach house renovation will be added to my portfolio.

A silver lining.

Sure, I could have said no. After all, Preston and Brogan made my life a living hell when my parents and I first moved to Love Beach when I was eleven, teasing me about my weight and my accent. As if it wasn’t bad enough moving to a new country where you didn’t know anyone, try having the town’s richest kids target you for the fun of it. It didn’t help that my parents worked for the Hollisters and so I was constantly in their sights since we lived near the Hollister mansion.

Thank goodness for friends like Crystal Francia who helped me with my accent and my wardrobe, life at South Carolina’s premiere vacation destination became bearable if not fun. I can always ask her to help me with the cabinets when she drops off my car today. She needed to borrow it while her own car was in the shop.

The beeping of my phone snaps me out of my thoughts and I smile when I see her name on the display.

“You on your way?” I ask after tapping Answer.

“About that, they’re not done with my car yet,” Crystal replies. “But if you need it right now, I can still drop it off and I’ll just have Marilyn drop me off.”

“No, you don’t have to. I don’t need it right now,” I reply. “Do it tomorrow.”

“You sure?”

“You brought me enough groceries to last a week, Crystal. Of course, I’ll be fine.” I chuckle as I remember the groceries she dropped off yesterday when she had her assistant Marilyn drop her off. “I still have three days’ worth of food in the fridge.”

“Well, okay, as long as you’ll be fine without your car for the night.”

Crystal owns HarmonyWorks, a gift shop on the Boardwalk that also hosts poetry readings and art workshops. Insisting I shouldn’t have to pay to stay in a motel, I stayed with her the moment I returned to Love Beach to get the old house ready for sale up until four days ago when I started staying at the beach house.

I really shouldn’t be staying here but with everything Mrs. Hollister has put me through with the renovation, I deserve it. There’s nothing like falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the surf. Might as well take advantage of it before I leave Love Beach for good—although I can’t say I’m excited to be back to the sounds and smells of New York City either.

“So has Mrs. Hollister changed her mind again about anything?” Crystal asks, her voice snapping me back to the present.

“It’s a tug of war with her sometimes with all her choices.” I step out of the deck and lean against the railing, the beach just a few yards away. “I’ve fought tooth and nail to preserve the rustic vibe of this place instead of all the modern stuff she keeps suggesting.”

Crystal chuckles. “Be careful or someone might think you actually care for Brogan to preserve his man cave.”

I roll my eyes. “Brogan Hollister can go to hell for all I care. I’m only doing it so that he won’t leave a bad review at the firm.” I pause, my voice lowering as I mimic how Brogan might sound like,She changed everything, man. I barely recognized the place. One star. Do not recommend.

---