Page 78 of Summer Love

"It is quiet without her. I thought her incessant talking would be annoying, but it was oddly comforting."

Ralph raised a brow. "You got a thing going on with her?"

We hadn't talked about not sharing details about our relationship, but I didn't want to discuss it with my coworkers. "It was just nice to have company."

"She was easy on the eyes," Ralph agreed.

"I think what you mean is that she's hot," Jimmy added.

I didn't like how they were talking about her, and I hadn't claimed her as mine, so they weren't filtering their responses. It was my fault. "She's working on the article. If she has more questions, she'll be back."

"You'll be famous when that one is printed," Ed pointed out.

"Eh, it's an island magazine. Who even reads it?" Beau asked.

"I've heard a lot of people who vacation here subscribe so they have a piece of Sanibel back home. I wouldn't be surprised if it's one that's in doctors' offices. Who doesn't want to see pictures of the beach?"

"Except this time, it will have a bunch of shirtless men," Ralph joked.

"Yeah, I'm not liking the photo shoot aspect. Maybe my brothers can handle that part." Shep and Cooper would love it. Although I was fairly sure Dalton could do without any more drama for now. He had enough going on in his personal life.

"Aren't you the main focus of the article? Isn't that why she was shadowing you?" Ed remarked.

I cleared my throat. "Unfortunately."

Ed shook his head. "I don't think you're getting out of this one then."

"Look at the bright side. All the tourists and the locals will want you once it's out," Ralph said with a smirk.

"I'm not looking for anything."

"I didn't say you were, but you could always hook up with a few of them. Enjoy yourself," Ralph continued.

I didn't usually talk about my personal life with the guys I worked with, but I didn't like the implication that I'd hook up with random women. "I don't think that's what the article is about."

Ed cocked his head. "Isn't it titled 'Most Eligible Bachelors on the Island'?"

"Something like that," I mumbled in agreement.

"You're basically announcing to the island that you're single, and looking to mingle," Ralph said, chuckling at his rhyme.

I waved a hand at them. "Get back to work, and stop talking about my love life."

"You don't get out much. Maybe this will be good for you," Ed said as I walked out of the kitchen.

I nodded but didn't respond. I was fairly sure it was Elena that was good for me. But their questions raised ones I had about our relationship. Would it be an issue for her article that we were dating? I wasn't technically single anymore, even if we hadn't discussed labels. Maybe I was thinking too hard about it.

I made a mental note to discuss it with her when I saw her next. But tonight, I was hanging out with Shane, and Elena was taking Grams to bingo night at the firehouse. Grams had said something about the amazing prizes and the handsome firefighters.

I just hoped Elena didn't attract any of the firefighters' attention. She was mine, even if we couldn't tell everyone about us yet.

After work, I headed home and showered, then picked up Shane at his mom's house. She lived in a small house in one of the older developments.

His mother, Serena, answered the door with a toddler on her hip. "Shane is so excited to see you every time you come."

I smiled. "I look forward to spending time with him too."

Serena set the boy down and said, "I'll be right back. I have to talk to Mr. Kingston about something."

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