Fucking storm.
As soon as he’d come out of the water and seen Chelsea on the beach, his entire morning had started looking up. He’d seen it all unfold in his mind; Jae and Ben would bike on the beach while he and Chelsea hung out. Maybe they’d go for a swim, then he’d offer to order in lunch on the deck.
But then that storm started rolling in like hellfire, and she ran off at the first raindrop.
Why? He didn’t know.
Probably because he ogled her every chance he got.
He huffed out an annoyed breath and slapped his laptop closed. He’d been answering emails since she left, but it wasn’t distracting enough. He just kept circling back to Chelsea, wondering how he could fix the mess he’d got himself into.
He really enjoyed hanging out with her as a friend. Truly, he did. And he was determined to keep her as a friend. But he’d asked her out before, and made that bed comment at Float Fest, and probably stared into her eyes one too many times, so there was some work to be done.
No problem, though. He could still turn this around.
He drained his coffee, pulled out a notepad, then shifted his attention back to Ethan and Natalie’s wedding, trying to ignore the image he’d conjured of her in a pale-blue dress with peach roses. That was not helpful at all.
He shook his head and grabbed his phone, dialing his Uncle David. He was always good for a diversion. Plus, he needed to find out whether anyone would be at the cottage in two weeks.
As usual, he answered on the first ring. “Adam!”
“Uncle David! How’s it going?”
“Same as always. How was Float Fest?”
A green bathing suit and tons of soft skin flashed in his mind, and he worked to clear it. “It was good. Fun.”
His uncle’s tone changed. “I’m sorry I missed it.”
“It’s okay. There’s always next year. And I was considering the possibility of changing it to the summer.”
“Really? I never thought I’d hear you say those words.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s getting bigger every year. It isn’t just me and my friends anymore. It’d probably be good for the town to have it on a weekend. More tourist money coming in.”
Adam gave a satisfied nod at his own words. They all sounded completely rational.
“Anyway, I was calling because I need a favour.”
“Anything.”
Adam smiled. “I was wondering if I can use the cottage.”
His uncle’s pause was heavy. “You don’t have to ask permission to use the family cottage, Adam. It’syourcottage, too.”
“Well, I’m hoping to go in two weeks. Actually, I was going to invite a group up for a wedding. Probably about ten to twenty people.”
Silence fell between them. He thought the line had disconnected. He pulled the phone down and looked at the display, then put it back to his face.
“Hello? You there?”
“You’re having a wedding?” his uncle asked.
“Yeah. Ethan talked this beautiful girl into marrying him. He proposed last week. They were going to elope, but I—”
“Ethan?” his uncle asked, cutting him off.
“Yeah.”