Page 24 of Falling for Nicole
Chapter Six
Nicole
I can’t explain why I feel sick as I watch Declan disappear off into his office withher, but I do. I’ve no reason not to like her. I’m sure she’s lovely, but I hate everything about her. Her perfect hair, her slim body, her teeny bikini, and the fact that she turned every guy’s head when she walked in. Then, there’s also the fact that she hashim.
“You guys okay if I go on my break?” I ask Freya and Will, who’re currently serving behind the bar. They both wave me off and I rush through the front door as fast as I can, forgetting that both my stuff and my dog are currently locked in the office witnessing fuck only knows what. It wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t found her used underwear in there this morning. Ugh, I had the urge to bleach the entire place.
The beach is packed with sun worshippers and the sea is full of people having fun. Dec must be making a killing today—not just with the shack, but also with his surf hire and lessons. I can see all his guys out in the water trying to show people how to stay on the board.
As I continue walking, I feel some of my frustration start to leave me and the ball of anger that had formed in my stomach begins to unravel. I have no right to be angry about whatever it is he’s doing with her in that office, and I certainly have no right to be jealous.
I find a somewhat quiet spot and sit down on the hot sand. Pulling my iPhone from my pocket, I scroll through iTunes until I find the playlist I want. Popping my ear buds in, I lie back and try to relax. I was up and working way too early this morning in my desire for today to go as well as possible. I was glad I decided to when I arrived to find the remains of the guys’ drinking session still scattered around the place. Ugh, there he is again. I turn the music up and do my best to drown out the world.
WhenThe Dock of the Bayby Otis Redding starts playing, tears sting my eyes. Mum could never afford for us to have fancy holidays—not that I cared. We always had such fun together, so it wasn’t an issue that we didn’t go abroad. One of my favourite memories from our holidays was one year—I’ve no idea where we were—we were sat on a harbour wall and it was drizzling with rain. We’d just polished off a portion of fish and chips between us when she started singing. I don’t remember ever having heard that song before then, but it wasn’t long before I knew all the words. From then on, it became a kind of tradition for us. Reaching up, I wipe the tears from my face as I continue recalling some of my most treasured memories with her.
I suddenly sit up in a panic. Everything around me is the same, only the beach is slightly quieter than it was when I laid down. “Shit.” I rush to pull my phone from my pocket and look at the time. “Fuck.” I’ve been gone for over two hours. I jump to my feet and run back to the shack.
“Where the hell have you been?” Dec demands to know the second I step foot in the place. Looking over his shoulder, I see that it’s quietened down some but it’s still busy, too busy for me to disappear like that. It seems that his time spent with Georgia hasn’t helped relax him.
“I’m so sorry, I fell asleep on the beach.”
“I can see that, you’re fucking beetroot. Isn’t that the first rule about being a ginger? No sitting in the sun too long?” I’m not sure if he’s trying to be funny or not, because his face is deadly serious.
“Something like that,” I mutter before rushing past him and getting back to work.
The morning staff have gone, replaced by those covering our first night. I’m grateful they’re all totally competent and could cope without me. I grab myself a glass of water and down it in one before turning to serve the next person at the bar.
Dec disappears out the back after watching me for a few minutes with an unreadable expression on his face. It irritates the fuck out of me that he’s pissed off I fell asleep after being in here at the crack of dawn, but he thinks it’s okay to sneak off in the office with his ‘friend’.
Before I know it, tonight’s band has arrived and they’re busy setting up for their performance while we all go about getting the place ready. Fairy lights are turned on and candles are lit while I excuse myself to the bathroom to freshen up and get changed. Unfortunately, that means I have to go into the office to grab my stuff. Bailey notices my entrance and comes rushing over.
“I took him out for a short walk while you were gone,” Dec says without looking up from his desk.
“Thank you. Do I need to wash his eyes out after what he might have witnessed in here earlier?” Why those words fall from my lips, I’ve no idea, and I regret them instantly when Dec’s head snaps up and his eyes harden in my direction.
“Georgia was doing me a favour.”
“Yeah, I bet she was.”
I grab my bag and disappear from the room before he can reply. I don’t need to know any more about what he was up to.
Getting washed and changed in the little staff toilet is a challenge, and as soon as I’ve pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I head back to the office to finish the job. Thankfully, Dec is nowhere to be seen when I let myself back in. Pulling out my compact mirror, I get about fixing my hair and make up in peace.
Just like last night, the place is full in the space of thirty minutes. We make drink after drink while the chefs man the barbeques outside, the smell no doubt drawing any hungry passersby inside.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Lilly asks as she walks towards the bar with Lucas in tow. “Whoa, what happened to your face?”
I groan before explaining. I thought I’d done an okay job of covering my sunburn with foundation, but apparently not.
“If he gives you too much of a hard time, you send him to me, I’ll sort him right out,” Lilly offers.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if he hadn’t had Georgia back there doing god knows what earlier. Fucking hypocrite.” Lilly looks strangely happy about what I just said, which I find strange because she’s not Georgia’s biggest fan either, but loads of customers descend on the bar and she excuses herself so I can get to work.
I’m desperately trying to reach a box of napkins without having to faff around getting the steps when his scent surrounds me. Rolling my eyes because I know he’s about to get them for me, I turn towards him. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen. His hair’s still wet at the edges from his shower, and he’s wearing a pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt.
His eyes drop from my face and run the length of me. “I like the jeans, don’t get me wrong, but the skirt was so much better.”
My previous irritation reignites. Folding my arms over my chest, I glance at the box I was trying to retrieve. “Are you going to help me or just harass me?”
