Page 3 of Connected By Stars
I press my code into the security system and head to the back room. I don’t open until ten on Sundays, so I have an hour to go through the new inventory and get some of it tagged and put on the shelves.
My dad opened this store when he and my mom were first married. I practically grew up here. He would let Noah and I come to work with him during the summers to work off new surfboards we had our eyes on. I knew one day I wanted it to be mine.
Over the past year, with Bell’s help, we’ve grown on social media and have doubled our customer base. My end goal is to have a couple more stores along the East Coast and expand the name. With the success Bell is having with her videos, mydream may happen sooner than I thought. Whenever I see her work, I’m in awe of what she can capture and put together in a final edit.
Lately, things have been off between us, and it frustrates the hell out of me. We argue now more than we ever have. I know I’m mostly to blame, but I can’t help it. That girl gets under my skin like no other. When I see her with guys that I know don’t deserve her, it’s like a burning anger that I can’t ignore and usually ends with me saying something and her getting pissed at me for interfering. It’s a vicious cycle that I don’t know how to break.
Pushing thoughts of her out of my mind, I try to focus on what needs to be done before I open. I make a cup of coffee and open one of the boxes that came in yesterday. I start entering items into the database so when Luna comes in, she can put them out for the customers. Weekends are usually busy for us, with families visiting the beach and tourists checking out the local businesses, so I want to make sure and get these new items out today.
I pick up one of the hats with our new logo and smile. This new company I found is doing a really great job on the printing. Bell is going to love the new design. Without thinking, I set one aside to give to her later. I know she loves to shade her face when she’s filming out in the sun. I log the t-shirts next and have the box almost empty when I hear the front door open.
“Hey, Mav, it’s just me. Dad just dropped me off.” Luna comes walking in the back room with two smoothies in her hand. “I stopped to get a smoothie before coming here, and your mom made one for you, too,” she grins and hands me the drink.
“Thanks, Lunabug,” I smile back at her and take the smoothie. Even though she’s Noah and Bell’s younger sister, she’s always been like one to me, too. Nothing could have surprised me more than when Noah told me his mom waspregnant and he was becoming a brother again at sixteen. With such an age gap, she is doted on by everyone and has probably heard more than she needed to, growing up with two older teenagers in the house. Noah and I taught her to surf at a young age, and she’s been addicted ever since.
“How were the waves today? I really wanted to go, but Ava slept over last night, and we stayed up way too late watching movies. We watched this really scary one that freaked us out so bad that we couldn’t sleep for hours when it was over. Don’t tell Mom, though, 'cause we probably weren’t supposed to watch it.”
She gives me a serious face, and I try not to smile. With her brunette hair and green eyes, she looks nothing like Bell, but I can see the similarities. I remember Bell and Sophia doing the same thing at her age.
“I promise not to say a word.” I put a hand over my heart and try to look serious.
“Good, because we plan on watching part two next weekend at Ava’s house.”
“Why would you want to watch the second one if the first one scared you so bad,” I ask, laughing.
“Cause it’s fun, duh.” She laughs and takes a drink of her smoothie. “Is this all the new inventory?”
“Yeah, it just came in yesterday. I’m about done entering it into the system if you want to start hanging up the shirts out front and putting the hats on the rack. I’ll open up the shop and get the register going before finishing up back here.”
“Sounds good.” She takes a handful of the shirts and some hangers and brings them up front with her.
I take a drink of my smoothie and smile. Damn, my mom can make a good one. My mom owns Down to Earth Smoothies in town, so in a way, I’ve had the best of both worlds. My dad had all the cool surf gear, and my mom had the smoothies and ice cream. As a kid, it doesn’t get better than that.
I walk to the front and make sure the open sign is lit before turning on the computer and getting the register going. Glancing at my watch, I see it's almost ten. I’m here all day today, but we close early on Sundays. I’m going to try to get out of here on time tonight so I can swing by Noah’s parents’ house for dinner. They have a family dinner every Sunday, and I pop over when I can, especially if his mom, Sage, is making my favorite meal. I can never resist her enchiladas.
“Your mom still planning on enchiladas tonight?” I look over at Luna and see her busy displaying the hats.
“She is. Are you coming? I know they’re your fave. Noah and Emma will be there too.”
“I’m planning on it. You know I can’t resist your mom’s enchiladas and Noah’s margaritas.” Noah can make a damn good margarita.
“Good. Tonight is Uno night, too, so be prepared to get your butt kicked.” She grins at me and puts a shirt on a hanger.
“You wish. I’ve been playing Uno longer than you, so you might want to practice after work before I get there.”
“Whatever. It’s not the years that matter but the person’s skill.”
“Well, luckily, I have both.” I tug on one of her braids as I go by.
“Ha Ha.” She rolls her eyes at me and tries not to smile. I laugh as I head back to finish up the inventory.
The rest of the morning passes by quickly. We get swamped during lunch hour, and by the time Jax, Luna’s dad, comes to pick her up at two, it’s settled down enough for me to grab something to eat. I put a sign on the door letting customers know I’ll be back in twenty and lock up before crossing the street to the deli.
I love working in the downtown area of our small town. Everything is within walking distance. My mom’s smoothieplace and Noah’s mom’s yoga studio, BellaLuna, are a few streets over. That’s actually how they met. My mom came in to take a class, and she and Sage were instant friends. They even timed having kids together so we would grow up close. I guess they got lucky with having two boys first and then two girls.
I walk into the deli and smile when I recognize the owner, Miss Mary, behind the counter.
“Why, Miss Mary, I do believe you get prettier every time I see you.” The seventy-year-old blushes and swats her hand at me.
