Page 81 of Hopeless Romantic
Oh, Levi wouldn’t miss that conversation for the world. They were going to lose their shit. Gray’s trigger would be “backpack across Europe,” and Emmitt’s would be “with Owen.” Gray couldn’t stand the idea of Paisley being far away and needing him, and Emmitt didn’t care if Owen was gay, straight, or sexually fluid: The kid had a penis, and therefore needed to keep his distance from Paisley.
Surprisingly, Levi was eerily calm. Maybe it was because he shared that same urgency to visit a new place, make new memories that didn’t have any connection to old ones.
“Instead of soccer, I want to work at the boat rental and bait shack. I saw a picture of you and Mom running the shack when you were my age. It looked like fun.”
“And this has nothing to do with the stream of college guys who spend their summer hanging around the harbor?”
“A perk of the job?” She gave a cute shrug. “If I work there, it will make it kind of a family tradition. Plus, you’d be my boss, so it’s not like I could get into trouble.”
He laughed. Working a summer job by the marina was the definition of trouble. He and Michelle got into more trouble working the boat and bait shack in their teens than he did in college. All under their parents’ noses. But it was the kind of trouble that makes growing up fun. And if any kid deserved a summer of sun and fun, it was this kid.
“I won’t be here this summer. I’ll be somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.”
“Right.” She went back to sanding. “Being a shack girl is still a family tradition. Plus, Annie said I won’t know what I want to do with my life until I live a little.”
Levi had to chuckle, because that sounded like Annie. And he couldn’t wait for Emmitt to realize it was his fiancée who sanctioned Shack Girl Paisley.
Levi paused what he was doing and looked up. “Preseason starts in March. I always hire help from the junior college to get the boats and kayaks ready. It only pays minimum wage, and it’s hard work, checking the hulls for damage, replacing parts, inspecting the rigging. But it’s yours if you want it.”
Paisley’s face lit up. “I want it. I can work after school and weekends. And maybe by summer, I can work the boat and bait shack.”
And while she was enjoying one of the best summers of her young life, Levi would be on the other side of the hemisphere. Just him, his mast, and the wide-open ocean. Paisley’s wasn’t the only life he’d be missing out on. The more time he spent with Beckett, the lonelier the wide-open sea started to sound. A thought that, just a few short weeks ago, never would have entered his mind.
A lot had changed since that night Beckett walked into his bar and, with a single conversation, sent his compass spinning off its axis. He needed to be sure that it was more than animal magnetism at work, because his internal guide had never steered him wrong. And now it seemed to point in just one direction.
Beckett.
Levi was already in so deep, it made the Mariana Trench look like a tide pool. Before he got ahead of himself, he needed to know if Beckett considered him more than a fun escape from her day-to-day life. Which was why tonight was so important.
When Paisley stopped to replace the sandpaper with another sheet, Levi closed the engine compartment and grabbed a rag to wipe the grease from his hands. “Don’t need to load that up again. We’ve got to get going.”
“Already? Why?”
“I need to swing by and pick up Beckett’s brother before I drop you home.”
Her expression was part panic, part plea. “I can’t go to the school. What if someone sees me?”
“Then you wave.” He joked, but she didn’t laugh. “No one will see you; the special ed classes have an early release. We’ll be out of there before the final bell rings. And after I drop him off, I’ll take you home.”
“I can’t go home!” Paisley stood, arms out to the sides. “The minute I get home, everyone is going to ask how I did. I don’t want to admit I’m a four-time loser any sooner than I have to. Can’t I stay with you tonight?”
“You’re not a loser. You just need a little more practice to build your confidence.”
“I suck at driving.” She piled the sanding supplies in a corner and put her hands on her hips. “I’m never going to pass.”
“Your mom sucked at driving, too, but with practice, she got better.”
They strolled along the dock toward the car, and Levi was already thinking about seeing Beckett at the marina once she was done with her client.
“Dad yells at me, and he’s always hugging the armrest like he’s expecting me to drive off a cliff. Annie is always using the imaginary brake.”
“I have lots of practice sitting in the car, because your mom needed alotof practice to pass.”
She turned to him and said, “Really? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
A pang squeezed his chest.
“Did I ever tell you about the time your mom was learning to drive in Grandma’s car? Grandpa was explaining how to react if someone coming from the other direction crosses into your lane, then a squirrel ran across the road, and she jerked the wheel so hard, she landed us in a ditch.”
