I waved to Bradley as I pulled my board up and hooked it to my truck. He ambled over, water droplets still falling from his dark hair. His sculpted body flexed as he rubbed the hair back and forth, trying to shake it off. “You opening the truck soon?”
“Nah, not today.” I stared at the window, contemplating how I’d put across my closing. I should have had a social media account or website to give those updates, but I figured it would have lost some of its small beach town charm.
“Well, that’s a shame.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the window with me. “What’re we looking at?”
“I need a sign that says I’m closing.”
“Oh.” He turned on his heel. “I got you! Be right back.”
He sprinted toward the parking lot, not asking any questions or wanting any more details, just happy to help. I smiled at his back, not understanding why I’d never pursued more with him over the years. He’d been a great friend, a good lay, and was just as not committed to me as I was to him. Maybe that’s what made us work so well together.
I sighed as I saw Dante idling in the parking lot too, knowing my life was about to be much more complicated.
Bradley jumped in the back of his red jeep and popped back up two minutes later with a wooden sign. It looked like a box lid of some sort with pine slats nailed together and he’d used some black spray paint to write “Closed until further notice.”
The man beamed when he approached me with his handiwork. “This work well enough for you?”
“I’m not sure whether to be impressed or concerned that you have all that in the back of your jeep.”
“Impressed, Mo. I’m a damn problem solver.” He leaned the sign on the counter window and mumbled, “I can nail it in later. I’m guessing you’re about to be on your way with that suit in the parking lot?”
“Yeah. It’s complicated.” I sighed and he came to stand next to me without prying for more information. “I don’t know when I’ll open again.”
“That mean you also don’t know when we’ll be sleeping together again?” He smirked.
His question was justified especially since Bastian had thrown around the fiancé word the last time he’d seen me.
“Yeah, probably that too.” I combed a hand through my hair. “Again, it’s complicated.”
“I hate that word, but I’m here for you if you need me.”
“I think I need to beat you in catching a couple waves every morning still.” I chuckled and nudged his shoulder.
What would I do without a friendship as easy as his? Or a town as perfect as this one? I turned to watch the ocean once more before I locked up the food truck and waved goodbye to Bradley.
Dante ended up coming over from the parking lot after giving me some time alone.
I dragged sand and water into the car with me, along with a half empty suitcase.
“You need to stop at your grandma’s?” he asked while watching grains of sand sprinkle onto the expensive carpet.
“Sure. I just have to grab a few things. I’m guessing we can move furniture later. Or does Bastian already have a style?”
He chuckled. “He definitely has a style.”
“Care to enlighten me?”
“It’s…” He glanced back at my feet and shook his head once before speeding off toward my grandmother’s. “It’s clean. Let’s put it that way.”
“Great.” I slouched into the seat.
“It’ll be fine.” He tossed a file back to me. “That’s some documentation you should look over. There’s a prenup and other information that pretty much protects both you and Bastian. Also, Tropical Oil is having its meeting soon. You need to read up on the company, understand the oil business, and probably familiarize yourself with the board members.”
“Okay.” I curled my lip and glared at the packet. It looked big. Too big. Like a stack of homework I didn’t want. Didn’t they know I was a college drop out? Actually, I hadn’t even gone. I’d been offered a spot at one of the state universities and the first day of classes decided I wasn’t made for the pressure of all that.
The words about commitment in my grandmother’s letter flew back to me.
Other than my food truck and the humane society, had I committed to anything longer than a couple months?