Read Online Meet Me at the Beach (Seashell Bay) by V. K. Sykes - Free Book Online
Authors: V. K. Sykes
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around in Lily Doyle’s wake.”
Or have to find out what she’s got in mind for me if I lose.
What was Lily’s idea of
a personal service
, anyway? It had to involve some kind of humiliation, maybe something to do with the feud between their clans or the crap going down over the development deal.
Or maybe she just wanted to take the piss out of the guy who had abandoned Seashell Bay. Lily had never wanted anything but a life on the island, which was one of the reasons they’d both known a relationship between them would never work.
But that didn’t mean things couldn’t work between them in the short term, at least on the physical level. With that in mind, Aiden had a
very
good idea of what he’d demand from Lily Doyle—if, that is, Roy could perform a miracle and give him a fighting chance.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Holly Tyler tucked a few loose strands of her silky auburn hair behind her ears as she peered at Lily. “You’ve never entirely gotten over Aiden Flynn, and don’t even try to deny it.”
Holly had been a year behind Lily and Morgan in school. Despite that, the three of them had been almost inseparable until the day Holly left for college in Boston, where she now lived and worked as a marketing consultant. An orphan, she’d been raised by her aunts, Florence and Beatrice Jenkins, sisters who’d owned the island’s general store for decades. Fortunately, Holly had always returned to her island roots for an August vacation, even when she’d still been married.
The three friends sat in white rocking chairs on the porch of Lily’s cottage, sipping the fresh lemonade she’d squeezed after a full day on the water. The lobsters were plentiful this August, and she had to take advantage while it lasted. Soon enough, the pickings would be slim, forcing her to move offshore to catch anything worthwhile.
Exhaustion and aching muscles weighed Lily down. Though she was supposed to have dinner with her parents tonight, she longed to curl up under a comforter and go to sleep. Lobstering without a sternman was just about killing her.
“I can handle Aiden,” she said, trying to sound like shemeant it. “He might be some big baseball hero, but he still puts his pants on one leg at a time, as my dad always says.”
Morgan glanced at Holly. “Lily thinks that if she wins the race, Aiden will be honor bound to work sternman for her until she finds somebody else for the rest of the season.”
The dubious expression on Holly’s face told Lily what her friend thought of that plan.
“Even a couple of weeks would give me a breather,” Lily argued. “I’ve tried hard to replace Johnny, but guys have all the work they need these days. And then there are the ones who don’t want to take orders from a woman.” It might be the twenty-first century, but some of the men in these islands still didn’t think women belonged in a working lobster boat and sure not as captain. She tried not to feel bitter, but her career—heck, her entire life—was on the line.
Holly grimaced. “I’m not buying it, sweetie. And did you really flirt with Aiden last night? You know he’s not going to be here for long. What if he sucks you into his web again and then scoots back to Philadelphia without so much as a wave from the boat?”
Lily avoided Holly’s worried gaze by tracing a curving line down the mist on her frosted glass. But if she were in Holly’s position, she’d be asking the same questions, determined to protect her friend from heartache.
But Lily was no longer the not-quite-seventeen-year-old girl who’d had a deranged, forbidden-fruit crush on Aiden Flynn ever since she could remember. So what if he was probably the hottest guy Seashell Bay had ever seen? Holly didn’t have to tell
her
that he’d be getting back on the ferry and heading home as soon as his business herewas done. Lily knew she’d probably never see Aiden again after this summer, and that was fine with
Or have to find out what she’s got in mind for me if I lose.
What was Lily’s idea of
a personal service
, anyway? It had to involve some kind of humiliation, maybe something to do with the feud between their clans or the crap going down over the development deal.
Or maybe she just wanted to take the piss out of the guy who had abandoned Seashell Bay. Lily had never wanted anything but a life on the island, which was one of the reasons they’d both known a relationship between them would never work.
But that didn’t mean things couldn’t work between them in the short term, at least on the physical level. With that in mind, Aiden had a
very
good idea of what he’d demand from Lily Doyle—if, that is, Roy could perform a miracle and give him a fighting chance.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Holly Tyler tucked a few loose strands of her silky auburn hair behind her ears as she peered at Lily. “You’ve never entirely gotten over Aiden Flynn, and don’t even try to deny it.”
Holly had been a year behind Lily and Morgan in school. Despite that, the three of them had been almost inseparable until the day Holly left for college in Boston, where she now lived and worked as a marketing consultant. An orphan, she’d been raised by her aunts, Florence and Beatrice Jenkins, sisters who’d owned the island’s general store for decades. Fortunately, Holly had always returned to her island roots for an August vacation, even when she’d still been married.
The three friends sat in white rocking chairs on the porch of Lily’s cottage, sipping the fresh lemonade she’d squeezed after a full day on the water. The lobsters were plentiful this August, and she had to take advantage while it lasted. Soon enough, the pickings would be slim, forcing her to move offshore to catch anything worthwhile.
Exhaustion and aching muscles weighed Lily down. Though she was supposed to have dinner with her parents tonight, she longed to curl up under a comforter and go to sleep. Lobstering without a sternman was just about killing her.
“I can handle Aiden,” she said, trying to sound like shemeant it. “He might be some big baseball hero, but he still puts his pants on one leg at a time, as my dad always says.”
Morgan glanced at Holly. “Lily thinks that if she wins the race, Aiden will be honor bound to work sternman for her until she finds somebody else for the rest of the season.”
The dubious expression on Holly’s face told Lily what her friend thought of that plan.
“Even a couple of weeks would give me a breather,” Lily argued. “I’ve tried hard to replace Johnny, but guys have all the work they need these days. And then there are the ones who don’t want to take orders from a woman.” It might be the twenty-first century, but some of the men in these islands still didn’t think women belonged in a working lobster boat and sure not as captain. She tried not to feel bitter, but her career—heck, her entire life—was on the line.
Holly grimaced. “I’m not buying it, sweetie. And did you really flirt with Aiden last night? You know he’s not going to be here for long. What if he sucks you into his web again and then scoots back to Philadelphia without so much as a wave from the boat?”
Lily avoided Holly’s worried gaze by tracing a curving line down the mist on her frosted glass. But if she were in Holly’s position, she’d be asking the same questions, determined to protect her friend from heartache.
But Lily was no longer the not-quite-seventeen-year-old girl who’d had a deranged, forbidden-fruit crush on Aiden Flynn ever since she could remember. So what if he was probably the hottest guy Seashell Bay had ever seen? Holly didn’t have to tell
her
that he’d be getting back on the ferry and heading home as soon as his business herewas done. Lily knew she’d probably never see Aiden again after this summer, and that was fine with
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