Page 65 of Here & Now

“Why should I even bother when she’s leaving soon? Once she puts the house up for sale, she’s out of here.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Her job and family are in Michigan. There’s nothing to keep her here.”

“Hmm.” Marco didn’t sound convinced.

The door opened, and a family of five walked in, bringing an end to the discussion.

A new week meant a new crop of tourists, and the shop stayed busy throughout the day. They rented out bikes, booked dolphin cruises and fishing expeditions, and sold a fair number of souvenirs. Things finally slowed down around four o’clock.

“Why don’t you take off, and I’ll close up?” Marco suggested.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, get out of here. Go talk to Bree.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Zane had considered it, though. Maybe she’d cooled down and would be willing to talk to him without yelling.

“At least go home, grab a beer, and take a swim.”

It sounded good after the day he’d had. “I’ll return the favor another time.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

A few minutes later, Zane got into the Jeep and drove off. Once again, his thoughts returned to Bree. He wondered how she’d spent the rest of the day and if she’d be there when he got home.

Maybe Marco was right, and he should try to talk to her, at least to give his side of the story. Whatever he’d said to Kayla, he hadn’t meant to sabotage the sale of the cottage. He hated that Bree believed that about him, and he wanted to rid her of that idea.

As he approached his house, he braked abruptly. Scott Duggan’s obnoxious SUV was parked right in the middle of her driveway like he owned the place. It was like a slap in the face and further proof that she didn’t trust Zane.

He got out of the car and slammed his door. Fine.Let her find out for herself what a douchebag he is.

His weariness from earlier evaporated, replaced by a surge of adrenaline. He decided to do what Marco had suggested, so he went into his bedroom and changed into swim trunks, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor.

Then he went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out a beer. He popped the top and took a long sip of the cold drink, enjoying the fizz down his throat. Then with beer in hand, he unlocked the patio door and stepped onto the lanai.

He set the beer can on the edge of the pool at the deep end and then dove in. The cool water further revived him, and he swam underwater back to his beer, popped up, and took another drink.

Then he heard voices from the lanai next door.

“This is a great place,” Scott said.

“I think so,” Bree replied happily.

Zane bristled but remained perfectly still.

“Have you had any other real estate agents look at it?”

“Just one, but I don’t plan on using her.”

“Since you’ll have to work closely with the agent, you should go with someone you feel comfortable with.”

Zane rolled his eyes at Scott’s thinly veiled attempt at getting her to choose him.

“I couldn’t agree more,” she said.

Is she really falling for this? His hand tightened around the beer can.