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He flapped a hand, ignoring my jibe. “Uncle Bob says he caught you getting busy in the madronas last week. Is that your idea of a romantic date since you’re couch-surfing these days?”

Arguing that Anya was the one who kissed me, not the other way around, wouldn’t be very gentlemanly. And I’d take teasing from every town resident age two to two hundred if it meant she’d do it again, so I kept my mouth shut. Zach tsked, shaking his head slowly, his eyes dancing.

“How the mighty have fallen. You used to be Gran’s favorite. What did you do to fall from grace?”

“Nothing.”

He arched a brow. “Did she give you a new family motto?”

“How did you know?” I asked.

“She gave me one too. I thought the original Fenwick one was just fine, but she claimed I had more to learn before I could have that one. Mine is nowwake up and open your eyes.”

I squinted at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hell if I know. Eyeglasses keep showing up at the boat though. In the weirdest fucking places. Last week, she put a pair on the husky mascot perched over my microwave. Creepy as shit when I woke up to that sucker in the middle of the night. It’s gotta be her idea of a prank, implying that I need my eyes checked.”

“At least she can’t toss you off your boat.”

“Speaking of which, have you found a new place to live yet?”

“Nope.”

“And how hard are you looking, now that you’ve nestled in Anya’s sweet arms?”

I grimaced. I’d hoped he missed the bulletin about who I was with at Lime Kiln.

“I’m not staying with Vi to hit on Anya,” I grumbled. It was at least partially true. It might be a happy coincidence, but it wasn’t my intent. “I’ve got feelers out for a new place.”

Zach snorted. “I’ve met you. You take forever to make a decision. Have you even looked at any apartments yet?”

“No,” I said sullenly.

“I don’t think Gran’s taking you back,” Zach warned.

I threw up my hands. “And I don’t want her to. I’m on board with moving out. I just need to find a decent rental. Do you have any ideas for me?”

Zach grinned. “Now that you mention it, yes.”

“If you say a park bench, I’m going to smack you.”

He held up his hands. “Calm down. I’m serious. I talked with Deb at the bed and breakfast, and she said her caretaker had to move back to the mainland unexpectedly. She’s got an apartment free, if you’ll help out for the season.”

“Deb at the Anchor?” I perked up. I hadn’t planned on taking on more responsibility, but it might get me through the busy season.

Zach grinned triumphantly. “Yep. The Anchor. Across the street from Vi and Anya.”

“Do you have her number?”

“For the price of your beer, yes, I do.”

I fished out my wallet, grumbling about him being a hard-nosed businessman, but I wasn’t mad. I took as much pride in my profit statements as he did, and the cost of a beer was a small price to pay for housing so close to town. I snorted.Sure. Town.I wasn’t fooling anyone with that story.

Zach handed over Deb’s number, and I called her on my way to my truck, planning to check out the apartment in the morning. I whistled as I parked in front of Vi and Anya’s. Finding my own place was the first step to independence and giving Anya the space she needed. The second step was probablynotgetting caught kissing her in public places by stray relatives.

She seemed preoccupied the few times I’d seen her since she kissed me, her eyes shadowed by something I couldn’tquite name. Whatever it was, it settled between us like an unwanted visitor. I’d chosen not to confront her. Maybe she was embarrassed. Or had regrets. Either way, I was moving forward in the best way I knew how — by moving out.

Chapter 16 – Anya