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Of course it wouldn’t. The Inn management was structured differently. Trina answered to a community board. Every indicator pointed to her being their best and favorite manager to date. He was certain she was incapable of failing such an important responsibility.

He tried to keep his long-standing irritation in check.Naturally, Harper saw right through him. “Get that look off your face right now,” she scolded. “Whatever your issues are, Trina is incredible and more importantly, she’s a good friend.”

“Heard,” he assured her. “And that’s not why I visit.” He gave her his best smile. “Youare.”

She reared back. “You’re serious.” At his nod, she cocked her head. “I’m fine. Things are great. The wedding plans are humming along.”

“Fabulous news, all around.” He raised his beer to her. “To your continued happiness.”

“You’re up to something,” she accused.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not,” he promised. “Did I interfere? I didn’t even gloat when you guys missed that one question about the Florida Panthers hockey team.”

Harper turned her drink in her hand. “Maybe this is one glass of wine more than I needed,” she said, giving him plenty of little sister side eye. “Maybe we should implement a no-boys allowed policy.”

“You’re mean.”

“Am I?” She batted her eyelashes with pseudo-innocence. “You must’ve taught me well.”

Laughing, the four of them chatted while he sipped on the beer, waiting on Trina. But she didn’t return. In fact, he didn’t see her anywhere in the pub. He didn’t like it. Something felt off. Maybe he was jumping at shadows and growing paranoid after Harper’s recent troubles.

More likely it was a side-effect of hanging out with Guardian Agency protectors at the boxing gym in Key West where he liked to train. Those men and women shared plenty of tales of assignments and heroics, filling his head with all the potential problems in any normal situation.

He didn’t look at the world with the same kind of trust anymore.

As a kid learning the family business of hotels andhospitality, he’d believed hotels were non-stop fun. Once he was older, he realized there were plenty of pitfalls and many people abused hotel stays, indulging in activities they would never consider doing at home. He still remembered the shock of tagging along with his dad for a meeting with the attorneys. What an eye-opener that had been. He’d immediately understood the heavy responsibility of dealing with the public.

He wasn’t a big fan of his grim world-view these days. Had to be careful not to turn jaded or pessimistic. But the facts were there. Ugly stuff happened to good people.

“Let me text her,” Nina offered. “If someone is monopolizing her personal time it’ll give her an excuse to escape.”

Rhett took a breath and sat back. He was too restless. If he stuck around, Harper would pick up on it and pester him until he gave a satisfactory answer. Not a fun prospect, since he didn’t have one.

Probably best if he headed out and found a different group of women to interview about their travel preferences. “No worries,” he said. “Just make sure she gets her drink.” He slid out of the booth. “Y’all take care and have a good night. Congrats again.”

He walked back to rejoin his future brother-in-law, Knox, who had conned Nina’s husband, Boone, into another game of darts. Looked like Knox was still kicking butt and taking names.

“I’m heading out.” He tossed what was left of his beer into the trash can in the corner.

Knox shot him a wary look. “What’s on your mind, man?” he asked as Boone stepped to the line for his turn.

“Nothing that wouldn’t spoil the mood,” Rhett replied.

“Don’t you ever stop thinking about work?”

Rhett snorted. “You’re one to talk.” When Boone’s darts were clustered near the center ring, Rhett gave bothmen a fist bump and went to the bar to pay his tab. Feeling generous, he also covered the tab for the trivia team.

And still no sign of Trina.

Unable to ignore his instincts any longer, he decided to track her down. He couldn’t explain why he was suddenly so desperate to know she was okay, but he didn’t fight it. At his car, he slid into the driver’s seat, but didn’t start the engine. He called the Inn and asked to speak with her.

The young woman who answered politely asked him to hold while he was connected. He shook his head.Rookie move,he thought.

Trina should know better than to be available for calls twenty-four-seven. As the operating manager of a major resort, Rhett had specific office hours. If Trina was smart, she’d have the same boundaries to safeguard her time. Of course, she managed an inn on a touristy little island, so maybe he was comparing apples to oranges.

“Trina Bollani, how may I help you?”

Her voice sounded a little rough around the edges. “Hi.” Suddenly, he was at a loss for words. He shouldn’t have made the call until he’d known what he wanted to say. “This is Rhett Ellington.”