Page 11 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

“Listen to her, sweetheart.” Apollo laughed as he started building a literal picnic basket. “When Claire wants something, there’s no changing her mind.”

“Exactly.” Claire beamed at him, taking the handle as he put it on the counter. She took out her phone and paid before I could even protest and we were back outside with a wave. She ran around the car and put the basket in the back. “I’ve decided you’re my new best friend.”

I huffed out a startled laugh.

“I know, I’m a little bit much. At least that’s what Heath says.”

“Is that your boyfriend?”

Her laugh was rich and loud. “God, no. He’s my brother.”

“Ahh, the heir apparent?”

“Exactly.” She sighed. “You don’t know how nice it is to talk to someone who understands.”

As my brother was the same, I knew it all too well. But part of me didn’t want to explain who I was. Things always got different when people found out who I was. But then again, we didn’t have many stores on the East Coast. Perhaps no one would actually care for once in my life.

Claire turned up the tunes again as the song switched to a Taylor Swift anthem.

We flew toward the lake with the wind lifting our hair around. The sun was shining and the air was warm. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes letting Taylor belt out about her reputation.

For once I didn’t care about mine.

I was just Sydney, and no one gave a damn about A Home You Love.

When we pulled up to a massive Cape Cod style house, my jaw dropped. Claire wasn’t just rich, she was wealthy. Instead of going into the house, she dug into her bag and pulled out one of her bikinis and pair of checkered shorts in a matching navy.

Doing the same, I grabbed the tank suit that I hadn’t been able to resist. I pulled out the sarong in filmy raspberry and the shorts then followed her down to the boathouse by the pier.

She was right off the water, and the view stopped me in my tracks.

Nothing but water and a cloudless sky.

“C’mon, Sydney!” She waved me into the boathouse where old school lockers lined one wall.

“Aren’t these cool? Heath totally stole them his senior year at Crescent Cove High.

” She pointed to one farthest from us. “That one was his stinky locker from the gym. My father didn’t let him go to college for football, so it was his little rebellion. ”

“Do I want to know how he got all these out?”

She grinned and opened the door. “Probably not.” She handed me a bottle of SPF 50. “Think we both will need this.”

Grateful, I took it. “Any chance you have a hat too?”

She nodded and moved down a few lockers. “This is where I hide all my fun clothes. Our parents never come into the boathouse.” She handed me a simple pink ball cap with CCH on it and a pair of flip flops. “Never been worn.”

“Thanks.”

She nodded to a door. “You can get changed in there.”

Excitement and a few nerves bubbled up inside me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done so many impulsive things in one day. The suit molded to me, pushing up my decent breasts until there was all sorts of cleavage I wasn’t used to.

I tugged on the shorts and stared at my reflection in the tall mirror.

Instead of the serious twenty-eight-year-old, I looked young and relaxed.

I should check my phone. I should check in with my team.

But I ignored my phone in my bag and stuffed my dress on top of it. When I returned to the boathouse Claire was already in her bikini and shorts from Ember’s shop.

“You look amazing.”

“Thanks.” I tugged at the hem of my shorts.

“Stop that. You look stunning and hot as hell. My brother is going to swallow his tongue.”

“Is he coming with us?”

“No, but he’s outside working on his car under the tree. He’s determined to get this ridiculous muscle car running. I don’t know what it is. A snake of some sort.”

I laughed. “Shelby Cobra?”

“How do you know that?”

“My brother is the same person evidently. Well, he was. Now he’s more excited about his SUV since he has two children.”

Claire snickered. “Curse of the Cove strikes again.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard a comment like that. “What is that about?”

Claire tossed the lotion into the straw bag with a few towels and handed it to me. “It’s not real of course, but sure feels like it to all the people who get knocked up in this town.”

My eyebrows shot up.

She laughed. “Oh, your face. I forget that outsiders don’t understand the lore.” She quickly rushed to me and squeezed my arm. “I don’t mean it as a bad thing.”

“It’s fine.” I was used to feeling like an outsider.

“No, I’m so stupid sometimes. My mouth starts running before I can catch up.

” She rushed to the door and opened it. There were three boats tucked into the structure along with a few kayaks on the wall.

“There’re all sorts of stories out there about this town.

Some think there’s a fertility statue in the lake. ”

“What?” I couldn’t hide the laughter in my voice.

Claire laughed, flipping her long dark braid over her shoulder. “I know, that’s my favorite story. I went to this Halloween party at The Haunt and this pair of tarot readers were doing a live podcast. I think Luna was her name.”

Small town, small world. “That’s Xavier’s sister.”

“Oh, right! I keep forgetting about that. The Hastings had a falling out for a while. I don’t really know them. I was a bit too young to know Luna in school and Heath was a year behind Xavier.”

Claire went over to the sailboat and started pulling off the top. I dropped the bag and rushed to help.

“Anyway. During this podcast Luna talked about how she thought it might be a statue to the goddess Brigid hiding in the lake. She’s a really good storyteller.

I can’t do it justice, but I definitely looked it up when I got home.

I’m kind of a geek.” She laughed and rolled up the covering in a way that told me she did it all the time.

She jumped up onto the deck. “Hand me the basket?”

“Right.” I looked around for stairs and she just did some gimme hands. I handed it up to her. “Um, how do I get up there?”

She set it down, laughed, and held out her hand again.

“You don’t have stairs?”

“Just into the water. Not that I ever use them.” She grinned at me. “C’mon it won’t bite you. Just step on the front and into the deck.”

“Easy for you to say.”

I kicked off my flips and stepped onto the glossy wood. The boat rocked lightly.

“There you go.”

“I probably should have gotten those boat shoes or whatever.” I grabbed onto Claire’s outstretched arm then hopped onto the deck.

She laughed. “You just get to be passenger princess today. I’ll do all the work.”

And she did. She ran around the boat playing with ropes and cranks and suddenly the light rocking became a weightless glide as we left the slip.

As we left the boathouse, a ridiculously handsome man straightened from a car in the shade. “Claire, where are you going?” He smiled widely. “And who’s your friend?”

Claire waved. “None of your business. Shouldn’t you be working?”

“I would say the same,” he called out.

She cupped her hand around her. “Sorry, can’t hear you.”

He shook his head and went back to his car. He tossed me a flirty smile before ducking back under the hood.

“Should you be working?”

Claire moved to the back of the boat and started cranking up a sail. “Nope. I help my mother out with some of the charity organizations she runs in town.” She seemed to think for a moment. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“You don’t really know me.”

“I know, which is why it’s kind of perfect.” She was small but surprisingly strong as the white sail unfurled. The boat suddenly picked up speed as we headed into the center of the lake.

I held on, dropping into a seat along the side of the boat.

Claire lifted her face to the sun for a moment, the breeze blowing pieces of hair out of her braid. Then she quickly moved around the boat tightening ropes then steering until we leaned into the wind.

The speed shocked me.

But I found myself lifting my face to do the same. God, the freedom of it made me feel a million pounds lighter. I left the worry from my mother’s scheme behind me in that boathouse.

Out here there was nothing but water and sun and wind.

And the only secret that mattered was Claire’s.

Once we got out a ways, Claire adjusted the sail then tossed me the sunblock. “It feels good until you get back and you’re a lobster.”

“Thanks.”

We passed it between us then I pulled on my hat. The curse of a redhead meant sunblock wasn’t enough.

“So, I have been secretly going to school.”

“Why secret?”

“I got my business degree like my parents wanted, but I also double majored in sustainable housing.”

“Wow.”

“I know. My father is all about these big, sprawling businesses. And they’re all well and good, but what about using what we already have? Or even building things that won’t hurt the lake.”

“I agree.”

“I’m all about giving to charity, but I am so tired of the meetings.”

I laughed. “Now that I definitely can get behind.”

“Tell me about this sustainable housing.”

Claire sat across from me and pulled out the picnic basket. “Prepare for me to bore you.”

“Not a chance.”