Page 2 of Blame It on the Bikini (Ocean Shores #4)

He opened it to find Lexie with a towel wrapped around her hips and a phone in her hands. "In case you need to make some calls before you can get another phone, you can use mine."

"That's not necessary. I can text from my computer until I get another phone."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay. If you change your mind, I'm downstairs in 2A, right next to Josie's apartment.

" She paused. "I don't know why you decided to stay here for a few weeks, but I hope you'll take the time to get to know the tenants, to understand that we have a community here.

This might be a simple business decision for you, but for us, it's our home. "

"I'm aware of your feelings on that matter," he said, noting the anger flaring in her pretty brown eyes. She really was a strikingly beautiful woman, even with wet hair and not a speck of makeup on her face.

"But you don't care about feelings," she said with annoyance.

"Look, I'm not trying to hurt anyone. If we decide to sell, there will be generous relocation packages for the tenants."

"Because money fixes everything, right?"

"Not everything, but it can fix a lot."

"From my experience, it can also ruin people. But, clearly, I'm not going to change your mind tonight." She paused. "We're having a barbecue in the courtyard. Why don't you join us after you dry off and get settled in?"

"I have work to do, and I had a late lunch. I'm going to be here for a month. There will be plenty of time for me to meet people."

"Fine," she said with exasperation. "But since half the building is in the courtyard, you're missing a great opportunity."

As she left the apartment, he let out a sigh, feeling completely off his game.

He'd wanted to arrive as the professional business owner he was, not some idiot who fell into the swimming pool.

That incident had changed the power dynamic, and he needed to get it back.

But first, he needed to get his suitcases out of his car and take a shower.

Heading down the stairs, he was once again greeted by the sound of conversation and laughter.

He tried not to make eye contact with anyone, moving quickly into the parking lot.

Once at the car, he grabbed his suitcases and headed back inside.

The little boy who'd hit him with the ball and his mother, Paige, were standing by the stairs, clearly waiting for him.

The little boy held a piece of paper in his hand. "This is for you."

"Henry wrote you a note," Paige added.

"That wasn't necessary," he said as he looked down at the note where Henry had written I'm sorry in big colorful, uneven letters. "Thank you for this. I accept your apology."

"I hate that your first impression of us was getting hit in the head by a ball," Paige said. "I know you're here to assess the building and our community."

He frowned at the worry in her expression. "Like I said, it was not a big deal. But I would like to change. So, if you'll excuse me…"

"Of course. I hope you'll join us for dinner or a drink later, once you get settled in."

"I'll see," he said, not wanting to get into a longer conversation.

As Paige and Henry left, he saw Lexie and several other people watching him, their expressions a mix of suspicion and worry.

He quickly turned and jogged up the stairs.

He needed to get himself together before he had any further discussions with the tenants.

Once he changed, he hoped he'd start feeling more like himself.

Lexie gave Paige and Henry a smile as they returned to the pool area. "That was nice of you to give him a note."

"I'm not sure it helped," Paige replied. "I don't think he's coming to the barbecue. I'm so sorry this happened, Lexie."

"It's fine," she assured her. "We have plenty of time to make Grayson Holt see how great this place is and how amazing we are." She tried to infuse confidence into her voice, not wanting to let anyone get discouraged too early.

"Can I play with Olivia?" Henry asked.

"Sure," Paige said, following her son to the other side of the pool, where Olivia was playing with a boat on the steps of the pool, her mother, Bree, watching over her.

"I'm not sure forever would be enough time for that man to see how great this place is," Kaia said with a pragmatic shrug of her shoulders.

Kaia Mercer, a pretty redheaded paramedic who dealt with life and death situations, was also the most cynical person in their group of friends and tenants. And she always spoke the truth as she saw it, with little to no sugarcoating. Before she could reply, her aunt, Josie, joined them.

"It's enough time," Josie said with a bright smile.

At sixty-five, her aunt had an optimistic vibrancy that made her seem years younger. She'd been the manager at Ocean Shores for thirty-five years and had become a second mom to the younger residents and a good friend to the older tenants.

Lexie couldn't imagine what her aunt would do if the building was sold.

It was her home, her career—her everything—which made her aunt's cheerful attitude even more inexplicable.

Josie never seemed to be that worried about losing the building.

She didn't know if that was just because her aunt had decided not to think about things that bothered her or just didn't understand the gravity of their current situation.

Giving her aunt a doubtful look, she said, "I don't get it, Aunt Josie. Why are you so hopeful?"

"Because we have him for a month. We just need to show Grayson how charming, supportive, and caring our community is. Make him feel like family."

"I don't think he wants to be a part of our family," she said. "And his stay certainly didn't start out well with his fall into the pool and the destruction of his very expensive phone."

Josie gave a dismissive, uncaring wave. "That was an accident. I'm sure he won't hold it against us."

"I wouldn't be certain of that. I invited him to join the barbecue, and he said no. And Henry's apology letter didn't make a difference. He's clearly here under duress."

"Why do you think his father made him come here for a month, Josie?" Kaia asked curiously.

Her aunt gave them a somewhat secretive smile. "Grayson's father, Emerson Holt, is a fair man and a smart one, too. If he thinks Grayson can make a better decision after a month with us, then I have to believe it's a possibility."

"If Emerson doesn't want to sell, why did he give the control of this property to his son?" she asked, still feeling like her aunt wasn't being completely forthcoming.

"I'm not sure. But time reveals all. Now, I'm going to get a burger. They smell delicious, don't they?"

As Josie moved toward the grill, Kaia gave her a pointed look. "Your aunt isn't telling us everything. And what was that about time reveals all? Has she been reading the Tarot cards again?"

"She's always doing that," she said with a smile. "But I agree that she's acting very strangely about this whole thing. She's usually open with me about everything. She's not a secretive person."

"Maybe you just think that because she's good at keeping secrets," Kaia said. "She was once an Oscar-winning actress, after all."

"That's true." In her twenties, her aunt had been an award-winning actress, but she'd given it all up after winning an Oscar and divorcing her husband of three years.

The events had always seemed intertwined, but her aunt had never been forthcoming on that subject, either.

"Secrets or no secrets, Aunt Josie might be right.

We need to show Grayson Holt what a great community we have here and hope that will change his mind. "

"Sure. A group of friendly people will definitely compete with the millions he could make on this property."

"Stop. I have enough doubts of my own. I don't need yours, too."

"Sorry," Kaia said. "I will do my part to be friendly."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure everyone else will, too, although I'm not sure about our newest tenant, the one who moved into Hunter's old apartment two weeks ago. What's his name again?"

"Jax Ridley. That's all I know. Aunt Josie said he was a friend of a friend, and when I quizzed her about him, she just said she thought he'd be a good fit."

"Maybe everyone who lives in that apartment is destined to start out as a mystery man," Kaia said. "Hunter lived there for months before he started talking to any of us." She paused. "Speak of the devil…"

"You couldn't possibly be talking about me," Hunter said as he and Emmalyn McGuire joined them poolside, their hands intertwined, which always seemed to be the case these days.

The past few months had seen their love story only get stronger, and seeing them together made her heart clench.

Hunter had been a wounded warrior when he'd first moved into the building, but he'd found healing and love since then.

Emmalyn had had to battle her share of demons, too, but now that they were together, they both seemed to be constantly smiling.

"I was just commenting that everyone who moved into your old apartment seems to have a little mystery behind them," Kaia said.

"Really?" Emmalyn asked curiously. "I haven't heard anything about the new tenant. What's the scoop, Lexie?"

She shrugged. "His name is Jax Ridley. That's all I know."

"Ridley is a good name for a riddle," Kaia said with a laugh. "I saw him from afar and gave him a wave. He acted like he didn't see me."

"Maybe he didn't see you," Hunter put in. "And maybe you need to give him a chance to settle in. This group can be a little overwhelming at first. Trust me, I know."

"But you came to love us," Lexie said. "Or at least one of us."

"I love all of you," he admitted, his smile broadening as he glanced at Emmalyn. "But one most of all."

"You're so sweet," Emmalyn said.

"And you two are too much," Kaia said dryly. "I need a drink to tamp down all this sugar."

As Kaia headed toward the bar that had been set up on a nearby table, Emmalyn said, "Is the new owner here? He's coming today, right?"

"He's here. But his entrance was a disaster. Henry hit him in the head with a beach ball, and he fell in the pool, with his phone in his hand."

"That sounds bad," Emmalyn said with worry in her eyes.

"It sounds kind of funny to me," Hunter said.

"Not funny," she said. "I tried to make nice.

I offered to lend him my phone in case he needed to make some calls before he could replace his, but he threw that back in my face.

I also invited him to the barbecue, and he said, 'No thanks.

' But he's going to be here for a month, so hopefully we can get things back on track. "

"A month is a good amount of time," Hunter said. "You don't have to win him over in one night."

"I guess," she said as Kaia rejoined them.

"I will say one thing about him," Kaia began. "He looked good wet. In fact, he's a very attractive man."

"Until he opens his mouth," she said dryly. "Then he sounds arrogant and entitled. I know his type. I worked with a bunch of them when I was a lawyer. He's the kind of man who thinks he's right about everything."

"We'll help him feel more comfortable here. Maybe I'll bake him some cookies."

"That worked for me," Hunter said with a laugh.

As Hunter and Emmalyn exchanged a kiss, she felt a little pang.

She was more than a little happy to see her friend Emmalyn so in love.

Finding that kind of connection wasn't easy.

But she didn't have time to worry about love.

She had one month to convince Grayson Holt not to sell Ocean Shores.

It wouldn't be easy, but she wasn't going to let him take their home without a fight.