Page 8 of Save Me (The Wolf Hotel Mermaid Beach #2)

“I was just saying that if all goes as planned, it’ll be good as new tonight.”

“Perfect. Thanks for being on top of this.” I drop a pat on his shoulder.

“If there are any delays at all, let me know immediately.” With that, I move to close the distance to Abbi, embracing her in a hug.

“I was hoping I’d run into you.” I inhale deeply.

She smells like her strawberry body cream but also, fuck, like Henry’s cologne.

I know that scent. He must have rubbed himself all over her before they parted ways, like an animal marking their territory.

“Same.” She pulls away, regarding the dress shirt I swapped this morning’s golf shirt for, the top buttons undone. “I heard you’re still resisting the tie. ”

“You mean the noose?”

“Is that what you wore to my wedding? A noose?”

“That was an exception.” And it sure fucking felt like I was dying that day.

“Seems I don’t have a lot of say in what I wear, but I draw the line at ties.

” They remind me of church picnics and Sunday dinners at my great-aunt Edna’s, who smelled of mothballs and baby powder and forced me to eat liver.

“Someone has to make sure you don’t show up to important meetings in rock band T-shirts and jeans,” she teases, reaching up to adjust my collar.

“Who’s been tattling on me?” Belinda, obviously.

“More like looking out for you.” Abbi’s hand drifts, patting my chest on its way back down to her side. “So? How are things? Really?”

“Is this for an official report to His Highness?”

“No, it’s between you and me. I promise.” Her expression is earnest.

God, it’s been years since Abbi and I traded secrets.

She was always so easy to talk to. The overwhelming urge to dump everything out into the open hits me.

But where do I even begin? Definitely not standing here, in Opal Reef, with people lingering nearby.

I check my watch. It’s 10:00 a.m. “You’ve probably had breakfast.”

“My first, yes.” She rubs her belly, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “But I heard the pastry chef is doing a trial run and needs volunteer samplers.”

I chuckle at her appetite and holler over my shoulder, “Archie, reschedule my next hour for me, ’kay?”

“But you have?—”

“I don’t care. Tell them Mrs. Wolf is hungry.” I drape an arm around her shoulder, a friendly gesture that would piss off Henry to no end. “Lead the way, Red.”

She moans through a bite as I watch her devour a freshly baked pain au chocolat . Fiona Crumb, pastry chef extraordinaire according to the hotel’s website and aptly named, was only too happy to send a platter of various treats to Seraphina’s for Henry Wolf’s wife.

We’ve since abandoned our table and found a cabana to stretch out in—aka hide—while admiring the expanse of gulf water and white sand. It truly is an idyllic spot, despite the oppressive heat that the ceiling fan does little to combat.

Everything will change tomorrow, when the wave of media open attendees rolls in and the hotel is buzzing with activity, but for today, it’s just Abbi and me and a few staff prepping for the onslaught of activity.

I ordered them to leave us alone.

“You have a little bit of …” I gesture at the corner of my bottom lip to mimic where a glob of chocolate smears hers.

She attempts to lick it off before reaching for a napkin. “These things are always so messy. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I don’t mind watching you lick chocolate sauce off yourself, Red.”

“Ronan!” Her cheeks pink.

This has always been our usual MO when we meet up: I drop flirtatious innuendo that makes Abbi blush furiously while dirty memories cycle through my mind. I end up leaving with a raging hard-on and overwhelming jealousy aimed at Henry.

This time, however, I’m not overwhelmed by lust—even though we’re lying next to each other and a sheen of sweat coats her skin—because I’m too focused on all I need to get off my chest.

“So? Tell me, what’s going on?” she prods, rolling onto her side to face me.

“I need your help.”

A frown of consternation furrows her pretty face. “With?”

Fuck it. I may as well lay it all out on the … well, cabana bed. “With stopping your husband from blowing up someone’s life.”

“When did he tell you all this?”

“About the eminent domain stuff? Yesterday morning, while we were touring the course. You didn’t know anything about it?”

“He never mentioned it, but Henry always has a dozen projects on the go, with a hundred fires to fight. I don’t know how he keeps up with all of it.

” She’s quiet for a moment, likely digesting what I’ve detailed—which is everything since the moment I stepped into the Sea Witch—while she scoops out jam from a pastry’s center with her index finger.

The longer I watch her do it, the more my base needs return to the forefront. “Seriously, can you eat that like a normal human being? ”

Her finger pauses midway to her mouth to lick the jam off. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re killing me.” I may be laser focused on Sloane, but I’m, well, me , and I’ve imagined Abbi’s mouth doing that exact thing to my dick on more than one occasion. It’s a little distracting, to say the least.

Her eyes widen with understanding as they shift from her finger to me, down to the growing bulge in my pants. “Seriously? I’m a sweaty beached whale right now.”

“Shut up.” I chuckle.

Thankfully, she abandons the treat on the plate between us. “So, Henry actually banned you from this woman.”

“Basically, yes. And Belinda threw in her own threats.”

“And then you slept with her anyway.”

I open my mouth to argue in my defense, but she holds her sticky hand up.

“I’m not saying they had any right to make demands like that.”

I heave a sigh, relieved she’s not automatically taking Henry’s side.

“But this is a mess, Ronan. You know how Henry gets when it comes to business decisions and especially when someone’s trying to stop him.”

“Can you blame her for fighting it? That’s been her home all her life!

Imagine if some massive company decided to open up next door to your parents’ place.

” I’ve never been to the farm in Pennsylvania, but even Henry has admitted it’s beautiful countryside.

“Or if Henry lost Wolf Cove for whatever reason. That place means more to him than anywhere else. Especially his grandparents’ cabin. ”

“That would devastate him, and he would fight it, tooth and nail,” she agrees. “But I don’t see how this will end well for Sloane.”

“I guarantee you all this eminent domain bullshit wouldn’t be a topic of conversation if he hadn’t lobbied for it.

” Henry himself said the local government will do anything to please him.

If he told them he doesn’t want an access road next door to the hotel, I’d bet they’d listen.

“There’s got to be a way to change his mind. ”

The pained look on Abbi’s face isn’t hopeful.

“I need your help. Sloane already wrote me off in the beginning because I worked here. I think she’s coming around, but she won’t want me within a hundred miles of her when she finds out about this, and I can’t lose her.” Not that I have her yet. But I’m fucking determined.

A soft smile curves her lips. “You really like this one, huh?”

“I can’t stop thinking about her,” I admit. “And when I’m with her, it’s like …” I struggle to find the right description. “Time stops, and I don’t give a shit about anything else. Does that make sense?”

“You’re such a romantic,” she teases.

“I don’t know what I am, but I haven’t felt like this about anyone since …” My voice fades

“Since Tasha,” she finishes, incorrectly.

I avert my gaze as I mumble, “Right.” Abbi never did seem to pick up on how I truly felt about her.

Sure, at first, I was still hung up on my ex, but those feelings quickly faded as she took on a prominent place in my life that summer.

I didn’t let on, though. I knew she was in love with Henry.

Once they reconciled, all I cared about was keeping her in my life.

“Okay.” She reaches out to collect my hand in hers. “I don’t know how I can help, but I’ll try. I’ll do whatever I can.”

I hold on tight so she can’t pull away. “You’ve got to keep this between us for now.”

“Of course.”

“Henry figured out that I hooked up with her, but he thinks it’s the usual. He can’t know I have feelings for her. Not yet anyway.” All he cares about is his precious fucking business plans, and he’ll see this as an obstacle he has to crush. “I mean it, Abbi.” I never use her real name.

She nods emphatically.

“And I want you to meet her.”

“Really?” Excitement glints in her eye. “Okay. When?”

“I’m working on that.” Sloane never agreed to tonight, but she also didn’t say no.

What am I going to find when I show up at her place?

Her in a dress or a bikini? Or her not there at all.

“Just know that when it happens, I’ll need you as backup to deal with Henry so he doesn’t fire my ass.

” He’s not the type to keep giving people chances.

I’m surprised he’s given me more than one, but I have a feeling my luck card’s about to max out.

“So you want to use me?”

“More like hide behind you, if I’m being honest.”

She giggles. “That’s okay. I understand. Okay, I’ll be your shield against my husband, but I cannot promise anything.”

“He won’t be happy with me.” Again, I question my sanity.

“When is Henry ever really happy?” she mock whispers.

“When he’s with you.” I give her hand a final squeeze before letting go.

“Okay, so that’s one big piece of news. What about Mermaid Beach? Are you liking it here?”

“Loving it. I mean, how can you not?” I gesture out at the gulf. “Nothing beats this.”

“And the job? How’s that going?”

“Let’s see.” I stretch out onto my back.

“I hate golf, and yet I spent two hours with our pro at the ass crack of dawn today, learning how to swing a club so I don’t look like an idiot tomorrow.

” Marcus, the pro, said I was surprisingly good for a beginner, but he was likely blowing smoke up my ass.

“So, is this job something you can see yourself doing long term?”

“You know, I think I’m starting to. I’m still lost and relying on everyone else to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do, but I don’t feel as dumb as I did a few weeks ago.”

“That’s promising.”

“It is.” I pause. “I know you had a lot to do with it, so thank you.”

She shrugs. “Honestly, it didn’t take more than a casual mention once to Henry. After that, it was all him, and you impressed him, Ronan. You earned the chance.” Her smile is encouraging. “How is working with Belinda?”

“How is working with Belinda.” I echo her question while choosing my words carefully. “She’s been great, actually. Training me. We’ve spent a lot of time together. There’s a chance she may want to fuck me again, but other than that …”

Abbi’s eyebrow arches. “A chance.”

“More like a definite.”

“Ronan—”

“I’m not going to. I swear. Even if Sloane wasn’t in the picture, I wouldn’t …” I let that denial trail off because it’s probably a lie.

We share a look and then burst out with laughter.

And that’s how Henry Wolf finds us.

“When I asked where my wife was and they told me she was meeting privately with my director, I wasn’t expecting this.” He sizes up our intimate and horizontal position. “How cute .” Nothing in his tone matches that word.

“Hey, honey.” Abbi rolls onto her back to peer up at Henry, one hand smoothing over her belly. “We were just taste-testing your chef’s menu. This one is my favorite. It’s called a beignet, and it has rose petal jam. Here, try it.” She reaches the donut-looking thing and holds it up to him.

“I had one not long ago.” Henry studies it, then her and me. “That’s what you were doing in here?”

“Well, yes. And catching up. Why?” There’s the slightest edge to Abbi’s voice, the same edge that always appears whenever Henry’s tone hints at suspicion .

I stifle the urge to smile. How that jealous, controlling prick ever allowed that night in Wolf Cove to happen is beyond me, but I’ll be forever thankful for his momentary lapse in lucidity.

“Because I’ve seen how you eat those, Abbi,” he retorts smoothly, “and I doubt Ronan heard a single word you said.”

“I have no idea what you mean.” A devilish glint flickers in her expression as she collects a dollop of jam spilling out of the treat. This time when her finger reaches her mouth, she takes her time, sucking it off.

His jaw clenches.

This is one of the things I’ve always loved about Abbi—she’s all sweet and innocent … until she’s not.

But I don’t need to stay here and picture them fucking, which is what they’ll be doing in T-minus-five minutes or however long it takes him to drag her to their suite. “He’s not wrong, Red. Consider me suitably tortured for the day.” I slide out of the cabana.

“Text me later about that thing,” Abbi calls out.

“Will do.”

“What thing?” I hear Henry ask as I walk away, his voice softer now that they’re alone.

“None of your business. Put your hand here. She’s kicking. I think she likes sweets.”

I smile as I take the stone path back toward the hotel. Whatever else Henry is, he’s a doting husband to her. Maybe that’s why I’m not leaving here with that same burning envy I normally feel that Henry has what I want.

Does that mean I’m finally moving on?

Or, more than likely, it’s because I think I’ve found a woman who can make me as happy as Abbi would have.

As happy as Tasha did.

Or, dare I hope, happier?

There’s only one way to know for sure. I dig out my phone.

Don’t flake out on me, Sea Witch. 6pm sharp.