Page 22 of Searching for Sunshine (Crestbrook Cove #1)

WYATT

“ C heers to a successful first weekend,” I say the following night, holding up my beer and bumping it against Stella’s lemonade.

“Hell yeah, we did,” Avery interrupts before Stella can say anything, sliding into the booth beside her best friend, clinking her martini glass with ours.

“There they are. Scoot over, man. We’re joining you,” Bennett calls from by the bar and makes his way over with Trent following behind him.

“Damn it, when the hell did y’all get here?” I mutter under my breath as I scoot further into the booth. “I swear we can’t go anywhere in this damn town without running into at least one of you.”

“Come on, you know you love it,” Bennett teases before adding, “Plus, there are exactly two restaurants in this town, and the last time we all went to Dune’s Diner, they screwed up our order. So, The Sand Bar it is.”

“Whatever,” I mumble, not really caring they’re here but feeling a little disappointed I won’t have any alone time with Stella until we get back to the cottage.

We still haven’t talked about the kiss last night, and all day, I felt like I was going to lose it if I didn’t get to talk to her soon.

So far we’ve both acted like nothing happened, but it’s been less than twenty-four hours and I can already feel my control slipping when it comes to her.

All day I’ve thought about how good her sweet little body felt as she straddled my lap and kissed me like her life depended on it, but the longer the day’s gone on, the more annoyed I’ve become that she’s acting like it never happened.

I know I sound like a fucking hypocrite because I also haven’t acknowledged it yet, but damn it I just want to know what she’s thinking.

Does she regret it? If not, is it something she wants to happen again or was it a one-time thing?

And has it consumed her every fucking thought today the way it has for me?

“Wyatt, hello? Did you hear me?” Bennett asks, waving his hand in front of my face to pull me from my thoughts.

“Huh?” I ask, and Bennett rolls his eyes at me.

“I knew you weren’t listening. We’re talking about going fishing one day this week when you don’t have a charter. It’s been ages since we went out there and the weather’s supposed to be perfect.”

“Yeah, I know I’m on the boat every day, but I haven’t gone out for fun at all this year. I’m in,” Trent adds. “I’m pretty sure tomorrow’s our only day without anything though. Is that too last minute?”

“Nah, I can make that work,” Bennett answers, turning back to me. “Wyatt, you in?”

“Uh, sure. That sounds good,” I say, still partially distracted.

“Perfect, you boys can do that, and Stels and I will spend the day drinking seltzers by the ocean. I don’t think we have any guests checking in tomorrow, and after the last few days, I need a day to relax.”

“Same. I still can’t believe we pulled it off,” Stella says, smiling brightly. “That dinner on the beach almost did me in, but it ended up being really pretty.”

“Yeah, lesson learned on checking the weather before we set up a four-course meal outside. But we made it work,” Stella agrees and they both laugh.

“Wait, what happened?” Trent asks looking between both girls for an explanation.

“Well, we set up a long table with these beautiful place settings and strung lights down to the beach from the pool, but we didn’t realize there was supposed to be a quick afternoon rain shower,” Stella explains, wincing a little at the memory.

“How did the two of you move everything?” Bennett asks.

“We carried the table from the beach back to the pool and hid it under the cabana until the rain passed,” Stella explains.

“Pretty sure I’ve never ran that fast in my damn life,” Avery grumbles. “My calves are still sore from trying to run in the sand. I can’t believe some people do that shit for fun.”

“Wait, you mean it didn’t inspire you to join me on my morning runs for the rest of the summer? I bet I could have you ready for a half marathon by Labor Day,” Stella teases.

“Hell no,” Avery answers, which causes Stella to giggle. “I’m perfectly content spending my mornings in bed like the rest of the world.”

“Suit yourself,” Stella teases. “So, what are—” she starts as she turns to me and the rest of the table before Avery interrupts her.

“Holy fucking shit,” Avery yells, loud enough that the entire bar goes quiet and everyone turns to look at her.

It takes her a moment to realize how loud her outburst was, and when she does she throws her hand up. “Oh, sorry,” she yells before she turns back to us with her eyes wide.

“What the hell is going on?” I ask, concerned something is seriously wrong until Avery starts giggling uncontrollably.

“Aves, I’m gonna need you to fill us in ASAP,” Stella adds, looking at her best friend with a mixture of concern and amusement.

“I just…went to ch-check the Instagram f—for the Hideaway,” Avery chokes out between giggles. “Oh my god, there’s no way this is real.”

“Let me see,” Stella insists, holding out her hand for Avery to give her the phone. She scrolls for a minute before she mutters under her breath. “Holy fucking shit.”

Both girls giggle together for a second, and finally I snap. “For the love of God, could someone please fill the rest of us in?”

Stella takes a deep breath, her smile wider than I’ve seen it in a while. “I’m sorry, but I think we’re both a little delirious from lack of sleep, and after our luck recently that post just doesn’t seem real.”

“What’s the post about?” Trent asks.

Stella and Avery glance at each other, looking like they’re about to start giggling again before Stella answers.

“Apparently, one of the bridesmaids from this weekend is a major influencer. We’re talking millions of followers.

Well, she just posted a reel about the Hideaway a few hours ago and it’s gone viral. ”

“What the hell does that mean?” I ask, looking between the girls. I’ve never been into social media so I’m not sure exactly what the big deal is.

“It means a shit ton of people watched the video,” Trent answers.

“Well, I know that. But how many are we talking about? A couple thousand?” I ask, looking between the girls and fighting the urge to roll my eyes as they start laughing again.

“Not quite. Actually, as of right now, it’s at seven point two million views in less than six hours,” Avery says, tapping at her phone screen. “And we’ve gained over nine thousand followers on the Hideaway’s page too since she tagged us.”

“Oh my god,” Stella gasps. “This feels like a fever dream. Wait, did we get any reservations from it?”

Stella and Avery both freeze for a second, their eyes wide before Avery rushes to tap on her phone screen some more. After a moment her jaw drops and she sits there, frozen.

“Uh, Aves, I love you, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen you speechless. I’m going to need you to say something because I’ve gotta say, it’s freaking me out a little,” Stella says, looking nervously at her best friend.

After a moment, Avery looks up from her phone, her eyes wide. “Stels, we’ve had over thirty reservations made since lunch today. Plus, four bachelorette bookings. We’re completely booked through the last weekend in July already starting next week.”

I’m pretty sure no one at the table moves, as we all stare at each other in shock.

After a moment, Stella blurts out, “There’s no damn way this is real.

You mean to tell me that, after just under a month of owning the hotel, some random bachelorette party happens to book the Hideaway?

And one of those girls happens to be an influencer who posted a video about their stay at our hotel and it happens to go viral?

And now we’re booked?” she rambles, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Uh, yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up,” Avery says. “And reservations are still rolling in, some of them all the way into next spring and summer.”

After a moment, Stella looks at her best friend. “We’re seriously booked?”

“Yep, babes, we are. From what I’m seeing there isn’t a day left in the summer that we don’t have any guests after this Wednesday,” Avery answers, continuing to scroll through her phone.

“And Wyatt and Trent, I have over forty messages asking for y’all’s social media and website so they can book tours with you, not to mention the bridesmaid packages. ”

Now it’s my turn to go quiet. Trent looks at me across the table, and I start to understand why Stella and Avery couldn’t stop giggling. It’s a weird feeling to think that one video could have such an impact on our lives, but here we are.

“Uh, I guess now’s not a good time to tell you we don’t have any of that shit?” I ask, wincing at the idea of losing all of those clients.

“Yeah, you do,” Avery answers, her eyes wide.

“I knew you’d fight me on it and tell me you didn’t need any of that shit—which obviously, you do.

So I just went ahead and drew up some branding and started a few social media pages for you last week.

And I also found a way to tie your booking services into ours, so everyone who books with us has the option to also add on a charter.

It’s just not live yet, because I was planning to ask about it tonight. ”

I blink at her for a moment before asking, “Wait, you did all of that without talking to me?”

“Yep,” Avery answers, popping the p. “And it took me hours, so you can just say thank you for all the business you’re about to get.

Or if you’d rather, I can reply to all of these people and tell them they’ll have to call your number to set up a time.

But I guarantee you won’t get more than three phone calls. ”

“I swear to god, if your stubborn ass screws this up for us,” Trent mumbles under his breath, and that’s enough to bring me back to my senses.

“No, you don’t need to do that. I’m sorry. I was just caught off guard. But thank you, Avery. This really means a lot to us.”

“No problem. Now I feel like we should do shots or something, right?” Avery asks, causing Stella and Bennett to laugh.

“Hell yeah, we do,” Stella answers. “I need to run to the bathroom and I’ll stop at the bar on the way back. Aves, can you let me out?”

Avery nods and Stella heads behind us in the direction of the bathroom.

“So, if it works for you, I can come by and show you how to work the software for future website bookings sometime next week. I can also make some tweaks to the logo while I’m there if there’s anything in particular you want to see,” Avery starts.

We spend a few minutes going over what she’s designed for us.

The new logo is honestly a lot better than the one we currently have, and I’m impressed with the way she managed to tie in a fish hook and an illustration of the boat inside the words of Crestbrook Charter Company.

“That looks great, Avery,” I say genuinely.

“Yeah, there’s not a single thing I would do differently. Thank you again for taking this on for us,” Trent agrees.

We talk for a few more minutes before I realize Stella still isn’t back yet. Looking around the room, I see her standing over by the bar, waiting for our drinks.

“Damn, Everett must be short-handed tonight, it’s taking her forever to grab those shots,” Bennett says, following my gaze over to where she’s standing. I don’t love the slightly uncomfortable expression on her face, but due to other people standing around the bar, I can’t see what’s going on.

“Yeah, can you move and let me out? I’m going to check on her,” I announce, moving out of the booth and over to the bar.

As I get closer, I start to have a pretty good idea of what had her looking upset.

There’s a man beside her I’ve never seen before, and he keeps leaning over to say something in her ear.

Each time he does it, she scoots further away, but he follows her.

I’m already holding back my anger at how uncomfortable she looks, but right as I step behind her, he grabs her arm and pulls her closer to him, looking at me warily.

“You’ve got about two seconds to get your hands off my wife before we have a serious fucking problem,” I growl, and he looks up at me with wide eyes.

“Whoa, dude, we were just talking. No reason to be upset,” the man says, clearly drunk and almost stumbling over himself as he holds up the hand not wrapped around Stella’s arm in a sign of surrender.

“And while you were talking, did you not realize that she kept moving away from you? Or that she’s wearing a fucking wedding ring?” I ask, my voice raising loud enough that most of the people around us freeze and turn to watch.

I’m vaguely aware that Everett is walking over from the other side of the bar, but all I can focus on is the fact that this asshole is still gripping Stella’s arm.

When she winces in pain at the way he squeezes her arm, I step forward, ready to do whatever I have to in order for him to leave Stella alone.

“Dude, what’s got you so possessive of her?

She’s got a nice ass and all, but I’m sure I don’t mind sharing if you don't—” the drunk guy starts, laughing to himself as Stella yanks her arm out of his hold and turns to kick him hard between the legs.

He falls to the floor, and she stands over him, looking down on him like the trash that he is.

“First of all, I asked you nicely multiple times to leave me alone. And second of all, I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last fucking man on earth.

Maybe if you learned how to talk to a woman instead of addressing her like a piece of meat, you wouldn’t be in this position right now,” she says, and several of the people around the bar clap.

Everett leans down and grabs the man’s shoulder. “Yeah, she said it better than I could, but you’ve gotta get the fuck out of here. And don’t even think about coming back either.”

As soon as the man’s out of sight, Stella turns to me and gives me an apologetic look.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I just didn’t want you to feel like you needed to fight this battle for me too.

But I’m so sorry I probably embarrassed you.

And I’ll apologize to Everett as well for doing that in his bar. ”

I blink at her in confusion. All the rage I was feeling just a minute ago has turned to possessive desire and I suddenly feel desperate to have her in my arms. I know I’m probably not thinking straight, but I don’t give myself time to question what I know I’m about to do.

Leaning forward, I whisper in her ear, “Stella, that was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

I was ready to handle it, but watching you stand up for yourself was fucking incredible.

And I’m pretty sure if we don’t get out of here right now, this whole damn bar is going to see how bad I want you. ”