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To Ethan s surprise, not only had Charlene s ex-boyfriend called her, but she put the call on speakerphone, which was thoughtful of her so he wouldn t be left in the dark about what was being said. He was curious how this would play out between Charlene and her ex.

Hey, Noah, what s up? She was very businesslike in her approach to him.

You didn t tell me you were moving to Oregon. I had to hear it from Renault. You know how that makes me feel?

She smiled and reached over and squeezed Ethan s hand. You and I broke up two months ago, Noah. We hadn t spoken to each other in all that time.

I just figured you needed some time alone for a while.

For two whole months? Charlene sounded incredulous.

Ethan felt the same way and couldn t imagine parting company with Charlene for all that time without keeping in touch with her if he really cared about her.

I had no idea you would move across the country. Noah sounded furious that she had the nerve to do that and had not even given him the courtesy of telling him.

Ethan was glad that she had gotten away from the disagreeable wolf. She deserved a whole lot more.

She shook her head. We were not good together. I know that now. And you said that yourself several times. Then she paused and frowned. You didn t, per chance, send me a bouquet of roses, did you?

That son of a bitch. Noah sounded growly, ready to turn wolf and tear into the offender.

Ethan took his irate response as a no, and he suspected right away that Noah thought his friend Renault had sent them to Charlene.

Pardon? Charlene asked.

Renault Green. He said that he was with a DEA team that raided your home accidentally. That s how he knew you had moved to Portland.

So Noah didn t know that Charlene was living in Oyster Bay now then?

Then he asked me if I d moved to Portland too, wanting to know if we were together or not. I told him we were taking a break, but yeah, we were getting back together. The bastard.

He s supposed to be your friend, and you and I broke up permanently, not temporarily. If it had been just a temporary situation, I wouldn t have moved to Oregon. He s living in Portland now and if he thinks he can see me—

He s not a wolf, damn it!

Charlene took a deep breath and let it out. Okay, listen, not that it s any of your business, but I m seeing a wolf. I m not dating Renault, so you can quit being perturbed with him. Unless you two have had a fight about something else, he s still your friend.

Silence.

I ve got to go now. I hope you find what you re looking for in a relationship with a she-wolf, Noah. Truly, I do, but we just don t have what it takes. Bye. She didn t wait for him to say anything further and hung up on him.

Ethan smiled at her, glad she d told it like it was. So do you think that Renault sent you the flowers or not?

Well, we know for sure now that Noah hadn t. But I would say it s inconclusive as to whether Renault had. Did you notice that Noah thinks I still live in Portland? If Renault knew I had moved to Oyster Bay, he didn t tell Noah any differently.

Hmm, then it s still possible Renault doesn t know that you moved either, and he might not have sent you the roses. The guys knew I was having dinner with you after the retirement party, but they could have assumed that we were doing that in Portland. I was moving to Oyster Bay after that.

You told them that you were having dinner with the woman whose home you tore up? she asked, sounding a little bothered by the idea.

He was afraid he was in the doghouse with Charlene because of it. It just came up. Adam, Sierra, and Tori said something about the date to me and then one of my team members heard the news and it spread like wildfire.

Like it would within a wolf pack.

Exactly. Then Ethan smiled at her. Thanks for letting me listen in on the conversation.

It was necessary in case Noah wasn t getting the message or he thought I wasn t really dating a wolf.

I m dating you and working with you on your case.

So I wanted everything to be out in the open with you.

And I wanted him to know for certain that it s over between us.

I can t believe he thought we just needed some time away from each other.

Yeah, for two whole months. Still her comment about being open with Ethan made him feel guilty that he hadn t been that way with her to begin with. I appreciate it and I m sure glad we re dating.

I know that it doesn t mean you ll be staying in the area, but for now, I m enjoying spending the time with you, she said.

The same thing here.

Thankfully, the rentals are easy to maintain while I can get other things done.

I have a maintenance guy lined up if there s any trouble with either rental home and a cleaning crew who will take care of cleaning when the occupants vacate the premises.

Everything for booking is automated and then I just keep up with reservations and answering emails from registered guests or those interested in renting one of the places.

That sounds like a great deal.

Yeah, it frees me up to be able to go on a mission to help you catch bad guys, though I guess the drawback would be you finishing your mission and leaving Oyster Bay since the house you re staying at isn t really yours.

Well, if we re still dating, I ll have to find a solution to that situation then. But I will be glad to get these guys all behind bars. And this time Kroner for good. Then we ll be free to just do whatever we would like to do, he said.

Okay, that sounds like a deal.

We haven t been to the hotel yet where you stayed overnight. Maybe we should run by there and see if anything jogs your memory about someone who was overtly friendly and might have sent you the roses? Ethan asked. Since your ex-boyfriend didn t send them, and Renault might not have either.

Sure thing. Let s go.

When they arrived at the hotel, Charlene glanced around at the lobby, but then she took Ethan s hand and led him into the Ocean Breeze Pub. The decor was ocean-themed with beach scenes of up and down the coast of Oregon, making the pub perfect for having a cocktail and watching the sun set.

They sat at a booth that looked out on the ocean and ordered their drinks. The server soon brought them their cocktails.

Did you come to this pub when you were here before? Ethan sipped some of his pina colada.

She lifted her margarita and licked the sugar off the edge of the glass.

He immediately thought of kissing her.

For a drink, sure, she said. It was the night that I arrived.

I spent time driving around the area looking at homes I might have been interested in seeing and then let my real estate lady know which places I wanted to see in the morning.

I had dinner at the restaurant we went to tonight, then came here to stay the night and had a drink before I went to bed.

Then she saw a man watching her from the lobby.

Ethan glanced at what she was looking at. Do you recognize him?

No, but he appeared to be taking a long look at me, which seemed odd.

I wonder if he works here.

Or just comes here to drink at the pub.

Looking for women.

She smiled. Well, if that s the case, we need to do this. She leaned over, cupped Ethan s face, and kissed him with passion.

Oh yeah, he was all for this. He kissed her back, not caring if anyone thought that they shouldn t. If that was the guy who was interested in Charlene, Ethan wanted him to know that he was in her life now, and she didn t have time for another man in her life.

They broke free of the kiss, smiled at each other, and did a brief sweet kiss. Hmm, once I finish my mission here, I might have to rent one of your places until I find one of my own so we can continue to…do this, he said.

***

Charlene laughed and sipped some more of her drink. I love their drinks here.

Yeah, this one s great too. Not watered down like at some places.

I agree. And I love that they ll fix it with sugar on the rim of the margarita instead of salt. She licked her lips.

He smiled. Yeah, I liked tasting your triple sec, tequila, and lime juice, mixed with the sugar on your lips, just the perfect sweetness.

Hmm, your pina colada with its rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice is so sweet and delicious on your lips too. She got a notification on her phone and said, Do you mind me taking this? It s about the rentals.

No, go ahead. He glanced at the lobby but the man they d seen was gone.

Oh wow, she said. Both my places are now rented through twelve months. She showed him the listings.

Aww, hell, he said, frowning, amused, but at the same time, not .

What s wrong? She sounded worried.

They re all bachelor wolves.

She laughed out loud. I was worried they were some of the guys you ve been after or have taken down in the past.

He smiled. No, it just means I ll have to really step up my game.

So far, you re doing great.

It s my new mission.

She laughed. Then she got a call from Tori and thought she might have some news about the mystery man. Hello, Tori. Ethan and I are having a drink at the hotel where I d stayed. I ll put this on speakerphone.

Oh, that s great! Hey, I got the information on who sent the roses. It was Renault.

No. Why would he do that? I mean, he s living too far away for me to date him seriously, and he s not one of…uh, one of us, but also, why send the roses anonymously?

I know, right? Tori sounded just as surprised about it.

I can t believe it, Ethan said. I know he hasn t had a girlfriend in a while, but I can t imagine he would think a long-distance relationship would work.

Well, he knows me from Destin, and he always acted like he was interested in getting to know me better. Maybe Renault is too worried about rejection to meet a woman and start up a relationship, Charlene said.

Yeah, he hasn t had much luck with women. But why send the roses anonymously? That doesn t make any sense. And he hasn t gotten back into touch with you either, which is really strange, Tori said.

Okay, well, since he s a DEA special agent, I m not worried about his interest in me. And if you want to mention that I m dating Ethan in front of him at some point, go ahead and do it, Charlene said. Once Renault learns of it, that should be the end of his interest in me.

Adam, Sierra, and I will make it our mission. We ll set things up so we can be sure to talk about your newfound friendship that is going famously well where he can overhear us. And we ll mention that we re hoping to hear wedding bells in the future, Tori said.

Charlene smiled at Ethan. Yeah, that works for me.

The same thing for me, Ethan said. Let s go for it.

Yay! We ll definitely do it and let you know how it goes, Tori said.

Charlene took a sip of her drink. Good. I m just so glad it s someone I know and he s not bad news.

Yeah, I agree, Ethan said. I know him pretty well, so I m not worried about him.

Okay, good. I m going to get with Adam and Sierra and hatch our plan, Tori said.

Thanks, Tori, Charlene said.

Thanks, Ethan said. We look forward to hearing how it went.

They ended the call and Charlene ordered another drink from the server for the both of them. That guy who was eyeing me? Charlene said.

Yeah, he left.

He s over there talking to a lady in the pub now.

Maybe he was just waiting for her, and you distracted him, Ethan said. They got their second set of drinks and clinked their glasses together. This has been a great day.

Oh, I so agree. I never expected to have such fun companionship when I moved here. I wish you didn t have a mission here but I m really glad you re here.

Me too. I never expected to be dating a wolf while I live here. I m having a blast with you. He leaned over and kissed her sweet mouth and she quickly fed into his need to kiss her. Yeah, she was just the person he needed in his life.