“This man needs a drink!” Arthur said as we sat down at O’Kelley’s two nights later.
I was off Wednesday and Thursday since I was working the weekend, and Arthur talked me into attending guys’ night again. My cheeks warmed at the attention he was drawing to me. I didn’t like to do much of anything that made people focus on me. But my brother did not feel the same.
“He’s twenty-seven today,” Arthur told Hudson as Hudson set a beer in front of me.
“Shit, dude, really?” Ian said from my right. “I feel like an old man. I turned forty in January.”
“You are an old man,” Rowan told him.
Ian flipped Rowan off with a grin. “Yeah, well, I’m not the oldest one here.”
Ian pointed to Nico as he took a seat next to James.
“What am I?” Nico asked.
“The old man of the group. Patrick turned twenty-seven today,” Ian told him.
“Jesus,” Nico gasped. “I need a drink just hearing that.”
“How old are you?” I asked Nico.
“Forty-five.” I didn’t know Nico well. We’d only spoken a few times. Goldie’s sister worked for him. She wasn’t close to her sister, but Goldie always spoke highly of Dr. Allison.
“Forty-five doesn’t make you an old man,” I said. “Unless you’re forty-five in dog-years or something.”
The other guys laughed. Nico shook his head and grinned at me. “I feel like it sometimes, but nope. Just regular old human years. Hell, I never would have guessed you were so young.”
I nodded and sipped my beer. It was something I’d been told most of my life. Whether it was a product of having to grow up fast after my dad died or just part of who I was, it didn’t matter. Some people told me I had an old soul. I just thought I was more suited to be in my forties instead of my twenties. Staying out all night and drinking myself into a stupor were never appealing for me. I didn’t judge those who enjoyed those things, but I felt like I fit in better with the guys I was sitting with. Men who were settled in their lives and content with their place in the world instead of searching for it.
Not that I was content, but I knew what I wanted my life to look like, and it bore a striking resemblance to the lives of the men around me.
“So, what are you wishing for this year?” Rowan asked me.
“A date with his boss,” Arthur answered for me.
Again, my face warmed. The men we were sitting with were friends with Goldie. They knew her. Hudson was aware I had a thing for Goldie, but I was pretty sure the rest of them didn’t know until my brother opened his big mouth.
“I can understand that one,” Gavin said. He owned MacKellar Cove Inn with his wife, Piper. We’d worked with them one more than a few events. They were both great people. “Goldie is kind and thoughtful.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without spilling my guts about all the other things she was to me.
“Patrick’s always had a thing for older women,” Arthur provided.
“Dude!” I shouted.
Arthur shrugged. “Please. You need friends in your life. And they all know Goldie. No one here is going to do anything to hurt her, and I know you wouldn’t do anything either. But maybe they can help you figure out how to get her to give you a shot.”
I scowled at my brother, but the other guys went with it.
“She might have an issue with you working for her,” Rowan said.
“I think it’s the age difference,” Nico added.
“Or maybe she’s just not sure about dating,” Ian told the group. “When Blake and Willie broke up, she didn’t want to date anyone else for a while, even though they weren’t right for each other. After being in a relationship that long, it’s hard to move on. Even when it’s the right decision.”
“It’s all the above,” Arthur said.
“Why do you want to date her?” Gavin asked.
“Because he’s in love with her,” Arthur answered.
“What the hell?” I asked him.
Arthur shrugged and nodded to Hudson for another drink. He was driving me home, so Hudson refilled his glass with tonic water and a twist of lime. “You like her. A lot. I know it, but I don’t know her, so I can’t help you. But you’re going to downplay it with these guys. They need to know you’re not looking to hurt her. You care more than all of them combined.”
I closed my eyes and counted to ten. I loved my brother, but when he thought he knew what was right for me, he was a huge pain in my ass. I blew out a breath slowly and opened my eyes again, finding the others watching me.
“I’ve been there,” Ian said. “It sucks to be in love with a woman who isn’t willing to see it.”
“You have to proceed with caution with Goldie,” Rowan said. “She needs to know you’re not going to run the moment shit gets real.”
“And she needs to know you’re serious,” Gavin said. “But I know you need those things, too.”
I nodded slowly, surprised at their insight and advice. “I’ve told her I want her, but she didn’t believe me.”
“Then tell her again. Ask her on a date. Plan something and tell her what you have planned so she knows you’re serious.” Nico met my gaze and held it. “There’s more to her than just her divorce. Or being a mom. Goldie had to deal with her parents getting divorced and her dad starting a new family. She and Ally aren’t close. That’s not on Goldie, but it seems to me as though she takes it on sometimes. You need to understand all the moving parts to Goldie and be willing to see the entire person.”
I understood exactly what Nico was saying, and what he wasn’t saying. Goldie wasn’t a toy, and she wasn’t one-dimensional. She was complicated. And I needed to be serious if I was going to get involved with her. “I see all of her. And I want to be the person she turns to outside work as well as at work.”
“Damn,” Ian said. “Tell her that and you might be good to go.”
I chuckled as the others nodded. One could only hope.
Friday was not a normal day at work. We were getting ready for the events scheduled for the weekend, and after the disaster that was created for us the previous weekend, we were busy contacting every vendor and reconfirming their attendance. Again. Goldie wasn’t letting anything go to chance this time.
By lunch, we were all exhausted and a little cranky. Eve was off, which left Theo, Goldie, and me to make the calls. Howard was handling the welcome center, choosing to avoid contact with vendors in favor of families arriving for the weekend instead.
“This sucks,” Theo said after he hung up his latest call. “We need a break.”
“I’m ordering in lunch. What do you guys want?” Goldie said.
Theo and I exchanged a glance and grinned. “Tacos,” we said together. It had become a running joke for us that tacos were our chosen food. We always requested them when we were asked.
Goldie laughed. “I should have known. I’ll put in an order. Will one of you check with Howard?”
“I’ll check with Howard, then place the order. That’s part of my job, not yours,” I told her gently. She was the boss. I was the assistant.
“Thank you,” she said, sighing heavily. “I think I’m going to get some fresh air for a few minutes.”
Theo followed her out the door and disappeared into his office. I wanted to see if she needed anything else, but I wanted to give her a few minutes first.
Howard smiled when I told him we were ordering tacos and gave me his order. Knowing what Theo and Goldie liked, I called in our food. It was busy at lunchtime, but they said our order would be ready in twenty minutes, so I headed outside, hoping to catch Goldie before I left.
She was sitting on a bench under a large tree, staring at her phone. Her shoulders were slumped forward, and she’d kicked off her sandals. She looked defeated and worn out. I was fairly sure she hadn’t taken a day off since the summer events started, even though she was adamant everyone else did so no one got burned out with the extra hours. She needed a break.
“You doing okay?” I asked as I approached her.
She straightened immediately and forced a smile to her tightly drawn lips. Lines around her eyes were deeper than normal, showing her exhaustion. I knew better than to tell a woman she looked tired, but she really did.
“I’m good. Just hoping we didn’t overlook anything for this weekend. Are you going to get lunch?”
“Yep. They said it’ll be ready soon.”
“I can go. You don’t have to.”
I shook my head. “Take a break. Just enjoy the fresh air for a little while. You’ve been working every day, haven’t you?”
She avoided my gaze. “I need to make sure everything is done right.”
“And it is. But you can take time off to sleep.”
Her spine stiffened. Her lips thinned to a single line. She did not like me telling her what to do. “I can take care of myself.”
I sat next to her and took her hand. She tried to pull away, but I held on. Not tight enough that she couldn’t get away from me if she really tried, but enough to make it clear I didn’t want her to.
“You are amazing. You’re strong and smart and endlessly capable. I’ve never doubted for a second that you couldn’t take care of yourself. But I worry about you. I see the hours you’re putting in. You weren’t like this last summer. Is something going on that I should know about?”
She avoided my gaze and shook her head. “I’m just trying to make this the best summer yet.”
“And what about next summer? Will you do the same?”
“I don’t know. Probably. Why is that a bad thing? This is a beautiful town. It’s an amazing place to live. I want others to see that, to feel it and know it. I want this summer to be amazing so I can continue—”
“Continue what?” I whispered. There was definitely something going on.
“Nothing. Just continue bringing visitors here and showing them how great MacKellar Cove is.”
“I don’t believe you. There’s more to it. I wish you felt like you could be honest with me. That you knew I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Are you?”
I sighed and moved closer to her, close enough that my thigh rested against hers. I wrapped my fingers through hers and rested our hands on my leg. “Always, Goldie. I meant what I said a few weeks ago. I want you. But it’s not just me wanting you. It’s me wanting to know you. To be here for you. To show you that I’m interested in you as a person and as a woman.”
“There’s a difference?” She laughed.
“Yes.” I moved my hand to her wrist and skimmed my fingertips over her pulse. “I want to know you as a woman in every possible way I can. I want to know what your lips taste like and how you like to be touched and what it feels like to wake up next to you in the morning. But I want to know you as a person, too. To know what makes you tick. What makes you smile. What you need when you’ve been working too many days straight and feel like you’re facing the world alone.”
She swallowed roughly and held my gaze. Her lips parted as she drew in a tentative breath. “Mayor Levine wants to fire me.”
“What?” I gasped. “Fuck. He’s the one who called Unhinged and Chef Julian, isn’t he?”
She nodded. “I think he is. I can’t prove it, but he called me into his office first thing Tuesday. He’s the only one who would have anything to gain by messing up the events this weekend. He has the power to fire me, and he’s already told me he plans to if I don’t reduce budget by fifteen percent and make everything perfect this summer.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
She shrugged. “It’s the rules of his game. I have no recourse.”
“You can get him fired.”
“For what?” she asked with a mirthless laugh. “It’s not against the law for him to be an ass or for him to want to spend less of the town’s money. He thinks I’m under-qualified for my job. He’ll bring in a man who can do it ten times better than me and he’ll be the hero.”
“He’s an asshole who let the little bit of power he has go to his head. Why does he think anyone is going to let this go?”
“Because no one knows. Because it all happens behind closed doors. Because he’s been getting away with his behavior for years.” She sounded more defeated than I’d ever heard her.
“I want to take you out,” I blurted.
“Excuse me?”
“A date. I want us to go out on a date. Nothing crazy, but we both need a night off from thinking about work. What do you say?”
“We have too many things going on this weekend. I can’t be away from it all. Not when I know Mayor Levine will try to do something.”
“Then Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Next week. You pick the date and I’ll set everything up.”
“Set everything up? What do you have to set up?”
“I just meant I’ll make reservations. Please, Goldie. I want to take you out. One night.”
She smiled softly, her lips barely curling up in a grin that I knew would have been bigger if she wasn’t so exhausted. “Okay.”
I wanted to jump up and pump my fist in the air, but I held it in and just smiled. “Okay.”
She chuckled as though she knew I was holding back my excitement, then stood. “I should head back in. And you need to go get food. Theo’s going to chew off his arm if you don’t hurry.”
“Theo will survive. You’re more important.”
“Thank you, Patrick,” she whispered.
I squeezed her hand, then let go and walked to my SUV. When I looked back, she was watching me. I couldn’t do anything about my grin when I saw that.
She shook her head and turned toward the building. I watched her until she was inside, then gave myself a minute to celebrate that Goldie finally agreed to a date.
Friday night was a success. Saturday started out that way. I was cautiously optimistic about the day. I didn’t know why, but it felt like it was going to be a good weekend.
After the big events the weekend before, this weekend was more subdued. Friday night started with a movie in the square. MacKellar Theater closed down for the night and donated the equipment and the movie so the whole town could watch together. Vendors came in from neighboring towns to provide additional food options for the people who were spending their evening in the park.
Saturday was the MacKellar Cove amateur burger contest. The only people allowed to enter were people who cooked at home. No chefs or restaurants allowed. It was another of Goldie’s amazing ideas to get the town involved. She said some of the best food was made by people with no training. She wanted to showcase the unsung heroes of the town. Parents who worked hard to provide for their families. Home cooks who enjoyed cooking but never considered it as a profession. Anyone who wanted to join in.
There was no entry fee, and the food was all provided for the chefs. There were no limitations to what they could make, as long as it could be called a burger.
“Have you tried this?” Theo asked, joining me toward the edge of the park. Catherine Park was stuffed with people eating burgers and enjoying the beautiful spring day.
“What is it?” I asked him.
“Mac and cheese stuffed burger. I thought they were joking, but it’s so damn good.” Theo took another bite and groaned. “You gotta try this.”
“I will. How many burgers have you had?”
“Too many to count. I’m just glad they’re all sliders so I can eat more of them. The flaming burger was good, but it lived up to its name. I needed about a gallon of milk after that one. The Mexican burger was different, but it had a ton of flavor and the tortilla shell as a bun was genius. The Italian burger was tasty. But this one is my favorite.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying everything.” I laughed at him as he took another bite, smearing gooey cheese across the side of his face.
“Where’s the boss?” he asked.
“Last I saw, she was making the rounds. Why?”
“Just making sure there aren’t any issues today.”
“There better not be. She needs a break.”
“Agreed. She’s working too many hours. She’ll be burned out by July Fourth at this rate.”
“That’s what I said, too. Hopefully, she’ll slow down a little. But she’s worried about Mayor Levine and… the budget stuff.” I didn’t think Goldie wanted Theo to know the mayor threatened her job. Hell, she didn’t seem like she wanted me to know either.
“We’ll make it right. She’s done more for this town than anyone ever has. Including Mayor Levine. She deserves a bigger budget, not a smaller one.”
“Yeah, well, as long as she gets a budget, we’ll make it work.”
Theo popped the last bite into his mouth and clapped me on the back. “Yep. Gotta grab another burger. You want one?”
I glanced around for Goldie and didn’t spot her, so I nodded and followed Theo into the crowd toward the burgers.