“You’re asking about Kaylee, right?”
“Yes!” A glimmer of hope rises in me. “I thought she worked here now. Do you know where I can find her?”
“Not a chance,” she says, her expression turning hard. “I know you, you’re that Covington guy. She told me all about you. She’d still have her pastry chef job if it wasn’t for you. You have a lot of nerve expecting me to tell you where she is.”
I exhale. And worry creeps into me. What if I’m too late to make up for the last couple of days? It doesn’t matter, I still have to try. I stand. “Please, I’m looking for her so I can make it up to her.”
Sally shakes her head at me. “No way I’m going to sell her out after what you pulled.”
She turns and all I can do is watch her walk away. Now what am I going to do? It feels like my heart just got ripped out of my body. I know how this looks. And I know I hurt her. All I want is a second chance.
I head back outside. There has to be another way. I find myself shuffling through the parking lot when I pass a young woman employee hanging out by a side entrance. Even she gives me the stink eye. I continue past because what’s the point in engaging?
“Hey,” the woman says.
I look around, but I don’t see anyone else. She must be talking to me. “Are you talking to me?” I ask.
“Yeah, you. Are you really trying to get back with Kaylee?”
“Yes,” I admit, even though I’m suspicious of why she’s asking. I stand there waiting for the other shoe to drop. She looks like she’s considering telling me something. I feel a flicker of hope. “I promise that I’m just trying to find her to apologize.”
She glances behind her to make sure there’s nobody else around before turning back to me. “Well, all I’m going to say is that I just took a second job at a brand-new French restaurant over by the beach. And let’s just say they have a killer pastry chef.”
Chapter Sixty-Five
Kaylee
Lunch time sneaks up on me. Before I know it, I’m walking across the warm sand back toward the Beaky Tiki.
Whatever else is happening in my life, at least I’m getting plenty of steps in.
I’m not going to lie to myself and pretend that I’m fine. But at least I have the wind at my back, the ocean to my left, and my friends in front of me.
Shit. I’m last again. I grin as I get to the table. Then I sit and grab my water, taking a long sip after the mid-day walk.
When I look up, Fi and Angie are both staring at me. Abigail is there too.
“Hi, Abigail!”
All three are staring at me like they share some kind of secret. “What?” I ask, wondering what the hell is going on now. Pretty much all the drama of the weekend has been about me.
But today is Monday, maybe it’s somebody else’s turn to have a crisis. “Did I miss something? Abigail, is everything okay?”
“Your boy came by last night, after you left,” Fi says.
It takes me a moment to process. “My boy? Did you all hit your head or something?”
“Chase,” Angie says. “She means Chase.”
I smile and then laugh out loud. On one hand, it’s a little soon for them to be messing with me about Chase. But on the other hand, it’s kind of funny. “Funny, guys. You almost had me going there for a minute.”
“No, seriously,” Fi says. “He came here looking for you.”
“He was mad about you giving back the money,” Abigail says.
“Oh yeah?” I ask, surprised. “Well too fucking bad. Hey, wait. His flight left yesterday afternoon.”
Angie grabs a chip. “Well, he wasn’t on it, then.”
“No kidding,” I say, not sure what to make of the whole situation. Judging by the looks on their faces, they are still holding out on me.
“Wait, there’s more?” I ask.
Fi waits for me to take a breath. Her serious expression doesn’t change. That can’t be good.
“Look, Kaylee. Remember when I called you last night? About Peter?”
“Oh yeah. What a dick.” It’s such a relief to talk about somebody else’s man-child problem.
“Well, I was going on and on about how much he sucked and what a rich prick he was, right?”
I nod.
“And that people only suck up to him because of his money.”
“Yep,” I grab a chip. “I remember.”
“And how rich people are the worst and spoiled and shallow and how we hate them and such?” She raises an eyebrow.
She is hitting this point pretty hard, even for Fi. “I remember.”
“Well, Chase apparently overheard just one side of that conversation.” She finishes.
“Okay,” I say, dipping my chip and chewing. Then I slap myself in the forehead. Making myself choke on the chip. I cough and sputter and grab my water.
My friends look concerned and I can tell they’re wondering whether they should Heimlich me, shake me to figure out the meaning of the dick Peter phone conversation, or call 9-1-1 because I might pass out from lack of oxygen.
“I’m okay,” I wheeze through coughs. It gives me another minute to think. Then I suck in a deep, chip-free breath and exhale.
“Shit, Chase must have heard that conversation and thought I was talking about him. Because it was after that particular conversation that it all went to shit. Great job, guys. Mystery solved. Then what happened?”
“Oh, after that, Chase and his brother and his sister left.”
I take another sip of my drink. “Good story.”
The last thing I want to do is think or talk about Chase Covington, so I’m glad that’s the end of that conversation.
And yet, when lunch is over, he’s the only thing on my mind when I make the trek back across the beach to get to work.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Kaylee
The rest of the afternoon goes by quickly. I craft the delicate pastries with loving care and then shove them into
