Chapter 16
Caitlyn sipped her iced coffee and playfully nudged Harper a few days later as they walked down to the boardwalk. Troy and his teammates had been training on the water all day, but Troy and Logan were meeting them for drinks. She and Troy would have dinner together afterward, and whatever happened with Harper and Logan would happen, she supposed. Maybe they’d each have a drink then leave. Maybe they’d hit it off. Maybe they’d hate each other. Troy was planning to introduce her to all his teammates in a couple weeks at some BBQ one of the guys was throwing. She was both nervous and excited. Things had steadily grown more serious between them, but after this weekend? She couldn’t wait to see him tonight.
“I can’t believe how much coffee you drink,” Harper joked, glancing over at her. “I hope you invested in Starbucks. Or Keurig for that matter.”
“It’s decaf, and yes, I’m addicted. There are worse vices,” she said with a shrug. “And you’re right—I should’ve bought stock in them long ago.”
“Now we’re talking,” Harper said with a grin. “Did I tell you I’m planning to expand my bakery?”
“What? No, you did not mention that. That’s awesome! You need a bigger space.”
“Yep. I can hardly keep up with my schedule. I did hire a new delivery person after that fiasco the night of your event on the yacht. But I’m going to hire an assistant as well. With a bigger storefront, I’ll need a cashier, too. A few people to run the up-front portion. I’ll still be taking special orders for cakes but want to have day-to-day traffic in my bakery as well.”
“Look at you going places,” Caitlyn said with a smile. She took another sip of her coffee. “I hope you hit it off with Logan tonight. I only briefly met him that one time at the beach. Troy’s been planning to introduce me to all his teammates—introduce me for real, I mean. I did meet a couple on the yacht, but that doesn’t count.”
“Tell me about Logan,” Harper said. “Is he cute?”
“Not as cute as Troy,” Caitlyn said dreamily.
Harper laughed. “I’d say you’ve got that man wrapped around your finger. Vice versa, too. Was that one or two-dozen roses he had sent to your office today?”
“Two,” Caitlyn admitted. “And he even had someone deliver an iced coffee to me earlier. Although I told him all those flowers were too much. Don’t get me wrong, they’re gorgeous, but he must have spent a small fortune on them.”
“Well, you did say he spent the night last weekend,” Harper pointed out. “That must’ve been some night.”
Caitlyn turned red. “No comment.”
“But those are the best kind of comments,” she teased. “Well, you’d been dating a few weeks by then, right? Things usually move forward or fizzle out by then. Your relationship has clearly moved forward. And I can see why you’ve been too busy to meet his friends.”
“Oh God. I am not talking about my sex life with you,” Caitlyn muttered.
“If he’s smart, he won’t let you go. I’m glad it’s working out. You’ll be off getting married with a houseful of kids in a year or two, and I’ll still be single.”
Caitlyn laughed. “Like you said—it’s only been a few weeks. Everyone gets lovey-dovey at the start of relationships, right? We’re hardly talking marriage or kids. We haven’t seen each other since this past weekend. Even though Troy’s been crazy busy at work, he wanted to meet up tonight. I’ll see him again Friday, too. He’s planning to make me dinner this time.”
“A man who will cook for you? Nice.”
“Well, he claims he’s a terrible cook. I guess I’ll find out in a few days,” Caitlyn laughed. They stopped down near the water, Caitlyn looking around for Troy and Logan. She knew they were coming right from work and had probably hit traffic.
“Whatever happened with that whole investigation about the yacht?” Harper asked. “That shit was terrifying. I had to give a statement to the police as well, but then I never heard any updates.”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. I met with an investigator twice after I gave my report to the police, and I confirmed the identity of the gunman from the surveillance footage. The creepy thing is they think one is still missing. I know one guy jumped overboard, and they recovered his body.”
“Damn. No big loss, I guess. He did basically threaten the lives of all those people, including you.”
“Seriously. I know Troy’s been involved in the investigation since their team was sent in to rescue us. And Evelyn of course called to apologize—not that any of it was her fault. Apparently, two of the agents onboard were killed, so she and her husband felt pretty awful about the entire situation.”
“Those were the guys supposedly guarding them?
“Yep. Two others were found tied up and hidden in a storage closet.”
“Damn. And the passengers weren’t injured?”
“One of the men was shot in the leg, but surprisingly, that was the worst of the injuries. I mean, aside from them killing two federal agents, which was brutal. The gunmen seemed more intent on getting information than hurting us. Most people were just traumatized—myself included. That was by far the most terrifying night of my entire life.”
“Life is crazy. Everything seemed so normal when I delivered that cake.”
“Which we never even got to eat,” Caitlyn said. “I think they’ll eventually have a small party
