Chapter One
Chloe
I climb out of my car and wave my hand in front of my face as I glance around the parking lot. I hope no one notices the poof of smoke swirling around thanks to the fact that I think my car has started burning oil. I don’t know for sure that’s what it’s doing, but Google says it’s the likely reason for all the smoke. Luckily, no one seems to notice me or the pollution I created. There are only six cars parked in the square gravel lot and a few people walking out of Hawkins Lobster Shack—the weathered, wood-shingled, two-story building just left of the dock that drifts out into the Atlantic—are heading to two of them.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I’m wearing my best winter coat, which is my only winter coat and is six years old. It’s a simple, camel-colored, wool thing that I hope still looks as classic and professional as it did when I bought it. This is a job interview after all, although I’m assured it’s informal.
“Hello?”
“Hey are you there yet?” My friend Aspen Barlowe asks me.
“I’m just about to head inside.”
“Okay awesome,” Aspen says. “Terra will love you, and you’ll love Terra.”
“I appreciate your confidence and this job lead, even if it seems kind of sketchy,” I reply and laugh a little as I continue toward the front door.
Aspen laughs louder than me. “You are so straight and narrow, Chloe Hale. I am going to loosen you up if it kills me. I promise it’s legit and legal, just complicated. Families always are.”
“Mine wasn’t,” I say and think of the simple, sweet, and drama-free upbringing I had with my parents, may they rest in peace. But then I remember Jackson’s tales of the trials and tribulations with his family and add, “but my husband’s was, so I get it.”
“Okay, so stop worrying and go in there and knock Terra off her tiny little feet with your ideas,” Aspen says in that confident, take-no-prisoners way she tends to talk. I envy it. She’s a force, Aspen Barlowe, like a hurricane or tornado. I’m more of a slight breeze. “Oh man do I miss tiny feet.”
I smile and try not to laugh. I do have sympathy for her. “Still swelling?”
“Yep,” Aspen says. “Hands and feet are like over-inflated balloons. Doc says it’s not uncommon. I hate it.”
“When you get to hold that little munchkin, you’ll forget all about it,” I promise her, like I have any clue. I’ve never had a baby. Never been pregnant. Likely never will be, which is something I refuse to deal with emotionally. “I gotta go. Interview time.”
“Update me afterward,” Aspen replies. “And also, enjoy the eye candy.”
“What?” I say but she’s already hung up.
Did she say eye candy? What eye candy will there be if I’m meeting with Terra, who Aspen described as her ex-bestie turned mortal enemy turned tentative friend who is dating her ex but not baby daddy. Like I said, Aspen is a tornado, which means her personal life is a bit chaotic.
I take a few more steps. My hip screams as I walk, but I force myself not to limp. Winter in Maine is not good for my previously broken bones.
When I reach the front door, I can’t help but notice a white-haired man in one of the Adirondack chairs by the door. He has his hands on the cane between his legs with his head tipped forward. And he’s snoring. Loudly.
“That’s just Mr. Butterfield,” a voice says from behind me and I spin to see a man who is very easy on the eyes. He’s broad, with an incredibly tall frame and jet-black hair, sharp, angular cheekbones, and dark, penetrating eyes. He’d look ominous if it wasn’t for the friendly, easy-going smile on his full lips. “He comes in a couple times a week and eats the biggest bowl of clam chowder we offer and a lobster roll platter with extra tail meat, and then he falls into a food coma on the chairs out here. Sometimes at his table, which is worse because the other customers don’t like to eat to the sound of his snoring. They prefer the sound of waves.”
“I don’t know,” I say and find myself smiling back. “I find it quite melodious.”
Tall, handsome stranger’s grin gets bigger. “I’ll let him know when he wakes up. He might just treat you to your own bowl of chowder.”
The man moves past me and reaches to open the door, and that’s when I see the Hawkins Lobster Shack logo on the front of his white t-shirt with the word Staff across his back. He holds open the door and as I step inside, I turn to face him. The eye candy comment Aspen left me with is starting to make sense.
The whole place smells like drawn butter, toasted garlic rolls, and creamy chowder, and my stomach rumbles so loud I think he might be able to hear it. “I’m here to meet with Terra Hawkins.”
His smile grows and takes on a mischievous glimmer. He leans close. “You’re the web designer aren’t you?” he whispers. “Her top secret, secret hire for her secret project.”
“Not that secret if we’re talking about it,” I reply and laugh quietly.
“We can talk freely for now,” he says and glances at the clock above the bar. “I’m Jake Maverick. I don’t even technically work here, just help out when my girl needs me. I’m dating Tink…I mean, Terra.”
Aspen’s ex. Damn. He is finer than fine. This Terra girl is a lucky woman. I shake his hand. “Nice to meet you. Chloe Hale.”
One of the servers whizzes by with a tray full of empty bowls and plates. “Mary can you please ask Tinkerbell to come out here?”
“Sure thing,” Mary calls over her shoulder as she walks between the counter and the bar and disappears behind a swinging door.
“Have a seat at the bar,” he advises. “I can fix you anything. Coffee? Milkshake? Name your pleasure.”
“Coffee, please.”
Jake grabs a mug and coffee pot and starts to pour. I watch him quietly as he works, shifting to the back bar and quickly gathering a ceramic bowl full of creamers, a spoon, and a sugar dispenser. He pauses to read a drink order that’s popped through on the computer screen by the cash, then places my coffee and the fixings in front of me and flashes me a smile before quickly filling the drink order.
“You’re good for a guy who just fills in occasionally.”
“I worked full-time here for years before I joined the fire department,” Jake says. I watch as his gaze shifts to the windows in the front doors. He frowns. “It’s chilly out. I need to get Mr. Butterfield a blanket. Terra will be out in a sec. Hold tight.”
He turns away from me and as soon as he disappears through the swinging door to the kitchen, a petite woman—I’d guess a few hairs over five feet—with dirty blonde, shoulder-length hair in a ponytail and wearing a Hawkins Lobster t-shirt walks straight over to me. “Hi. I’m Terra Hawkins. You’re Aspen’s friend?”
“Yes. I’m Chloe Hale,” I move to step off my stool, but she motions for me to stop.
“Please. sit. Enjoy your coffee. I need to do this very informally.” Terra leans on her elbows on the opposite side of the bar. I start to pull my resume from my bag, which I’ve hooked onto the back of my chair, but she’s motioning me to stop, so I do. I watch her eyes scan the room and then the parking lot through the plate glass window. “I’m the staff manager, head of payroll and the books, and I occasionally waitress.”
I nod as her eyes land back on me. “Handling the marketing stuff is new. And…I’m kind of doing this as a surprise for the rest of my family, so I can’t have them find out.”
“Terra Hawkins you sweet little thing!”
Terra’s eyes lift, and she chuckles at the female voice that just filled the room. I can’t help but glance over my shoulder. There’s a woman in her sixties standing behind me in head-to-toe denim with the curliest hair I’ve ever seen. It looks like she slept with rollers in and took them out without brushing her hair afterward…or maybe they’re still in there somewhere.
“Hi Mrs. Cofax! How are you today?” Terra says with a wide smile.
“Same ol’ same ol’ honey,” she replies. “How are you? Still seeing our fire captain?”
“Yes, Mrs. Cofax. Happily so,” Terra replies and gives me a look that says as much as an eye roll. “And he’s not Captain yet. Soon!”
“What about your friend? You single?”
I blink. Is she talking to me? Terra speaks again before I can. “You don’t have to answer that,” Terra whispers to me and then turns her head back to Mrs. Cofax. “Still looking for speed dating candidates? My mom told you, Mrs. Cofax, you can’t solicit our patrons.”
“Ah honey, come on. I’m like cupid trying to spread the love!” Mrs. Cofax walks right up to me, and I’m instantly overwhelmed by the scent of sickly sweet floral perfume. “Go see my daughter Priscilla in Freeport. She runs that speed dating night. Only five bucks a person to attend and a minimum two drinks, but they ain’t pricey. Scilla met not one but two husbands at these events, so there’s proof it works.”
I can see Terra bite her lip to keep a laugh from escaping. “That’s some food for thought. Speaking of food, how was yours today?”
“Excellent as always,” Mrs. Cofax replies and starts toward the door. “You tell your Mom hi from me.”
“I will,” Terra says as Jake comes out of the back with a gray fleece blanket, and Mrs. Cofax’s entire face lights up.
“Hi handsome. Any of those burly Hawkins boys hiding back there with you?”
“Sorry, Mrs. Cofax, but no,” he says as he walks to the door and holds it open for her.
She pats his shoulder as she passes and her voice carries as the door closes. “Well, be a dear and make sure they know about the speed dating. You may be taken, but those two are perpetually single, aren’t they? Perfect candidates!”
Terra lets out a breath and a soundless chuckle. I try not to join her but can’t hide the grin on my face. “We get all the characters in here,” Terra explains. “Ocean Pines has more than its fair share.”
“I’ve noticed,” I say and think of my neighbor, Mrs. Green, who is always in everyone’s business, and the Carter house at the end of my block that has so many lawn ornaments you can barely see their lawn.
Jake walks back in. “Mr. Butterfield will now have a toasty warm nap. Oh and Mrs. Cofax gave me her daughter’s number, in case you and I don’t pan out.”
“Lucky you,” Terra laughs, not the least bit bothered.
“So… I saw what you did to Aspen’s business website. It’s great. Professional without being boring. She raves about you. Told me you’re trying to build your freelancing career after moving here from Hawaii?” Terra says and I nod. I’m grateful Aspen didn’t give away too many details. Like the fact that I’ve been here five years and haven’t had a chance to get this business really going. Then she leans across the counter. “Why the hell does anyone leave Hawaii for Maine?”
“I inherited a house here. It would take me approximately seven hundred years to afford one in Hawaii, so I moved,” I explain, and while it’s true, it’s not the total truth. The total truth is too much for someone to handle in a job interview. And really, not something Terra needs to know about.
“I’m on a break now,” Mary announces as she breezes by me. “Back in fifteen.”
“Fair warning, Grump is dead asleep on the sofa in the break room,” Jake says to her, his smile disappearing for moment. “He worked an overnight shift and then got straight on the boat with Charlie all day.”
“I’ll try not to wake him,” she replies.
“Wake his ass,” Terra pipes up. “He has to go get his furball from my place anyway.”
I have no idea what or who they are talking about but as Mary disappears into the kitchen, I realize it doesn’t matter. I’m just enjoying the show.
Jake turns to Terra. “I’m gonna run down to the boat and make sure your dad doesn’t need something to eat.”
Terra nods at him, smiling like he hung the moon, but as soon as he’s out the door, she looks me dead in the eye, all business. “Do you work on retail sites? Ones that want, say, to sell product directly from the web?”
“Yep. Done that.” I tear open the creamer package and pour it into my coffee, then grab my spoon and try and think of specific, local examples. “Have you heard of Patti’s Parlor?”
“Of course. Patti is a friend of the family,” Terra replies, and I nod. “Jake is the one who gave her the idea to always have a homemade flavor of the month.”
I nod. “Well, I designed a website for them. One where you can purchase pints of the flavor of the month directly online and have it delivered.”
Terra smiles. “Cool. I didn’t even think of delivery. Why haven’t I thought of delivery? I mean if Patti can do it, why can’t we?”
She looks right at me like she expects me to answer that. I decide to just shrug as I lift my coffee mug to my lips. “There’s no reason you can’t. There is also a huge market in pick-up. I know people come here, order at the counter, and take it down to the beach or their boats, but what if they could order online and not have to wait around for it? They could just show up when it’s ready.”
“Oh my God, yes!” Terra claps her hands. “Watch the front, I’ll be back in a sec!”
Now I’m watching the restaurant? As Terra disappears through the swinging door to the kitchen, I can’t help but think this is truly the oddest interview I’ve ever been on. The kitchen door swings open again a second later, and I expect to see Mary or Terra, but someone new appears. Someone who makes Jake’s intense good looks seem like the low end of the scale. This guy is a hair shorter, probably six feet, with even wider shoulders, and chestnut hair. His strong, angular jaw is covered in thick, dark stubble. Not quite a beard but more of an aversion to shaving regularly. He’s in a dark gray Henley and a pair of bright orange rubber pants with suspenders that somehow appear sexy as he stalks over to the coffee pot. He barely glances at me, but in the brief moment our eyes connect, I notice his are a stormy but vibrant blue and he’s got the same chin dimple as Terra, only more pronounced. This has to be someone from her family. One of those single brothers Mrs. Cofax was asking about? I watch as he pours himself a cup of coffee then starts searching the countertops for something and muttering under his breath.
“I have cream and sugar over here.”
He glances up again. His blue eyes move from me to the coffee condiments in front of me. This guy does not have the same friendly, jovial vibe as everyone else. He’s solemn and intense. He gives me a curt, tight half-smile as he walks over and reaches for an unused creamer. I clear my throat. “I’m Chloe.”
“Oh. Cool,” he says with zero enthusiasm in his tone. Zero anything, really. He sounds almost robotic and he must realize it because as he stirs his coffee, he lets out a sigh. “Sorry. I’ve been on the fishing boat since five this morning, so I’m groggy to say the least.”
The conversation from earlier between Jake, Mary, and Terra comes back to me, and my voice raises with my understanding. “Oh, you’re the grump asleep in the back.”
Oh my God did I just blurt that out? Crap.
His eyes narrow on me and his face, which wasn’t jovial to begin with, drops into an unmistakable scowl. “What?”
“Jake said you were sleeping in the back. Well, he said the grump was sleeping in the back after working all night and then going out on the boat,” I say, and just keep on rambling like a lunatic. “I don’t think you’re a grump. I don’t know you at all, and if I had worked an overnight shift and then got on a boat to work some more, I would be tired too, I’m sure. I just…I was just repeating what I heard. I mean, not that I do that. Repeat stuff. Gossip. I don’t. I just—”
Terra bursts through the swinging door, now holding a laptop. Her eyes move to the guy standing in front of me and rightfully looking at me like I should be committed. “I see you’ve met my brother Logan.”
“Logan? Yes. I guess I did.”
“You’re telling strangers I’m a grump now?” Logan asks his sister, an eyebrow arched.
“You’re growling at me, grump,” Terra replies and Logan grunts and leaves, disappearing with his coffee through the kitchen door.
I put down my empty coffee mug. “So, I’m sorry about that…mentioning the grump thing.”
“Whatever. He is. I say it to his face constantly,” Terra looks up from the laptop screen. “I really like what you did with Patti’s website. It’s quirky but professional, just like the business.”
“Thanks.”
Terra spins the laptop toward me, and the website on the screen is one I don’t recognize. The background is navy blue and the accents are goldenrod. The font is a formal script and there’s no real imagery except some stock photography ocean pictures and one of a lobster in a tank. “Does this website scream multi-generational business run by simple Mainers who care about their community?”
I lean closer and scour everything I can see on the site. I don’t have time to figure out how to give her a constructive, honest answer before she continues to speak. Well, rant, actually.
“Does this bougie monstrosity make you think of a restaurant with a weekly seniors’ special? The kind of place old Mr. Butterfield comes to eat his weight in lobster and nap or where Mr. Hobbs comes for chowder before visiting his wife’s grave every week? Or a place that donates leftovers to homeless shelters or participates in local fairs and has a lobster shaped float in the Fourth of July parade?”
“No. Definitely not,” I say emphatically. “This is a fancier place. Maybe in Portland? The kind of place that tourists flock to for trendy holiday meals but locals avoid.”
“Exactly! You’re hired!” Terra exclaims. “As long as you didn’t tell Logan why you’re here.”
“What? No. I didn’t tell him, but why does that matter?” I ask.
“My brother Declan, you haven’t met him, he’s currently at some business seminar or convention or some garbage in Boston,” Terra explains, leaning closer. “He had this site built last year by some fancy agency in Boston that didn’t even do research. They just went off his vision.”
Terra makes exaggerated air quotes as she says that last word and then rolls her eyes. I have to bite back a smile. “I love him, but he doesn’t see this restaurant for what it is. And he doesn’t listen when we all say that we like it homey and simple. So I’m taking control and retooling the website. But the less people who know about this in my family, the better.”
“Okay…” I reply cautiously. “Who knows and who doesn’t? How many of you are there? Aspen acted like she was referring me for some spy operation and now I understand why.”
Terra nods. “There’s so many of us, I’ve lost count. Let’s see…Logan can’t know. My brother Finn also shouldn’t know. He has a big mouth. Nova, who works here, is Declan’s wife. She doesn’t like the current website either, but I don’t want to put her in the position where she has to lie to him. Basically, don’t say anything to anyone but Jake and I. Ultimately, you’ll report to me and only me and shouldn’t talk about it with any other Hawkins or Hawkins-adjacent person. Is that okay?”
I nod. “But I haven’t even told you my rates.”
“Will it be more than you charged Patti? Because I called her when I was in the back and she told me what you charged her, and we can totally work with that.”
“I can charge you the same rate as Patti,” I say.
Terra grins and extends her hand. “Deal!”
I shake it but can’t help but advise, “I have a contract that I usually have clients sign with a payment schedule and a scope of the project. To avoid any confusion.”
“Did Patti sign that?”
“She did…well, she drew a star on the signature line,” I admit, and we both start laughing.
“In Ocean Pines, a person’s word isn’t made more significant by a signature,” Terra explains. “But of course I’ll sign it.”
“Okay. I’ll email it to you later tonight, with the app quote,” I say and get off the stool. Terra grabs a business card from a holder by the register and pulls a pen from her pocket and scrawls her personal email on the back.
“Sounds great. I like you, Chloe. This is going to be a great partnership.”
“I think so too,” I say as I wave good-bye.
Despite my hip still aching and the smoking car I have to drive home in, I feel lighter and happier leaving Hawkins Lobster Shack than I did walking in. It’s such an unfamiliar feeling that I almost get uncomfortable. Happiness and contentment hasn’t come easy in recent years.
In the corner of the parking lot, next to a beat up, old, green SUV, is Logan. As he’s fighting his way out of those rubber overall thingies, his Henley lifts and I can’t help but glimpse his abs and the dark chestnut treasure trail. He kicks at the pants and finally steps out of them. Now he’s bending over to pick them up, and his ass is pressed against his jeans and damn, that’s a work of art too.
He finally notices me as he tosses the pants into the back of his SUV. He gives me a sheepish grin, and it’s so appealing my lips automatically respond with a matching one.
“Hey. So you waitressing for us?” He blinks when my smile drops and I stare back confused. “You were meeting with Terra, so I just thought it was for a waitressing gig. We’re looking for a part-timer.”
“No I…” I remember Terra said to keep the website gig on the down-low. “I didn’t get it.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s not the end of the world,” I reply and pull my car keys out of my purse. “I’ve got to focus on renting out my apartment anyway.”
He stares at me a little longer than feels normal before he nods. “Hope you have better luck finding a roommate then.”
“No, not a roommate. I inherited this big old house. There was a storage room and double garage on the ground floor that I turned it into a two-bedroom apartment so I can rent it out for extra cash,” I explain and then scold myself. Shut up Chloe. He doesn’t need to know this. “Anyway…nice meeting you.”
I quickly walk over to my car and don’t realize he’s following me until I toss my purse onto the passenger seat and his deep baritone is right behind me. “How much for the apartment?”
“What?” I do that silly thing people do where they say ‘what’ even though they heard the question. I shake my head a little. “Oh. Umm…I was thinking six hundred a month.”
“That’s cheap. What’s wrong with it?” Logan wants to know. “Bad neighborhood? Faulty plumbing? Are you a serial killer?”
I laugh – a short burst of noise – and cover my mouth immediately, which makes him grin. It’s a hell of a grin. “I’m not a serial killer. I promise. The second bedroom is tight. Can probably only fit a twin bed but the plumbing is fine. I hired a pro for that and the wiring. And the neighborhood is on the west side, walking distance to the ocean. Rent is on the lower side because I care more about the right tenant than the money. I need to feel comfortable with my choice since the person will be under my roof and it’s the only roof I own. Well, the bank owns most of it, but you know what I mean.”
“I don’t suppose you take pets?” Logan asks, his expression is bordering on a frown expecting me to say no.
“I’m a huge animal lover so I definitely wouldn’t exclude pets.”
“I’d like to rent it,” Logan says firmly. “I’ve been looking for a place for a while. It sounds right.”
“You don’t want to see it first?”
“Yeah. I can see it. What about now?”
“Umm…I guess. Yeah,” I say awkwardly. This is all so unexpected.
“Cool. What’s your address?” Logan replies and pauses. I must look as unsure as I feel because he smiles at me again, this time all his brooding and angst seem to be gone. “I promise, I’m not a serial killer either. And you know who my family is,” he says as he points to the restaurant.
We both laugh and then I tell him the address. “I’ll just grab my pup so you can meet him and head right over.”
I nod and get back into my car as he jogs towards his. The weirdest job interview I’ve ever had is quickly turning into the weirdest day. I can’t help but wonder what the heck will happen next?
