Page 3 of Summer Affair

“I’ll cover for you,” he agreed easily.

The smile she flashed him was all the reward he needed, but then she surprised him by wrapping her arms around him before dashing back down the pathway.

He stepped into the main building on the campgrounds and waved to Beth as he walked by the front desk. Beth, a young dark-haired woman who was always cheerful yet had a sad look behind her amber eyes, waved back at him as she continued to talk on the phone.

He made his way down the hallway and knocked on Elle’s office door. He stepped in when she called out for him to enter.

Elle sat behind her large desk while Zoey and Hannah sat in chairs facing her. Elle waved him in and waited until he shut the door.

“Is it done?” Elle asked him eagerly.

He nodded and the three friends squealed with delight.

“When?” Hannah asked.

“Tomorrow evening,” he answered with a grin.

“Remember, no one can find out until then,” Zoey said, her eyes narrowing at him.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. “The Wildflowers and their secret missions.”

“Hey, when you’re married and trying to keep secrets from your spouse, you’ll understand why we have to go to such lengths.” Elle pointed a finger at him.

“Isn’t this sort of stupid?” he asked and all three women glared at him. “I mean, it’s the anniversary of when you hired them, not your weddings or birthdays or anything.”

“It’s the most important of anniversaries.” Zoey stood up slowly. “If those three men hadn’t strolled into our lives”—she waved towards her two friends—“then we wouldn’t be Costas. Sisters for real.” Zoey smiled at Hannah and Elle. “That day nine years ago changed all of our lives.”

“Which is why we’re tricking them and throwing a party.” Hannah smiled.

“You three are always throwing parties,” he pointed out. “It’s sort of your job.”

They all laughed. “This one is for us, not guests,” Elle said. “Thank you for your part.”

He shrugged. “All I did was ask them to lend me a hand tomorrow night moving some stuff. I sort of think they suspected something.”

It wasn’t as if he didn’t normally hang out with Owen, Dylan, or Liam Costas all the time anyway. Hell, when Owen and Hannah had moved a few years back, he’d been there helping load and unload the truck along with a few other guys that he worked with.

When he’d asked the three brothers about the next night, they hadn’t so much as raised a brow in suspicion, which in itself was a warning they suspected something.

“Thank you,” Elle said standing up. “We’ll take it from here.” She rubbed her hands together. “Oh, you will be there tomorrow, right?”

He nodded. “I’m off, but I’ll be there.”

The three friends smiled at him and, before they could drag him into another one of their crazy and fun schemes, he walked out of the room.

Nine years. Had he really been working here that long? It seemed like just yesterday. He’d never worked at a job more than six months before coming here.

Waiting tables wasn’t a boring job. No job at River Camps was. Still, for the rest of the day, while he served food, cleared tables, and refereed a few volleyball games, he thought about Andrea’s offer.

Maybe it was time for a change. He was going to be thirty at the end of the year and what did he really have to show for it?

A shithole apartment above a laundromat, a truck whose payments ate up most of his tips each month, and a phone full of numbers belonging to women he’s stopped seeing because, let’s face facts, they weren’t Andrea.

Right after the lunch rush was over, he made his way to the building that was still called the pool house but held four massage rooms, tanning beds, and a sauna, in addition to changing rooms for anyone needing to switch into swim attire. It sat directly next to the largest pool on the grounds, which had a large outdoor bar where guests could order food and drinks. The sandy volleyball area sat directly opposite the pool house on the other side of the pool. It was one of the busiest locations on the grounds come summer months.

Now, with the sun high in the sky, there were a handful of guests lounging around the pool, but the water was still only seventy degrees, so no one was in the water yet.

Inside, there were four guests in the waiting area, and he wondered if he’d have to wait to talk to Andrea.