Chelsea had shown up, all right, and hadn’t budged from her stool by Theo’s hut the whole morning. It was like she was chaperoning him or something. I came over every chance I got, but at this point, I was about to float away from all the drinks he kept making me. We were acting like a flirty couple, but Chelsea did not seem to be taking the hint. Or maybe she just didn’t care. It was hard to tell.

Around one, I was trying to quickly eat the turkey sandwich Theo handed me during my break. “Thanks, babe,” I said, leaning over to brush his hair off his forehead. I could hear Chelsea hiss on the other side of the bar.

Theo pressed his lips together and leaned over the bar toward me. “Why isn’t she leaving? I’ve done my best to ignore her and flirt with you. What am I doing wrong?”

I peeked around him. Chelsea’s eyes were glued to us. “She’s stubborn, isn’t she? We’ll just have to up our game.” Speaking louder, I arched my spine. “Sweetie, my back has a knot in it. Could you help me out?”

Theo rolled his eyes, since Chelsea couldn’t see his face, but managed to make his answer sound suggestive. “Sure thing, Sadie.”

Coming around from behind the bar, he slid up close to me and dug his thumbs into the tender flesh along my spine, rubbing in circles. I arched more and groaned, trying to play it up. “Oh yeah, right there. Your hands are amazing.”

Theo ducked his head and whispered in my ear. “I can’t take much more. I’m going to bend you over the bar and shove my tongue down your throat in a minute if she doesn’t leave soon. Think that’ll get the point across?”

Chelsea fumed at me, the flames from her eyes almost searing me with their intensity. “Theo!” I squealed, swatting his hip. “Not at work.” I giggled and pressed my hands to my cheeks, like he had said something naughty.

With a huff, Chelsea slid off her stool and marched away, shooting one last glare in my direction.

Theo froze behind me, his hands still on my back. “It worked, didn’t it?”

I smiled at him smugly. “What’d I tell you?”

Giving me a quick hug, Theo resumed his position behind the bar. “You’re the best. I owe you.”

Nodding my emphatic agreement, I wadded up the wax paper with the remains of my lunch.

As I walked to the trash can, I almost ran smack into Aubrey, who was rounding the corner with three other perfectly-coiffed clones of hers. I stepped back, indicating for them to go ahead.

Aubrey stopped and removed her sunglasses, looking me over. I crossed my arms self-consciously, well aware that her chic resort-wear looked a lot more polished than my modest red two-piece bikini, messy bun, and bare feet. Her friends stopped behind her.

“Girls,” Aubrey started, tipping her head to one side. “This is Sadie. The photographer I told you about.”

“Sadie? I had a dog named Sadie once,” one of them sniffed. She had on mirrored sunglasses, so I couldn’t see her eyes.

My blood boiled, but I bit my tongue and waited, curious what this was all about.

“Those photos of Aubrey came out really nice,” another one said, elbowing the other girl in the side.

Aubrey smiled. “Of course they did. She might be rather plain-looking herself, but she knows how to capture real beauty with a camera. It’s truly a gift. And I told her I’d help spread the word so she could expand her business. I’m sure she’d like to have a real job by now, instead of just playing lifeguard at her age. You ladies will help me with that, won’t you?”

Reaching out, she patted my arm. “Good to see you again, Sadie.” As she pulled her arm back, she rubbed her fingers together like I’d soiled her. Slipping her sunglasses back on, she sailed past without waiting for a response, her friends following dutifully in her wake.

I stood there, dumbfounded.

What. A. Bitch.

She’d just insulted me to my face. Yeah, she sort of wrapped it in a compliment, but, damn. And I hadn’t even tried to speak up for myself, which pissed me off just as much. Not that there was anything I could say with the way she worded it without sounding ungrateful. Plus, she was a hotel guest, and I was an employee. I was here to serve her weasily little ass. I forced my fingers to relax from the tight fists I had made and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She wanted to get a rise out of me, and I didn’t plan on giving her the satisfaction.

Aubrey could go to hell. And if West wanted me, he could have me, regardless of his status with Aubrey. It would serve her right either way. Pushing her from my mind, I dumped my trash and got back to work, spending the rest of the afternoon being the bad guy to a bunch of kids intent on playing water volleyball without a net.

By the time my last break of the day rolled around, Chelsea had reappeared and was once again fixated on all things Theo. I rested my elbows on the counter, watching Theo make me yet another lemonade. Chelsea eyed me and then turned back to Theo, reaching out to touch his hand. “Doesn’t this place close soon, baby?”

Theo shot me a desperate look. “Yeah, but—”

“But we have plans,” I interrupted, adjusting my bikini straps and batting my eyes at Theo. “Don’t we, baby?” I mimicked Chelsea’s tone on the last word. She scowled at me.

“Right! So, as much as I’d like to, I can’t hang with you tonight.” Theo tried to let her down easy.

I was annoyed. It had been a freaking long day, and she wasn’t one for subtlety. He’d ignored her most of the day, giving her one-word answers to her questions, and she seemed oblivious to all the times he and I had flirted and touched. Chelsea was alone in her own little Theo bubble, and he needed to pop it, stat. From what I had gathered during my breaks, she had about as much substance as her fake boobs, and he was going to have to spell it out for her, or this would never end.

“Where are y’all going?” she purred, leaning forward so most of her chest spilled out of her bikini top.

I shook my head at him, trying to warn him off, but he answered, “The Wreck,” before I could stop him. Fuck! I hadn’t told him I was planning to go to the Wreck tonight to meet West, and I didn’t want him showing up there too. This day just kept getting better.

“Where’s that?” Chelsea asked, looking puzzled.

“It’s kind of a far drive,” I interrupted, shooting Theo a hard look. “Back roads with no names, things like that.”

He finally seemed to pick up on my clues. “Yeah, it’s just this hole in the wall. Not your style at all.”

She looked thrilled that Theo knew her style. I wanted to bang my head on the countertop. Taking my lemonade from him, I headed back to my lifeguard stand. “See you in an hour, honey!” I called back over my shoulder, blowing him a kiss for good measure. He so owed me.

* * *

By the time I dropped Theo back at Starbucks and got home after work, it was six-thirty. Taking a quick shower, I debated the wisdom of even meeting West. My gut warned me that he wasn’t going to be easy to forget when this was over, regardless of his baggage with Aubrey. Should I risk it? Maybe I was better off just sticking with tourists for the summer, like Rue did. But then I looked at my bed and remembered our night together. Who wouldn’t want more of that?