Harlow carries her own plate and coffee to the counter, sitting on the stool next to me, her foot tangling with mine. “You look like crap,” she says, looking at my mouth like she wants to lick it.

“So do you.” I look at her perfect tits, all perky and fuckable in her little running tank. “I’m almost embarrassed for you.”

She tilts her head, exposing her long, tanned neck. “Hideous?”

“Revolting.” I reach forward, wiping a tiny smear of frosting from her lower lip.

She stares as I stick my thumb in my mouth, sucking the frosting off, and I blink away, working to get my shit together. This isn’t how we keep our clothes on and stay friends-only. This is how she ends up ass-up on the couch, getting spanked and fucked until dinnertime.

It’s so strange being with her like this: eating in companionable silence and having it feel so... normal. This is what I have to remember: Sex with Harlow is amazing, but being friends with her isn’t so bad, either.

“Thanks for breakfast,” I say, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

“No problem. Like I said, I think better when I run, and unfortunately for my half-Latina ass, the bakery is right at the end of the best running trail in La Jolla. Now let’s get back to the reason behind my visit: fixing your problem.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I don’t need you to—”

“Shut up. I have ideas.”

It’s obvious Harlow has made up her mind, so I decide to humor her. Instead of telling her not to bother, that I’ve probably thought of it all already, I reach over and tear off a chunk of the center of her cinnamon roll, popping it in my mouth.

She scowls at me. “That was the best bite. You’re a menace.”

“Mmm hmm,” I hum around it.

She turns on her stool to face me. “What about tourists? Taking people out on your boat?”

I swallow, washing the bite down with a gulp of coffee. “No way.”

“Why?”

“Commercial fishing boats are dangerous places, Snap. Things fall, lines get tangled, people trip. No way am I having a bunch of paying idiots wandering around my boats.”

“Okay,” she says. “What about investors?”

“You think I haven’t thought about that?”

“There has to be someone who—”

“The only reason people loan money is to make money. The fishing industry isn’t just going to recover overnight,” I tell her. “Development, climate change, disease, it’s all had an impact and as far as I can see, it won’t get better anytime soon. I can’t borrow money if I don’t have the hope of paying it back.”