My lips twitched as I tried to hold back my laugh. “The studio has a lot of empty space.”

Brody sighed. “And I like it that way. Leaves room for creativity.”

My shoulders slumped as I set down the anchor. “Fine. But I get to decorate the office space in the loft.”

“Deal. Now can we please get out of here? I’m starving.”

I stretched up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to the corner of his mouth. “You’ve been a very good boy, and I promise I’ll reward you later.”

Brody’s dark eyes heated. “Never mind. I’ll stay as long as you want.”

I chuckled and lowered myself back to my heels, heading for the register. Bell looked up from where she was carefully packing our purchases into a few bags. “Find everything you needed?”

“More than we needed,” Brody grumbled.

Bell grinned. “You sound like Ford when I force him to go to an estate sale with me.”

Brody’s gaze darted to me. “No estate sales. Please, no estate sales.”

I held up both hands. “I promise, I’m done.”

Bell handed two bags to Brody and one to me. “Maybe I’ll get you to come with me next time.”

“I’d like that.” The words were out before I could reconsider the wisdom of them. And I found I wanted to go. Without realizing it, I had become a part of a community. And I was starting to have the friends I’d always wished I had. They might not know my deepest secrets, but they were starting to know me. The person that I was still discovering myself.

“Awesome. I’ll text you whenever the next one comes around,” she said.

I glanced at Brody and then back to Bell. “And you guys should come out for another barbeque. Maybe next weekend?”

“Only if there are s’mores.”

“I’m doubling the supplies I got last time.”

Bell laughed. “Like the smart woman you are. We’re in.”

We said our goodbyes and pulled on ballcaps and sunglasses before heading out to Main Street. The reporters seemed to have headed back to Seattle, but it was better to play it safe. Brody wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer into his side. “I do believe you made social plans of your own free will.”

“It’s okay, right? That I invited them over?” I’d become so comfortable with Brody that I hadn’t even considered I might need to ask for permission. But he was still my boss, and the island belonged to him, not me.

Brody scowled down at me. “Shay, it’s your home, too. Invite whoever you want, whenever you want.”

I relaxed a fraction in his hold. “I’m still not sure what the right balance is here. We’re together, but you’re still my boss.”