Nick grinned and held up his beer. “This. Usually with friends, but no one wanted to come out and play tonight. If you mean hobbies—well, I love to fish. It’s almost like meditation. My job is so hectic all the time, and I love that, but when I fish, I can spend hours soaking up the silence, enjoying the calm by the ocean. That probably sounds kind of goofy?”

Bella smiled, though. “Not at all. I used to love to go fishing, too, with my dad up in the mountains of Vermont. It’s been a lot of years, though.”

“Well, if you ever feel like going again, you’re welcome to join me. Sundays are the day I usually go if I don’t have other plans. I pack a lunch, maybe a few beers, and a radio and make an afternoon of it.”

Bella grabbed a pen from the bar and jotted her cell phone number on a cardboard coaster and handed it to him. “Please let me know when you go next. Like I said, I’m here for a few months, so I’d be grateful for something to do. And I was actually hoping I might get to fish.”

Nick took the coaster and put it in his pocket. “Will do. We have a family thing this Sunday but let’s tentatively plan on the one after.”

Bella tried to stifle a yawn and failed. “I’m sorry. The day finally caught up with me. I think I’m going to head up to my room. It’s been nice chatting with you, though. Definitely count me in for that Sunday.”

“You got it. Sleep well, Bella.”

He watched her go and was already looking forward to their afternoon adventure. She was a pretty girl and easy to talk to. And there was something so familiar about her. But that didn’t make sense. He’d definitely never met her before.

Chapter 8

Monday morning arrived and Paula felt a sense of dread as she headed into work. It was Andrea’s first day back in her new role as head of the concierge team. She hoped that Andrea wouldn’t be too furious with her. Paula knew it wasn’t her fault, but she still felt a sense of guilt as she did take her cousin’s job. Her grandfather assured her that he would have let Andrea go regardless and just called the search out. But Paula knew Andrea often held a grudge—especially, for some reason, with her.

She didn’t run into her cousin until mid-afternoon when she had to go to the front desk to help with a computer issue. Andrea was at the concierge desk by herself and was chatting with an older couple. Paula gave her a wave as she walked by, but Andrea just glared coldly at her before turning her attention back to the guests. Paula sighed. It was pretty much what she’d expected.