“You too.” Griff watched Brett walk, his fingers sliding along the wooden rail at the edge of the pier, then answered his still-vibrating phone.
“Hey. Everything okay?” he asked Ember.
“I need you to sing for me,” she pleaded.
He shook his head. “Not again. Where’s Lucas?”
“He’s working. And I can’t get ahold of Jack or Breck. You’re the only one who can help.”
“Why can’t you sing?” Griff asked. “You have to know the words by now.”
“Because Arthur only calms down when a male voice sings to him,” Ember said, her voice tight. “And he’s been screaming all night.”
Now that she said it, Griff could hear the muffled wails of his godson through the phone line. And damn if he didn’t have a soft spot for that little kid. At eight months old, Arthur always grinned toothily whenever Griff was around.
“Okay. Put the phone to his ear.” Griff sighed.
“Thank you,” Ember breathed. “Did I say you’re my favorite guy?”
There was an abrupt change in sound, as Arthur’s sobs and sniffles increased. “Hey buddy, you teething again?”
There was a brief moment of silence, followed by another loud cry.
“Please start singing,” Ember begged.
Griff leaned on the wooden rail and looked out across the bay, his phone at his ear. To the right, the lights of Angel Sands were sparkling in the night air. To the left was the dark abyss of the Pacific Ocean, lit by a sliver of the moon.
He couldn’t remember which of them had first discovered that Arthur stopped crying every time he heard “Baby Shark”. But he did remember that each of them had tried it, and Arthur had only fallen asleep when a man sang it.
Usually it would be Lucas who had to look like an ass and sing that song. It was only right – he was Arthur’s dad, after all. But when he was on duty as the captain of the local fire station, one of Arthur’s godfathers had to step in.
Tonight was his lucky night.
“Baby Shark, doo-doo-de-doo-doo-doo,” Griff sang softly down the phone. “Baby Shark, doo-doo-de-doo-doo-doo.” Arthur’s sobs quieted, but didn’t stop altogether.
“Try a little louder,” Ember encouraged him.
Griff shook his head and continued, his voice picking up volume, and Arthur started to babble softly.
“That’s it. Keep going,” Ember encouraged again.
“Mommy Shark, doo-doo-de-doo-doo-doo,” Griff continued.
“A bit louder. It’s doing the trick,” Ember told him.
“Daddy Shark…” To his right, Griff saw some movement. Somebody – a woman – was walking past Delmonico’s and was heading his way.
“Don’t stop now,” Ember urged. “Come on, keep singing.”
“Grandma Shark, doo-doo-de-doo-doo-doo.” He felt like a fool.
The woman turned to look at him, her eyebrows rising with amusement. Jesus, she was pretty. And overdressed, too, for Angel Sands, in a pair of tight designer jeans and a blouse, a short navy wool jacket over the top. But it was her shoes that drew him in. Most women around here wore sandals or flip flops, but she was wearing black patent pumps with a red sole and heels that seemed to go on forever.
“Are you okay?” Griff asked her, covering the mouthpiece. “The exit is that way.” He inclined his head toward the beach.
“I’m fine.” Her voice was clipped. She blinked as she looked at him, her gaze taking him in.
Arthur began to wail again. Shit. “I… ah… I gotta keep singing,” he said, pointing at his phone. Damn, he was lame.
Her lips twitched. “Sure. It’s a good song.” He watched for a moment as she walked up the pier and disappeared behind Delmonico’s, before he started to sing again. It usually took a couple of minutes to get Arthur back to sleep, and most of the time he didn’t mind helping. But right now he’d rather be following those lithe legs and peachy behind than singing about goddamn sharks.
A minute later, she was walking back, just as he heard Arthur’s breathing settle into a gentle rhythm. By the time Ember ended the call, the woman with the sexy heels was almost at the end of the pier, too far away for him to catch up with, unless he wanted to look like he was trying too hard.
And he never wanted to look like that.
3
Parking her rental car, Autumn climbed out and walked across the parking lot to the coffee shop that overlooked the beach.
It was her first full day in Angel Sands, and she was still getting used to how different everything was here. The brightness of the sun, the crashing of the waves against the ocean. Even the smells were completely alien to her New York nose. Instead of gasoline and overheated concrete, the air was full of salt and ozone, and the gorgeous smell of caffeine drifting from the café before her.
“What can I get you?” the barista asked as Autumn wandered up to the counter.
“A large decaf latte with no foam, please,” Autumn said, leaning on the counter and looking around.
“You’re new around here, right?”
She glanced up at the barista as she was reaching for an oversized mug.
“I am.” Autumn wrinkled her nose. “What gave me away? Was it my order? My accent?”
“Nope. I’ve lived here for all my life, worked in this place for the last ten years, and I don’t recognize your face.” The woman shrugged. “Though I don’t get many no foam orders around here. I’m Ally,” she said reaching her hand out for Autumn to shake.
“Autumn.” She shook it quickly.
“Are you here on vacation?” Ally asked as she poured the milk into a stainless steel jug.
“Not really. I just bought the pier.”
Ally’s mouth fell open as she slowly put the jug down. “You’re the one who bought Paxton’s Pier?”
Her shock would have been funny if Autumn didn’t still feel the same way herself. “Um, yeah. That’d be me.”
“Do you work for a real estate company?” Ally asked, filling an espresso cup with a double shot, then pouring it into the milk.
“No company. Just me.” Autumn took the coffee from Ally and pulled her wallet out.
“Oh no. This one’s on the house,” Ally told her. “So what are your plans for the pier?” She shook her head. “Sorry, that’s really nosy of me. It’s just been for sale for the longest time. It needs so much work.”
“Yeah. I can see that,” Autumn said dryly. “And to be honest, I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. I’ve called a meeting for all the interested parties tonight to try and get started.”
“Are you planning to stay in town for a while?”
“I guess. I need to find somewhere a little more permanent. The Silver Sands Resort is nice, but I can’t live in a hotel room forever.”
“Hmmm.” Ally tapped her finger against her lips. “You know what, I’ve got a friend with an empty, fully furnished cottage. They were talking about renting it out. I can call them for you if you like? It’s little, but it’s walking distance from the pier, and it’s been completely modernized.”