Love On Anchor Island: An Anchor Island Novel

her.
“I’m actually here to introduce you to my other newest employee.” Will waved for someone at the next stand over, and a leggy blonde joined them. “Lauren Riley, this is Roxie Chandler. You met her cousin Beth at the crafts booth earlier.” As Roxie shook the newcomer’s hand, Will added, “Lauren is our new chef at the Marina restaurant.”
“You own that now?” Nick said, coming up behind Roxie and scaring the crap out of her.
“Warn a girl,” she said, but he was too focused on the chef to listen.
“We bought it last month when it went up for sale. Since Randy already has Anchor Adventures attached to the marina, it made sense to own the rest of the property.”
Roxie had once asked Beth exactly what Will did that she and her husband owned so many businesses. In addition to the adventures and the wedding planning was a fitness center, and now the restaurant. The details given were sketchy, but Will’s family had some attachment to old money, and she’d chosen to use her part of it to better the island.
“So you’re a chef?” Nick said, as if he hadn’t heard from the back. The man was obvious as hell and looked like a dog annoyed that another was sniffing around his territory.
“I am,” the woman said with the hint of a Boston accent. “Are you on grill duty today?”
“I’m head chef at Dempsey’s,” he informed her. “The name’s Nick Stamatis.”
Roxie looked to Will with brows arched. She’d only ever heard him referred to as head cook, but far be it from her to correct him. This had the potential of being a real pissing match, and Lauren looked like she could more than hold her own.
“Really?” The grin said Lauren sensed a challenge. “Where’d you go to school?”
Nick flinched, but only Roxie was close enough to see it. “I learned on the job. You?”
“Le Cordon Bleu,” she replied, the grin widening into a full smile. “But I’m sure your training was good, too.” Turning to Will, she said, “I found a stand offering fresh fish. I’m going to check it out. It was nice to meet you, Roxie.” Nick was pointedly left out of the goodbye.
“Well,” Roxie said, “that was fun.”
Nick snarled as he watched the new competition walk away, and then returned to his grill.
Will leaned forward and lowered her voice. “If he chases off my new chef, I’m going to turn him into a conch fritter.”
“Did you not see how she sliced him at the knees? I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Nick could stand to have his ego knocked back a few pegs, and the blonde appeared up to the task.
“I hope you’re right. Gotta run. If I don’t get by again, I’ll see you at the office on Monday.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Order up,” Nick snapped louder than before, and Roxie wondered how long this cranky streak was going to last. The male ego was such a fickle thing.
After passing the food to the waiting customer, she spotted Alex coming her way, and her mood lifted. “Hey there, handsome. Interested in something hot and spicy?”
He dropped a kiss on her lips. “I am, and I’ll have some food, too.”
Roxie laughed, loving how his green eyes sparkled when he flirted. “Which do you want? Fritter or burger?”
“Fritter, please, and make it two.”
He handed over a twenty as she said, “Feeling hungry, huh?”
With a casual tone, he replied, “One for me and one for my date.”
She wasn’t scheduled to leave the stand for another hour, so who the hell was his date? “Come again?”
“You’re off the clock, Miss Roxie,” said Patty Dempsey, stepping through the flaps at the side of the stand. “Our good doctor is springing you early.”
“Why?” she asked, uncomfortable leaving before the end of her shift.
The Dempsey matriarch pushed her along before handing two fritters to Alex. “When a handsome young man comes to take you away, you go, my dear.” With a wink at Alex, she shoved Roxie out of the tent.
“Okay. Geez. No need to be so pushy.” Taking her hand, Alex led her to his car at the edge of the festival grounds. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Roxie did not like surprises. “Are we leaving the island?”
“Nope.”
He opened the passenger door, and she reluctantly climbed in. “I don’t like this.”
“You will,” he said and closed the door.
Less than five minutes later, after she’d drilled him with questions—which he evaded—for the entirety of the drive, he parked the car at the end of a lane. Roxie assumed they were walking onto the beach, but instead he escorted her to the front of a white waterfront cottage sporting blue shutters and a narrow front porch. Roxie had helped repair the interior, and it had been one of her favorites.
“What is this?”
Holding out a key, he said, “It’s your new home.”
Had he bumped his head? “My what?”
“You said you wanted a place of your own. I asked Sam if he could spare a summer rental for a long-term guest, and he gladly came through. Beth, Sid, Will, and Callie all had a hand in the furnishings, so if there’s anything you don’t like, you can take it up with them.”
Roxie couldn’t believe it. A place of her own. She’d never been able to afford an apartment by herself in Richmond. Now she not only had her own place, but a beautiful view to go with it.
“Can we go inside?” she asked, anxious to see what her friends had created for her.
“Of course.” Alex dropped the key into her hand. “Go for it.”
Unable to control her excitement, Roxie ran onto the porch, then struggled to unlock the door with her shaking hands. Finally, the key turned, and she stepped into a beautiful, beach-themed bungalow, full of soft whites, muted blues, and hints of yellow.
“Oh, Alex. It’s perfect.”
“Yes, you are,” he said, and she spun to see his eyes on her. “Are you happy?”
She nodded as tears threatened. This man was turning her into a sap. “I’m