Love Is Here to Stay (Hazel Island Book 3) Read online

  "Jason, why did you have to die?" Aaron whispered to himself as he went to his office and shut the door. On his desk was a framed photo of his brother's family taken only a few months before Jason and his wife, Ashley, had died.

  Jason had always been the one who'd known what to do. But he wasn't here. So Aaron was muddling through, all the while knowing he was making a mess of things.

  Aaron picked up the photo but seeing his brother's smiling face made him angry. Angry, because it wasn't fair that Jason had died so young. Angry, because if anyone should've died, it should've been Aaron.

  Aaron sighed. He had work to do before scrabbling together a dinner for the kids. Not that they couldn't make their own meals, but Aaron felt obligated. Ashley had always cooked dinners for her family. Aaron had been invited to their house for dinner often, back when things were happy and normal.

  Aaron shook himself. He couldn't let himself fall into a black hole of despair. No, he could think about other things.

  He smiled to himself as he thought of his surprise encounter with his mystery woman. When he'd been visiting Hazel Island earlier in the summer, he'd been walking along the beach when he'd run into her. And against his better judgment, he'd kissed her.

  He should've known she wasn't just a tourist he'd never see again. It seemed as though she lived here.

  Aaron had met plenty of beautiful, alluring women. He knew how to charm them, how to get them into his bed. But when he'd encountered his mystery woman, his curiosity had been piqued.

  "She's not even my type," he groused. Which was true: he preferred leggy blondes. This girl was short and curvaceous. She also had a mouth on her. Aaron got enough mouthiness from his niece and nephew. He didn't need it from any woman he dated.

  Aaron didn't have time for dating, anyway. He sometimes had time for a fling or two, but nothing long term. Very few women wanted to become stepmothers, let alone stepmothers to two kids grieving their parents.

  Aaron opened his inbox, going through his emails. He'd recently purchased a retail property here on the island, one that was located in a prime spot on the island's main street. It also had ridiculously low rents for its tenants. When Aaron had first seen the amounts, he'd assumed it'd been a typo in the initial email.

  He worked until it was close to eight o'clock. He grimaced. So much for making dinner.

  "Pen? Logan?" Aaron called outside their rooms, which were just across from each other. "Are you hungry?"

  Pen opened her door to say, "We already ate."

  "Why didn't you tell me how late it was?"

  She shrugged. Pen was tall for her age, nearly two inches below six feet. Sometimes Aaron had to remember she was only thirteen, not eighteen. With her dark blue eyes and sandy brown hair, she also reminded him painfully of Jason.

  "I made us some frozen pizza," she explained. "You were busy."

  "You know I've told you that I'm not too busy to make you guys dinner."

  "I'd rather have frozen pizza than eat your cooking!" yelled Logan from inside his room.

  Aaron rolled his eyes. "Did he tell you that he was sent home from school again today?" he said to Pen.

  "No." Her eyes widened. "Is he gonna get expelled?"

  "That's what I'm trying to prevent." He eyed her. "Do you think you could talk to him? He won't listen to me." Aaron felt guilty for asking, but he was desperate.

  "Maybe. He doesn't really listen to me, either," replied Pen.

  Aaron felt awkward, standing in the hallway like this. "Can I come in?"

  Pen hesitated but eventually nodded. She opened her door to admit him into her little corner of the universe.

  Pen loved anime and manga, and her room was covered in posters of her favorite series. Most of the posters consisted of extremely pretty boys with the lead heroine, with an adorable animal or two as well. She had an entire bookshelf filled with volumes of manga. When Aaron had tried asking her about her favorite series, she'd gotten so embarrassed that he hadn't asked her a second time.

  She'd painted her walls a bright, cloying magenta, although there were so many posters you could barely see the color under them. Her schoolwork covered her desk, while mounds of clothes were draped on various pieces of furniture. A stack of books looked ready to collapse next to her bed.

  Pen sat on her bed and pulled her knees to her chest. In that moment, she looked so young and lost that Aaron's heart twisted.

  "May I sit?" he asked.

  She shrugged. He'd take that as a yes.

  Sitting next to her, he commented, "Did you get more posters?"

  Pen nodded. "That one," she said, pointing at one near her desk.

  "That's cool. You really like this stuff, don't you?"

  He could feel her eye roll. "Obviously."

  Aaron felt his palms grow sweaty. When he'd agreed to take in his brother's kids, he'd naively assumed that things would just work out. He'd known the kids since they'd been little. They were family. They'd grieve, of course, but then they'd get along just fine.

  Aaron hadn't known how astronomically his life would change, taking in Pen and Logan. It was like someone had launched a bomb into his life and he had only just started picking up the pieces.

  "How are you doing?" he asked Pen. He cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"

  She gave him a weird look. "I didn't do anything."

  "No, no. I know. You're very well behaved. Which is appreciated." He rubbed her hair, which got him another annoyed look. "I just wanted to check in. I know Logan takes a lot of my attention."

  "He's always been like that. Even when Mom and Dad were alive."

  "Younger siblings do that." His lips quirked. "I probably did the same thing. Your dad had to put up with me getting into all kinds of trouble."

  Pen said nothing. Aaron was tempted to leave her alone once more, when she suddenly said, "I miss them." Her voice was small and sad; she hugged her knees more tightly.

  "I miss them, too," murmured Aaron.

  "I don't get why we had to move away. I liked my school. So did Logan."

  "I thought a fresh start would be good for all of us."

  "Maybe you were just thinking about yourself."

  "You know that's not true. You guys weren't happy in my tiny apartment in Seattle. Here, at least, we can live in a house."

  "I didn't mind it." Pen shrugged a shoulder. "At least I still had my friends. Now I don't have any."

  "You will. It takes time. And you still talk to your Seattle friends, right?"

  "It's not the same."

  Aaron knew he was losing this argument. He assured Pen that she'd end up liking her new school, although she remained unconvinced.

  When Aaron went downstairs to make himself dinner—microwaved ramen with a few hardboiled eggs—he wondered if Pen were right. Had he uprooted their lives because he'd been running away from his own demons?

  He shook his head. They'd needed more space, and that hadn't been affordable in the city.

  When he returned to his office, he opened his newest email, his eyes widening as he read it. Then he let out an incredulous laugh. Apparently, the owner of the bookstore he'd just gone to had some balls. Too bad he wasn't about to let them get out of the necessary rent increase Aaron had instituted.

  Aaron might be failing in the child-rearing department, but nobody could say he didn't know how to do his job—even if that meant being ruthless at times.

  CHAPTER THREE

  "This guy is such an asshole!" complained Alex to her friend and new roommate, Felicity Linden. "You should see these emails he keeps sending me. You can tell he does not give a single fuck that he's raising the rent so high."

  As Felicity was busy cooking dinner, she only nodded and kept chopping onions. Felicity was kind enough to cook for both herself and Alex on occasion. Although Alex's older sister was a talented chef, Alex hadn't inherited the cooking gene. Her only specialty was peanut butter and honey sandwiches. And takeout—lots and lots of takeout.

  Felic
ity soon handed Alex a plate of orange chicken stir-fry she'd made from scratch. Alex hummed happily as she ate. "You could give Jocelyn a run for her money," she joked. "This is so good."

  Felicity ducked behind her blond hair. Her hair was usually in her face, mostly because she was self-conscious about the large wine-stain birthmark that covered the left side of her face from temple to jaw.

  Alex had once mentioned that Felicity didn't need to hide behind her hair, but Felicity had refused to listen. Despite her sweet, shy demeanor, Felicity had a spine of iron when she needed to use it.

  "Don't tell your sister that," said Felicity with a smile. "She's way too competitive. She'd probably make us compete to see who's really the best."

  "Oh, she'd sabotage you, no question. Jocelyn's ruthless."

  After they'd eaten, Alex was once again checking her email. In the past week, she and this Aaron Morrison character had exchanged several emails, each reply getting terser. Aaron refused to budge on the huge rent increase. When Alex had even admitted that the bookstore was struggling, he'd had the audacity to reply, That's not my problem.

  "It's such a dick thing to say," said Alex as she poured herself another glass of wine. "'That's not my problem'! He could've at least sounded sympathetic."

  "To be fair, it isn't his problem," Felicity pointed out.

  Alex scowled. "Whose side are you on?"

  "No one's. I'm just watching this cage match and trying not to get hit with any flying objects."

  Alex laughed despite herself. "I'm not above throwing furniture at this guy's head at this point. Good thing he's in Seattle."

  "Please don't get arrested for assault. I'll have to find another roommate then."

  "Oh, that's all I am to you? Half the rent?" joked Alex.

  Felicity shrugged, smiling. "You said it, not me."

  Alex had been living on her own up until the last year, when she'd asked Felicity if she wanted to move in with her to help offset her living expenses. And also because she already knew that Felicity would be an easy person to live with. She was cleaner than Alex, she was responsible, she made sure their utilities were paid on time. All in all, Alex had probably gained more from the arrangement than Felicity had.

  Then again, Alex had a feeling, despite her shyness, Felicity longed to be more social. She rarely dated; Alex had never seen her even go on a second date with a guy. If anything, Alex could get her friend out of the house on a regular basis.

  Alex's phone alerted her to a new email. Her last reply had amounted to, It's my problem, sure, but you could also try to work with a long-term tenant who's always paid her rent on time.

  She opened Aaron's latest email, her jaw dropping as she read it.

  Looking at the building's records that Stephen gave me, you were late on your rent on five occasions in the past three years. I'd hardly consider that to mean "always."

  My offer still stands as is, no matter how many times you email me.

  "Five times! My rent has been late once, maybe," fumed Alex. "And it was because I switched banks and things got messed with my automatic payments. Five times, my ass!"

  "I wonder where he got that number." Felicity frowned.

  "He's probably just making shit up now." Alex downed the rest of her wine, her heart hammering in her chest despite the warmth of the alcohol.

  She began typing her reply message, an evil grin forming on her face. When she started laughing evilly, Felicity asked, "What are you doing, Alex?"

  "I'm telling him exactly how I feel about him."

  "Are you sure that's a good idea—"

  Before Felicity could stop her, Alex pressed reply. Her expression was triumphant.

  "What did you send?" Felicity took the phone from Alex's hand. Felicity found the email, her face going pale. "Alex, no."

  "It's not that bad."

  "You called him a selfish dickwad!"

  "Did I? I thought I changed that to asshole." Alex shrugged. "It still applies."

  Sighing, Felicity returned her phone and then took her wineglass away. "I have a feeling you're going to regret this once you sober up."

  "I'm not drunk."

  "Tipsy, then."

  Now Alex was getting annoyed. "I don't need you to lecture me. This guy was lying about me and using it against me. He deserved it."

  Alex knew she sounded like a child in that moment. Redness crept into her cheeks, but soon drained away when she reread the email still open on her phone.

  At the salutation—Eat my ass—Alex put her head in her hands. "What have I done?" she groaned.

  Felicity patted her on the shoulder but said nothing. That was never a good sign when even Felicity didn't have advice.

  "I guess you're going to have to pay the new rent," said Felicity eventually. "Or…”

  Alex looked up, hopeful. "Or what?"

  "You're going to have to grovel. Big-time grovel. More groveling than you've ever done before."

  Alex collapsed onto the couch, sighing loudly. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

  To Alex's surprise, she didn't receive another reply. She obsessively looked at her email day after day, waiting for the ax to fall. She'd considered calling Aaron and apologizing, but when he didn't reply, she hoped that maybe he hadn't gotten the email after all. Maybe the universe had decided to be kind to her for once.

  "Do you have this book?" a girl asked Alex, startling her out of her thoughts.

  The girl handed Alex a small piece of paper with a name scrawled across it. Alex's lips quirked. She knew this author well: she wrote steamy historical romance novels. Alex had read every single one.

  Alex eyed the girl in front of her. She didn't recognize her. She was tall—almost a head taller than Alex—but she wouldn't meet Alex's gaze. Alex couldn't help but notice that the girl's jeans were too short for her, along with the sleeves of her jacket. Clearly, this girl was constantly outgrowing her clothes, poor thing.

  "We have her books," said Alex, returning the slip of paper, "but I'm pretty sure we don't have that one. Let's check, though." She motioned for the girl to follow her.

  The girl looked over her shoulder, like she was afraid someone was following her. Or, more likely, she was afraid she'd see someone she knew while she was browsing romance novels.

  Alex led the girl to the romance novel section. "Yeah, looks like we're out. I can order it for you, though."

  The girl chewed on her lower lip. "I don't have a credit card," she whispered.

  "That's okay. Cash works."

  "Is it extra if you order it?"

  "Nope. I should get it in a week or so. Will that work?"

  The girl nodded. Alex took her to the cash register, where she took down her information. Penelope Morrison.

  Morrison? Surely this sweet girl couldn't be related to that asshole. But wasn't Aaron in Seattle? So it must be a coincidence, she figured.

  When Penelope began to wander around the store, Alex couldn't help but follow her. Maybe it was because she knew what it was like to feel like you needed to hide your reading habits.

  Although Alex had usually been confident and daring, she'd felt intense embarrassment that she loved romance novels. It hadn't helped that when Jocelyn had found Alex's stash, she'd teased her for months about it. Even worse, Jocelyn had started reading one of the sex scenes aloud in a ridiculous voice until Alex had begged her to stop.

  "How long have you been reading romance?" asked Alex.

  Penelope hunched her shoulders. "For like a year, I guess."

  "Well, if you want some more historical romance recommendations, I can give you some."

  The girl's eyes lit up. Smiling, Alex pulled out a few of her favorite authors: Lisa Kleypas, Julie Garwood, Elizabeth Hoyt.

  "Lila White is also great, but she writes contemporaries," said Alex. "This one is my favorite. It's an enemies-to-lovers rom-com. I nearly peed myself laughing."

  "I haven't read any good rom-coms. The authors that I've read try too hard," said Pe
nelope.

  "Or their references are too old for you to get?" teased Alex.

  "Pretty much. Who's Brad Pitt, anyway?"

  Alex sighed loudly, which made Penelope giggle.

  But then the girl's expression shifted to one of surprise. "Uncle Aaron! What are you doing here?" she said.

  Alex turned to see a familiar face: her mystery beach kisser. Then her brain registered what Penelope had called him. Aaron.

  He's Aaron fucking Morrison, Alex thought in dismay.

  She nearly sprinted straight out of her own bookstore right then, but it seemed as though Aaron didn't know who she was.

  Until Penelope said, "This is Alex. She works at the bookstore."

  Aaron's gaze landed on her like a grenade. The tension in the store increased so much that even Penelope seemed to feel it. She kept looking back and forth between them, confusion on her face.

  "Alex," intoned Aaron, the sound somehow displeasing when he said it. "Your last name wouldn't happen to be Gray, would it?"

  Alex considered lying. She also considered taking one of the heavy hardcovers from the shelf next to her and hitting him upside the head.

  Instead, she replied in a tight voice, "That's me."

  "Do you two know each other?" asked Penelope.

  Aaron smirked. "Something like that."

  Alex tipped her chin up. She wasn't going to let this man bully her. No matter if he also happened to be the man she'd kissed on a moonlit beach and hadn't been able to stop dreaming about—

  Stop it! That guy never existed!

  "Pen," said Aaron, "meet me outside."

  "But it's raining."

  "Then meet me at the front."

  Pen narrowed her eyes, but she eventually obeyed with a huff.

  Alex eyed her office door. She'd have to get around Aaron to get to it, but if she succeeded, she could lock herself in there. He'd eventually give up and leave.

  But Aaron stepped into her personal space and she found herself neatly cornered. Asshole.

  "So, you're the one who keeps harassing me via email," he said.

  "I could say the same about you."

  "You know, I thought I was emailing with a man, based on your name. I had no idea when we met last week that you owned this place."