Vivian Arend: Whirlpool

Max swore. “I nearly forgot. There’s a couple of cars outside that zigged when they should have zagged. The owners are waiting in their rooms. We managed to calm them down and we did call a tow truck but…”

“No worries. You deal with your stuff, I’ll take care of it.”

Braden shook his head at the insanity of the place, even as it made something inside him very happy. Not the confusion, but the constant life and newness that living in a tourist destination brought. He loved the whole town and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

He stepped over and touched Jamie on the shoulder.

Jamie straightened from where he’d been staring at the fine print handwritten at the bottom of the black-and-white image. He smiled at Braden and the attractiveness Chelsea mentioned sprung to mind. The man was damn good-looking.

“Oh, hello again. Fascinating pictures. Do you know if they are originals from the family who owns the hotel? Who should I talk to if I want to find out more about the individuals in each photograph? Have you ever seen—?”

Braden held up a hand. “Whoa, Jamie, first things first. Seems you’re a little out of luck. There is no room at the inn.”

His forehead wrinkled in a frown. “But I had a booking… Oh, never mind. I’ll try the next hotel.”

Braden shook his head. “There is no other. This is it.”

Jamie stared at him. “Well, hell. That’s going to make this a little more difficult. Okay, plan B. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see you in the morning.” He stooped and picked up his backpack from beside his feet, turning as if to leave.

Plan B? “ Where are you going?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a campground around here somewhere. It won’t be the first time I’ve roughed it.”

Braden did a quick mental inventory of the information he’d read on the sheet at the house. His cousin Anthony had done a very thorough investigation into the man. Jamie’s excellent reputation had been clearly spelled out.

“How long is the job at the Coltens’ expected to take?” Braden asked.

Jamie’s eyes glazed over a little as he stared into the distance. “Have to sort and catalog, research the more isolated finds—not counting if there are any museum pieces to match. Then there’s—”

Braden hid his smile. Shit, the man could babble. “Just an estimate.”

“At least a month to start, but the rest of the sorting could take six months to a year.”

Braden swore lightly. “You’re planning on staying in Jaffrey’s Cove for up to a year? Buddy, you’ll need something more than the campground, or even the hotel. Tell you what. I’ve got an apartment you can rent. It’s being renovated, but should be done within a month. Until it’s ready you can stay at my place since I’m at the house with Chelsea.”

Jamie flushed at the mention of her name. Yeah, the man had it bad. “I don’t know what to say, except thank you. I certainly didn’t expect this kind of help. Not after my deplorable behavior at the house. I really do apologize—”

“Your things still in your car?” Braden interrupted again. The reminder of Jamie and Chelsea wrapped together made something inside him ache.

Jamie nodded. “I wanted to check in first. I’m parked down the street.”

“I need to deal with a fender bender, then I’ll take you to my place to get you settled.”

They walked outdoors together. Jamie brushed against him as they pushed through the crowd still assembled before the reception desk. An itch of an idea rose at the back of his brain. Chelsea was right; she needed a little male attention. Braden couldn’t stomach the idea of seeing her with any of the local merfolk, but maybe he could handle it if it was a human with her. One he’d handpicked and approved. Jamie was an attractive guy, and he was already interested in Chelsea. Besides, she was pretty damn gorgeous.

So why didn’t you take her up on her offer? Especially now that she’s staying in town? Braden dealt with the cars in the lot, only concentrating with half his mind. The other half continued to worry about his problem—blonde, stacked and way too beautiful for her own good.

No, it wasn’t her. He’d had this argument with himself a million times over the years. Merfolk were a sensual race. They had a lot of their dolphin form in their human bodies—sex was fun and they had no problem with the sharing of that pleasure in a far more relaxed manner than humans normally did. Except for him…with Chelsea. He just couldn’t bend his head around casual with her. It pissed him off no end, frustrated her and even had him wondering if there was something wrong with him at the root of his nature.

He sated his urges with other members of their community, leaving them extremely happy and himself vaguely satisfied. There was always something missing, and he’d suspected for a long time that something was Chelsea.

It wasn’t right to get involved with her. She’d talked about college for so long that he’d gone out of his way to ensure she didn’t get distracted from her goal by anyone local, including himself. Making sure nothing stopped her from stepping out into the world. Just because he loved Jaffrey’s Cove, he still understood there was a lot more to see and do away from their tiny village.

Now that she was staying, the thought of being with her obsessed him. He still couldn’t risk getting involved with her until he figured out what his own issue was. Imagining her with any of the local merfolk—jealousy raised its head damn quick. But Jamie? Could he handle seeing Chelsea with him? Heck, the guy was only a human. It might be a possible solution.

Thirty minutes later the collision was dealt with and Braden hopped in his truck and waved for Jamie to follow him. The man held up a hand and ran back into the hotel. He returned with a set of keys dangling from his fingers. Great, an absent-minded professor. Braden chuckled and led the way through the sleepy tourist town of Jaffrey’s Cove to his home above one of the harbor-side shops. A light breeze blew around them as he unlocked the door. Jamie’s aftershave carried on the air and Braden fought back the urge to lean over and take a closer sniff. Chelsea was right—something about the man really was very attractive. Braden opened the door and ushered Jamie in.

“I really do appreciate this.” Jamie placed his bags down carefully and headed toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Braden smiled. The ocean view was the first thing everyone admired. He grabbed the spare set of house keys from the side table. When he turned back he was surprised to see Jamie had ignored the view and instead knelt to examine the collection of shells piled on one coffee table.

“Fascinating. Where did you find a Conus gloriamaris in such good shape? And is that a reverse-coiled Lightning Whelk? Mr. Marley, this is an amazing collection.”

“Braden, please. We don’t go for very formal around here.”

Jamie peeled his gaze off the shells and glanced around the room. “Very comfortable. I like your style.”

“Thank you.” It seems we have the same taste in many things, including women. “Let me grab a few things from the bedroom, then you can get settled.” Braden paced off, wondering if he was a touch insane to be planning to allow a virtual stranger to get involved with the woman he wanted more than his next breath.

He dug into his chest of drawers, tossing clothes into a gym bag haphazardly. There was no logic in it, but for the moment, logic be damned. He just needed a few days’ reprieve. Surely granting Jamie permission to pay a little attention to Chelsea wouldn’t hurt anyone in the long run.

Would it?

Chelsea watched with fascination as Jamie dove into another section of the chaos. The day he’d begun work she’d been surprised to have Braden ask her to act as assistant to Jamie.