Kiss of a Stranger (Lost Coast Harbor #1) (2 page)

The promotion could change her life. She’d already learned everything she could as an office assistant. If she didn’t get out soon, she would stagnate, become just another person working a nine-to-five job that never led anywhere. It would pay the bills, but she’d stay in the same tax bracket the rest of her life. The one that meant she was secure and comfortable…until disaster hit. And if life had taught her anything, disaster
always
hit.

The real estate deal was a huge opportunity. Another chance to learn, to build her resume. It would put her one step closer to a career and the financial stability that came with it.

But Maddie knew what Bree thought of her plans, so instead she turned around and pointed at her professional but drab outfit. “Why are you asking where I was? Does anything about me scream ‘Hot night at Donnelly’s!’ to you?”

Bree was undeterred. “It doesn’t need to be a hot night. You’re probably a bit rusty, so you should aim for tepid. Have a starter date first.”

Maddie considered several responses, but they all led to her sputtering in protest. Instead, she walked past Bree without responding.

“It’s been almost four years, Maddie. Go on one date. Friends don’t let friends become spinsters at twenty-six. It’s time to try again.”

Try again. That made it sound like she’d embarrassed herself on a previous date, maybe tucked the back of her skirt into her tights. Maybe she’d found Mr. Not-Quite-Right, but a few more laps around the dating pool would sort her out.

Forget the dating pool. She was just seeing the light after almost drowning in the marriage sea. The mortgage was gone. Her credit cards had been paid off months ago, and soon she would have enough to buy a reliable used car. The nightmare she’d lived with for years was coming to an end.

At best, she was ready for the let’s-meet-for-coffee shallow end.

She reached the top of the stairs, but Bree was still going. “C’mon, Maddie. Let’s go out tomorrow. Find some naughty guy who can make your toes curl.”

Maddie faced her determined friend. She stood on one leg and pulled off her right flat, extending her flexed foot. “Uncurled and staying that way. You know what happened the last time I let curled toes make decisions for me. You want to find me a man, Bree? Find one that I always know where he is on Saturday nights. A guy whose credit score is higher than his IQ.”

Bree waved her hand, dismissing such paltry concerns. “Fine. Can we at least make sure you find this man between your legs on a regular basis?”

Bree ducked to avoid the shoe thrown down the stairwell, laughing the entire time. “You’re such a liar. I already know you agreed to meet Declan for coffee. As your bestest friend ever, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

Maddie groaned. She loved Lost Coast Harbor, but there were serious downsides to living in a small town. “I didn’t tell anyone. If I had, everyone in town would be debating the pros and cons of me dating a Donnelly. It’s coffee,” she insisted. “A starter date. Nothing more.”

Her nosy friend looked a little too smug. “He’s hot.” Bree gave an appreciative nod. “In a nerdy, bookish way, but still hot. I approve.”

That was exactly why Maddie had finally said yes. Not the hot part. In truth, Bree’s assessment surprised her. The thought hadn’t crossed her mind. But Declan was quiet. Reliable. A bookstore owner. He was respectable, which made him the black sheep of the wild Donnelly family and perfect for her first foray back into dating, if that’s what this was. The fact that she didn’t feel the slightest flutter of excitement was a good thing.

“One date,” she called down to Bree. “Then you leave me alone for six months.”

Bree grinned and turned toward the kitchen. “Three,” she called over her shoulder, “and only if you give me all the details.”

A few minutes later, Maddie climbed into bed. She wore flannel pajamas, like she did most nights. This set was covered in monkeys and made her smile every time she put them on. There was an undeniable joy in wearing whatever she wanted. She slid between the sheets and sprawled across the queen-sized bed, claiming it for her own.

She’d dumped the old mattress the day she was cleared of all charges. Then she threw all Charlie’s possessions into boxes and hauled them to a local charity. That night, Bree and Erin came over. They made a bonfire of his clothes and toasted marshmallows over the flames.

It was all hers now. The home and everything in it. No one could take it from her.

Bree was right about one thing. Maddie
was
ready for change. Maybe even ready to date again.

But she also needed a change from her ex. Charlie was trouble through and through, and he always had been. It was one of the reasons she fell for him.

This time, she’d find a good man. Someone who understood her ambitions. He’d be clean-cut and kind. The sort of man who never forgot a birthday or watched other women when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. He might even wear khakis.

That was the kind of guy she wanted now, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

Chapter Two

“W
hat do you mean, you couldn’t get the keys?” Maddie tried very hard not to glare at the man who signed her paychecks.

Oliver blinked in surprise. “The rental office was locked.”

She threw her hands up. “You’re the CEO of Hastings Enterprises, and you’re telling me you can’t get into one of your buildings.”

“I never needed a key before. Jared’s in charge of the properties.”

“And he’s terrible at his job. He’s never there.” Be calm, Maddie reminded herself. She tapped her thumb and forefinger together five times. “Which means Bree can’t get the key to her cabin, which means I still have a roommate.”

Her boss’s brows drew together as he struggled to understand her frustration. Oliver was the firstborn son of the richest family in town. There wouldn’t have been a day of his life when he needed to split the rent to get by.

“I thought you and Bree were best friends,” he said, as perplexed as ever. The man masterfully ran the largest shipping operation between Oakland and Portland, but he didn’t always understand people. After all, there were rules to shipping. Schedules, weights, and distance. People were never so accommodating.

Maddie’s hair slipped. With a few rough twists, she tightened the bun at the base of her skull and jammed a pin into the mass to hold it in place. “That’s not the point,” she said. “Bree already paid first month’s rent and still can’t get into her home. Jared’s in breach of contract.”

That was the language Oliver understood. Contracts. Rules. Order. At last, he nodded in understanding. “I’ll sort it out.”

“Good.” She sighed in relief, then stood a little taller and lifted her chin. “There’s something else. I want to work on the land deal.”

If Oliver was surprised before, now he was flummoxed. “The Stanwick Ranch one? But I need you here.”

Maddie was prepared for him to say that. “No, you don’t. I’ve organized this place so it practically runs itself. You can hire someone else. Remember when I asked you for this job? I said you’d never regret it. That I’d be the best office manager you’d ever had, and I was right. You took a chance on me, and it paid off.”

Oliver sputtered for a few minutes. “But there’s a huge difference between filing systems and corporate documents,” he managed at last. “And I don’t have the time to train you.”

She stood as straight as she could. Maddie didn’t care for heels, but at that moment she longed for a few more inches, enough to almost look Oliver in the eye. “You know I’ve been taking business courses at the community college. My last semester starts in three weeks. I’ll have my associate’s degree by summer.”

His voice was a little too gentle. “Everyone working on this deal has an MBA. The most I can offer you is an unpaid internship.”

She wanted to yell. Or curse. Or yell curses. “I can do this, Oliver. I’m not saying you should hire me as a lawyer. Just let me manage the paperwork. Track schedules and deadlines, make sure the right people are in contact with each other. It’s not much more than I do here.”

He hesitated. A flare of hope bloomed in her chest.

A voice came from the doorway, low and perfectly modulated but coated in a thin layer of grit. “Am I in the right place?”

Maddie closed her eyes for a second. If she pummeled the man for interrupting, Oliver might think she wasn’t qualified for the promotion. She steeled her face into a pleasant expression and turned to face the newcomer.

And once again, she needed to remind herself to be calm. She began counting, but couldn’t remember what came after four.

The man before her was a god.

Not just a regular god, either. This was the kind who’d traveled to earth, found a bit of trouble, and decided he was having way too much fun to return to his celestial home. Any sensible woman would run the other way the moment she spotted him.

The dock was full of rough men, but he was nothing like the employees she saw day in and day out. Most of them were like Vince and Harold, with soft bellies from too much beer after work and faces weathered by exposure to the sun and storms. They were good guys, and they usually had a playful word for her when they stopped into the office, but none of them were what she’d call pretty.

This man’s stomach was perfectly flat. He wore his winter coat open, and the hoodie underneath was a size too small. It stretched tight across a broad chest.

His body was impressive. His face made her stop breathing.

On some level, she knew it wasn’t a face all women would like. A thin scar crossed his right temple, cutting from his eyebrow to his hairline. His nose looked like it might have been broken at some point, though it hadn’t healed crooked, and his cheeks were covered in dark stubble.

He was a couple inches over six feet, with dark brown eyes. Though the planes of his face were hard, his lips were full, almost lush.

She supposed more women might be into that part.

Maddie forced out a breath, shaking off her reaction to this man. He’d caught her off-guard, that was all. Yes, the stranger was freaking gorgeous, but he wasn’t for her—for so many reasons.

He looked like the quintessential bad boy, and she was supposed to have learned her lesson about guys like that.

Then he smiled, and she forgot every one of those reasons. It wasn’t even a real smile. It was close-mouthed, just a small curve of those full lips, but it was enough to soften the harsh angles of his face.

He gestured to the window. “I saw the help wanted sign.”

Pieces clicked into place. The beat-up bag resting at his feet, the clothes that didn’t quite fit. Guys like this stopped by every now and then, looking for any work they could find.

Except he didn’t look like those men, with their tired eyes that had run out of hope years before. His gaze was hot and determined. He didn’t act like those guys, either. Other than the dockworkers, most of the men who visited the office spoke to Oliver first. Sometimes, they didn’t even acknowledge she was in the room. This guy hadn’t glanced in her boss’s direction yet. All his attention was fixed on her.

It wasn’t how polite people looked at each other, especially polite people who’d only just met. He stared at her as if she was the only thing he was capable of seeing.

Maddie shuffled papers on her desk. “Of course. Ah, the job requirements are here somewhere.”

She felt Oliver’s confused eyes on her. Maddie knew where every document was located. If she had to, she could file them while blindfolded.

When she felt composed again, she glanced up, looking at a spot just above the man’s eyes. She ignored the flutter in her stomach.

“What’s your experience, Mr…?”

“Gabriel Reyes. Gabe. I’ve done a lot of odd jobs over the years. Mostly construction, but if you have anything that needs to be lifted and carried somewhere else, I can do it.”

Looking at his shoulders and arms, Maddie didn’t doubt it. “Have you ever worked in shipping?”

His head shake was almost imperceptible.

“References?”

Again, he shook his head, the motion a bit sharper this time.

“Do you know how to work a forklift or operate a crane?”

“No, but I’m a fast learner.”

Oliver came to life behind her. “Reyes? Gabriel Reyes?”

For the first time, Gabe looked at her boss.

“I know you. You were arrested while driving for Hastings Shipping. You were caught with guns.” As usual, Oliver seemed more confused than accusatory.

Maddie started, then studied Gabe with narrowed eyes. At Oliver’s words, the butterflies in her stomach went to sleep. She remembered hearing about his arrest. It had been the town scandal for several months…until she and Charlie gave them something juicier to gossip about.

He was a freaking criminal. She bit back a groan. She knew some women had a type, but usually that meant they liked them tall or outdoorsy. Nothing like that for her. No, her personal panty-dropper had to be convicts.

The man still stared at Oliver. “Yes.”

That was all. No explanations, no proclamations of innocence. Just confirmation that he was a criminal involved in some truly heinous activities.

“You went to prison, right?”

“Six years.” The words were bitten off, as if they physically hurt him.

“And you come back here?” Oliver studied the man. “That takes balls.”

A muscle in Gabe’s jaw twitched. “Not many places will hire a felon. I didn’t think…”

“That we’d remember you?” Oliver tapped the side of his head. “Steel trap.”

Maddie didn’t point out that Oliver hadn’t remembered a birthday, anniversary, or minor federal holiday in the three years she’d worked for him.

“Sure, you can have the job,” Oliver said.

Gabe’s eyes widened, the only sign he hadn’t expected it to go that way.

Maddie sputtered, struggling to find the words. “Have you lost your mind? He just admitted that he used your company to
run guns
. What’s to stop him from doing it again? And getting us all caught up in it?” Her voice grew higher as her panic rose.

Her boss gave her a look she knew all too well. It was the same one he wore whenever a stray kitten appeared outside their offices, or when a homeless stowaway found his way to the dock. “He served his time. He paid his debt. Everyone deserves a second chance, Maddie.”