They strode along the length of the bay, walking by the water instead of by the street and Gavin showed Lindsay the back loading zone for the hotel, where they’d meet to start work in the morning.

“What are you going to have me do?” she asked pleasantly.

“I’m going to have you help me remove all the drywall in the bathrooms.  It will be messy.  Come prepared to get messy.”

She nodded with relief.  She could help with that.  That was nothing.  

On the way back to 999 Things to Wear, Gavin asked her if she wanted to stop at one of the restaurants they passed for fish and chips.  

They went inside and the first thing they saw was Oliver.  He was shooting pool at a table using his cast to rest his pool stick on as he set up the shot.  Lindsay’s eyes darted around trying to see his best friend, Ricky, but all she saw was a blond bombshell who was at least three inches taller than Oliver.

“I thought I saw your truck outside,” Gavin said as he approached the two of them with a smile.  He took Lindsay by the elbow and brought her closer, “Ricky, this is Lindsay.  Lindsay, this is Ricky.”

“Richenda,” Ricky corrected, bouncing her curls over her shoulder.  “Everyone keeps thinking I’m a guy when they hear me called Ricky without seeing me.  I’m so tired of it!”

Lindsay burst out laughing.  

“What?” Ricky defended.  “I’m a hairstylist and sometimes men make appointments.  They think they’re going to get their hair cut by a cute guy with a flirty smile and they get me.  They didn’t want their cut by a woman.  I mean, I do a good enough job that they aren’t mad in the end, but I was definitely not what they were expecting.”  She huffed.  “I’m sure you get the picture.”

Lindsay got the picture a lot better when Oliver joined them, though not the picture Ricky had painted.  Lindsay had never thought of Oliver as a shrimp, but he looked like one next to Ricky.  She was taller than him with wider shoulders and more muscles.  When Lindsay shook hands with her, she felt like her bones were hollow while Ricky’s were made of lead.  

Oliver looked uncomfortable.  

“And what about you?” Ricky said, booping Gavin on the nose.  “I can’t remember the last time I saw this much of your face.  If you’re beardless, then the queen must be dead.  Long live the queen!” she chorused.

“Ugh.  I was being a baby,” he said offhandedly.

Lindsay smiled at Gavin, acknowledging his latest escapade.  So… he had seen Ricky’s truck outside, bet that Oliver was inside with Ricky, and decided to cut through the pretenses by having them all meet sooner rather than later.  She favored him with a wild grin.  Maybe he liked her so much he was planning on breaking a few conventions.

Not only that, but Gavin didn’t look like a lightweight beside Ricky.  He was a hairbreadth taller than her and whether or not he was as solid as her was unclear due to all the layers he was wearing.  

“Do you have a table?” Gavin asked, still friendly.

“Yeah, that one,” Ricky pointed.

“We’re hungry.  Enjoy your game,” Gavin said, again taking Lindsay softly by the elbow and leading her toward the booth.  

Oliver and Ricky’s dirty dishes were still on the table and Gavin stacked them as naturally as if he was in his own home.  The waitress was there in a flash.  She knew Gavin well, so she took their orders and cleared away the dirty dishes.  

“Do you come here often?” Lindsay asked, sounding stupid, but so stupid it was funny.

“Of course.  I have lived here all my life and I’ve worked in the bay all my adulthood.  Of course, everyone knows me.”

“And everyone thought you were dating Marissa for the last three years?”

“She was territorial,” Ricky interjected, abruptly sliding into the seat next to Lindsay.  “She kept all the good girls away.”

Before Lindsay could remark on that Oliver and Ricky came back to the table to join them.

“Oh, you’re finished playing.  Who won?” Gavin asked.

“I won!” Ricky burst before Oliver had a chance to answer.  

He sat next to Gavin with a shrug that showed his bound arm.  He put his sling back on.  

“It doesn’t matter that he’s in a cast.  I always win,” the blonde bombshell said proudly.

Lindsay sat back and looked at Oliver.  Considering the way he had leaped from the truck to get to Ricky’s, it was now obvious that he was enamored by her.  He had undoubtedly been so for many years, probably since they were teenagers.  It was all so obvious why he couldn’t get anywhere with her.  She dwarfed him, made him feel like a little boy, and outperformed him at things he felt he should have excelled at.  

One look at Ricky and Lindsay knew she had actually never had a chance with Oliver.  If he was still pining for Ricky when there were so many obstacles, and they’d spent so much time together and then so much time apart, he might never get over it.

“Well, that settles it,” Lindsay said, looking directly at Oliver.

He made a face that she knew meant, ‘Wait a second.’  

Their food came and they talked pleasantly of the things they did with their lives.  Oliver talked about their improv class and mentioned all the plays and TV appearances Lindsay had had.  He kept talking her up like she was something special.  Hearing his praise all lined up like that felt deceptive.  For one thing, he made it sound like she had actually had a life as an actress.  Nothing felt further from the truth.  She had parts, but she didn’t make money and she was getting too old to couch surf because she couldn’t afford a place of her own.  

“Let’s not talk about that anymore,” she said softly after Oliver had already told all the best bits.  “I’m going to rip up drywall tomorrow and I’d rather not think about all that old stuff.”

“But you–”

“Look, Oliver, you’re a doll and everything you’ve said has been so sweet, but I don’t know if you get what my coming out here was about.  I know we talked about it and I said some things that were meant to cover my embarrassment, but I didn’t make it as an actress.  I’m not taking any more classes.  I came out here to get a job and make a life.”

He was confused.  “But you love your family.  Why are you leaving them on the mainland if you love them so much?”

She scratched behind her hairline.  “I wasn’t able to make it as an actress, but I was hoping I could make it as a person.  Do you know what that means?  While I was trying to be an actress, do you know how much money I took from my family?  Loads.  An uncomfortable amount of money.  For a long time, I thought that eventually, I’d make millions and so their support would not go unrewarded.”  She cast her eyes downward and reminded herself that she had planned to have this conversation with Oliver once they reached the island and if Gavin understood her situation, then it was all the better.  As for Ricky listening to her over-the-top confession… Lindsay had been an actress and the content of her speech didn’t even touch some of the embarrassing things she’d done repeatedly on stage.  So, she continued explaining without a hitch in her voice.   “Last year, I started realizing that my paychecks had not been going up.  I made the same amount of money last year as I made the year I was eighteen.  I’m twenty-six.  It’s time to give up.”

“So, you’re not going back to the mainland with me after the hotel is finished?” Oliver asked.

“No.  At the very least, I’m not taking any more money from my family.  I’m going to stay here and prove to myself that I can be a responsible adult.”  She turned to Gavin.  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me with the apartment, taking me shopping today, giving me a job, and for last night.”

That was a slip-up.  Lindsay was used to adding a slight sexual innuendo to everything she said because she had to be recklessly and relentlessly outspoken when she did improv.  She regretted it immediately as Ricky piped up.

“What happened last night?” 

“He picked the two of us up when I wrecked my car,” Oliver supplied dryly, squashing the innuendo.  “Remember, Ricky?  I think he deserves a thank you.”

Lindsay nodded her agreement.

After Gavin and Lindsay had finished eating, Oliver stood up and announced, “I’m going to walk Lindsay home to her new apartment.  I’ll be back in a few.”

Lindsay stood up and took the keys to her apartment from Gavin.  He gave Lindsay a smile, reminded her where and when she was supposed to meet him in the morning, and Lindasy and Oliver left the two of them at the table.

Once outside, Lindsay and Oliver had a lot to say to each other.

“Why didn’t you tell me Ricky was a woman?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to give up acting?”

Lindsay groaned.  “Who cares?  I don’t care anymore.  I don’t even care that you are clearly in love with that woman.”

“What?  I’m not,” he cried defensively.

“Yes, you are.  So what if the relationship has no future?  So what if she thinks you’re white bread?  So what?  You love her whether it’s a good idea or not.  And what about me?  You were bringing me here with the intention of setting me up with your brother?” she accused.

“Uh… Yeah, I did that.  He’s a really good guy and that woman he was with was not good for him.  When he told me he’d finally shaken her off, I thought you might have fun with him.”

Lindsay put her head back and howled in a mean way.  “So, you and I weren’t a good enough match from the start that you were orchestrating a fling for me?”

“Well, not a fling,” he denied.  “But something.”

“How could it be anything other than a fling if you thought I was going to go back to the mainland after the renovations were finished?”

“Oh,” he said, stopping dead in his tracks.  

She felt like she had driven her point home.  “Who am I to you?  Someone who can just be passed around to any guy who’s down on his luck?”

“Lindsay, that sounds fifty shades worse than what I was thinking.  Gavin is a gentleman and he would never treat you or any other woman the way you are suggesting.  He has family values.”

Lindsay pushed her Coke bottle red hair off the back of her neck.  “I’m not actually mad at you.  I just want to make one thing clear.”

“What?”

“I just want to ask you something.  Were you ever serious about me?”

Oliver looked at Lindsay and the moment stretched.  Finally, he said, “When I’m with you, I wish I was.”

She exhaled heavily, not even aware that she had been holding her breath.  “Thank you.  So, can we be friends?”

He nodded.  “On one condition.”

“What?”

“I want you to let me kiss you one more time.”

She cocked an eyebrow.  “Why would I agree to that?”

“Because I like messing with things and I won’t do it unless it can help me with Ricky, can help you with Gavin, or can help Gavin with Marissa.”

Lindsay dropped her head on her left shoulder like it weighed twenty pounds and thought about his suggestion.  “Hm… I…”

“Just say yes.”

“It sounds deranged.”

“It is, but if you can make me look like a stallion in front of Ricky, or I can make Gavin jealous for you, or I can take you out of the picture for Marissa because she’s going to kill you because you got too close to my brother, it might all work out.  I won’t do it just for fun.”

“Why are you making plans for Gavin?  He doesn’t even like me.”

“Oh, yes, he does.  He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”