Page 1 of The Beachside Rental

Chapter One

Timeforwork.

Jenna Adams had the afternoon shift at the Island Market.Normally, she was early to work.Today was different, as she’d gotten distracted when her sister Lily stopped by to borrow a pair of heels for her business trip to New York City.Speaking of shoes, Lily had left the unwanted pair out on the porch.

Dressed for work, Jenna grabbed her purse and phone.Before she could reach the door, her phone rang.A glance at the screen let her know it was her sister Myra.It didn’t take long to figure out the call wasn’t anything important.Myra had the day off and just wanted to gab.Jenna regretfully had to rush off the phone or she would be late for work.And that couldn’t happen.

Her oldest brother, Neil, was the store manager.If she was late, he would notice.Since their father passed, Neil felt like it was his job to boss her and her siblings around like he was some sort of surrogate father.Ugh!

She rushed to the front door of the duplex.When she looked out through the screen door, she came to a halt.She was shocked to see a mountain of moving boxes.

Her new neighbor certainly owned a lot of stuff, and it was encroaching on her half of the porch.She wished they would have built a wall, separating the porches, like they’d done for the back deck.

She couldn’t even open the screen door the whole way.She turned sideways and squeezed out onto the porch.A frown pulled at her lips.The new neighbor was nowhere in sight.Figures.

She would deal with him later.Right now, she had to find the shoes.A quick glance revealed only one of the heels.How was that possible?She remembered putting down both of the shoes in order to give her sister a hug goodbye.So, where was the other one?

She walked around the porch, peering here and there.There was no sign of it.She didn’t understand it.It wasn’t like Lily changed her mind and came back for the shoes but decided to take only one shoe.Definitely not.

Once more, she turned in a circle.The shoe was nowhere to be found.And there was no more time to look for it.She tossed the one heel into the house and closed the door.She would search for the other one later.

She rushed down the porch steps while her hand fumbled through her oversized purse for her keys.Where are they?

Her foot touched the sidewalk at the same time as she ran into what felt like an immovable force.It was as though a wall had suddenly dropped in front of her.She stumbled backward.Her foot hit the step.She lost her balance.Her body started to fall backward.

And then two strong arms reached out to her.Hands grasped her shoulders and pulled her forward.When she regained her balance, she looked up and found herself staring into a broad chest wearing a dark blue T-shirt that read:You had me at woof!Next to the saying was a picture of a cute little puppy.

She hadn’t expected to find such a cute T-shirt on a man who had bulging biceps.But good for him.Everyone should love a puppy.They were awesome—even if she didn’t have one herself.

When her gaze rose to the man’s face, she found his eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses.And he wore a ball cap that was pulled low, as though he didn’t want people to see him.

Still, the man stuck his hand out to her.“I guess we should get introduced.I’m—”

“Late for work.”She rushed past him.“I’m so sorry.Gotta go.Talk later.”As she rushed down the sidewalk, she called back, “It was nice to meet you.”

It wasn’t the best way to meet her new neighbor, but then again, he wasn’t making a great impression with the way his belongings were strewn across the porch.Still, she hated to be rude to anyone, including a neighbor without a sense of space.She would deal with it later.

Well, that certainly didn’t go well.

Simon Bennett watched as the whirlwind of a woman drove away in her golf cart.His mind replayed their run-in.She had dark curls that were pulled back in a ponytail.Her light brown complexion looked as though it had been kissed by the sun.

Her big brown eyes had appeared as if they had flecks of gold in them.A pert little nose led to berry-red lips—that looked just right for plucking a kiss—perhaps under much different circumstances.

The top of her head hadn’t quite reached his shoulder.And he’d noticed a trace of strawberries.At least, he thought that was what the scent was, but the moment had ended as abruptly as it had started, so he wasn’t sure.

She certainly was in a hurry.He wondered if it was just him or if she was normally unsociable?He supposed he’d find out soon enough now that they were neighbors.

If the papers weren’t signed and money exchanged, he might have changed his mind about moving to Bluestar.At first, he thought it was charming that they didn’t allow vehicles on the island.But trying to move his stuff with just a golf cart was a lot of work.

Even though he’d already made numerous trips across the island, he still had boxes waiting for him at the office at Starfish Harbor.He’d been transporting them as fast as he possibly could and stacking them on the porch.He was afraid if he didn’t move fast, his belongings would be stolen because they weren’t secured at the harbor.In fact, they were sitting in the corner of the lobby.

His move from Tennessee had been a bit drastic, but under the unusual circumstances, it was the only way of finding his inner peace.He needed that tranquility if he was going to hear his creative voice.But right now, nothing felt peaceful about this move.

A voice inside his head assured him that once he got settled, the tranquility of the ocean breeze would work its magic.He’d be able to write the first book in a new series—a book that was now three months past its due date.

As he placed the last box on the porch, he could hear scratching and whining coming from his place.It wasn’t often that he left his golden retriever at home alone.Usually his buddy was right next to him.

But he was trying to hurry and get this stuff moved as fast as he could.There was only one more load to pick up so he decided to take Gus with him.When he opened the door, Gus rushed onto the porch with his tail wagging back and forth at a rapid pace.Gus jumped up.When his big paws landed on Simon’s chest, it knocked the air from his lungs.Gus didn’t seem to notice as he licked Simon’s cheek.