Page 39 of The Beachside Rental

“So, Simon, where are you from?”Neil asked.

“Nashville, Tennessee.”

“How long are you on the island for?”Caleb asked.

“I don’t know yet.I signed a six-month lease.So at least that long.”But he was starting to wonder if he should stay longer—long enough to explore the chemistry running between Jenna and himself.

The questions kept coming until Darby asked the hardest one to answer.“What do you do for a living?Or are you a trust fund kid?”

That last question made him smile.“Definitely not a trust fund kid.My father headed up the grounds crew at a local golf course, and my mother was a nurse.So, no golden spoon.”

“So, what do you do for a living?”

He swallowed hard.“I’m a writer.”

Silence fell over the table.He supposed they weren’t expecting that answer.

“Did you write anything we might know?”Myra asked.

He shook his head.“I doubt it.”Now it was time to change the subject.“Do all of you work at the market?”

Everyone started to talk at once.He had a feeling that happened often at this dinner table.And from what he could garner one—no, two—of the siblings worked elsewhere.

“You two make a cute couple,” Darby said.

“Darby.”Their mother had a warning tone in her voice.

Darby frowned at her mother.“What?I’m just saying they’re good together.”

“Darby, enough.”Their mother glared at her daughter.

“Fine.I’m just saying what the whole town is saying.”Darby’s voice faded away.

The whole town was talking about them?He didn’t know how to feel about that.It was their visit to the High Tide Pub.That must have been it.

“So, are you coming back for the next trivia night?”Neil got up to get another slice of pizza.

Simon pushed away his empty plate.“I, uh, hadn’t thought about it.”

“You should.Tony, that’s the mayor of the island, anyway, he should be back tomorrow.He’s my usual partner.”Neil returned to the table.

Simon wasn’t sure how to respond to him.He glanced over at Jenna.Part of him wanted her to make up a reason they couldn’t go—that was safest because the more time he spent with her, the more the town would gossip about them.But that wasn’t the only reason.The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to spend with her.

“I don’t have any plans.”Jenna arched a brow at him, as though letting him know it was up to him.

“I’m free.”The words flowed off his tongue before he could stop them.

“Good.”Neil glanced around the table.“Anyone else want to join in for some trivia fun?”

There were groans and no’s as well as the other Adams siblings shaking their heads.

“Fine,” Neil said.“You guys don’t know what you’re missing.”Then his gaze zeroed in on Mia.“What’s the bet to be?”

When she glanced at Simon, he said, “Leave me out of it.It should be between siblings.”

She gave him a little nod.Then she stared directly at her older brother.“Fine.If we win, you let me implement my plans for the frontend of the market.”

Neil shook his head.“No.”