Conceited Concierge: A Hero Club Novel by Renea Porter (little readers txt) 📕

drive, I wanted Rylee to be comfortable and enjoy the ride, and if there was one thing I knew about her, she loved her snacks.

***

Once we were in Hermosa Beach, we stopped at a local grocery store. “We probably don’t need much, since we can go out for breakfast and/or dinners,” I suggested.

“I think we should each cook one meal and see who is the best cook.”

“Oh. Challenge accepted. And I’m so gonna win,” I told her.

“We’ll see about that.”

“But tonight, let’s go out.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Once we had everything we needed, we headed to Aubrey and Chance’s place.

“I do love this beach town. I should come here more often and see the kids, too. I feel bad because I was always traveling and now, I’m still over an hour and a half away.”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be permanent. You’re still young and can put down roots anywhere you want.”

“You can, too.”

She shrugged. “I feel like if I don’t do it now, then it’ll be a little too late.”

“So, do it now.”

She laughed. “That’s hard to do since I’m here for a project.”

That comment through me for a loop. And I didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t planning on sticking around. Why were we even doing this then?

“What can I do to convince you to stay?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. Let’s see how things go first. Okay?”

I was hopeful. “That’s all I can ask for. Don’t give up.”

“You’ll probably be so sick of me after this weekend, you’ll be glad to go back.”

I laughed. “Nice try, Cupcake.”

We arrived at their beach house, and found the key where Aubrey hid it. I unlocked the door and pushed it open for Rylee. “After you.”

If she thought it would be easy to get rid of me, she had another thing coming. I didn’t even care if that made me sound like a damn stalker. I knew this woman would be it for me. The connection we have, our banter, and everything else, it all made sense to me. She was being stubborn as usual.

“I could definitely get used to beach life,” she said looking off into the ocean.

Standing beside her, I looked directly at her. “It’s definitely beautiful.”

“Let’s get everything to bring inside,” she suggested.

We unloaded our food and got settled in. The sun was almost set and it really was gorgeous against the ocean.

“I think there is a restaurant within walking distance. Want to go get dinner?”

“Sure. I’m not sure how much I can eat after the candy and snacks.”

“You can eat something small. Come on.” I reached out for her hand, and she happily handed it to me as we strolled out of the house and into the warm night air.

With shoes in one hand, we walked side by side close to the water crashing into the sand.

Rylee cleared her throat. “I have a confession to make.”

“What’s that?”

“Last time we were here…” She paused before continuing what she wanted to say. “It was my first time seeing the ocean.”

“Really? Why didn’t you say something then?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I was embarrassed. Hasn’t everyone seen the ocean at least once in their life?”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. But I’m glad we are here now. You have a whole weekend to enjoy it.”

She smiled. “Don’t push me in unexpectedly because these hearing aids wouldn’t survive that.”

“Good tip. Here we are,” I announced as we reached the restaurant. We slipped on our flip flops and headed inside.

“Maybe I am a little hungrier than I thought,” Rylee said, looking at the menu that was placed in front of us once we were seated. We both ordered a glass of wine.

After ordering our dinner, we noticed we were seated at a window booth and had the perfect ocean view. “I have the perfect view right in front of me.” I reached across the table to hold her hand. And she smiled. She seemed nervous at the same time.

“What’s on your mind, Cupcake?”

“I wasn’t completely honest with you when we first met.”

“How so?” She knew how to throw me for a loop.

“I’m from a polygamist marriage. My father has five wives.”

“Five wives!” I was shocked by this knowledge.

“I have eleven siblings.”

This caused me to reel my head back. “Wow.”

“Two of my brothers left the community. And I left a year after they did. They actually helped me get on my feet. They helped me get enrolled in high school and then into college courses.”

“You were really brave.”

Our meals arrived and we continued talking while taking bites in between.

“I don’t believe in that lifestyle and I most certainly didn’t want to be married off to some jerk-off. There is a lot to the situation. I escaped the night I was supposed to be married. I was fourteen.”

“Jesus Christ, Ry. You must have been scared out of your mind.” I reached over and squeezed her hand to try to comfort her.

“I was. It was a fucking cult, and I wanted no part of it. Yes, I grew up in that environment and I had no idea about the outside world. I didn’t know anything. But I secretly kept in touch with my older brothers and I was convinced to leave.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“It’s okay. Now you can imagine my distrust in people. It was hard making friends and trying to be cool with other kids my age. And when I got to college, I met Aubrey and we became close friends.”

“I’m really glad you trusted me enough to tell me.”

“Naturally, you can understand I don’t tell the truth when I first meet someone.”

“No. I get it.”

Chapter Eleven