Love Redone in Hidden Harbor (Island County Book 2) by Karice Bolton

right.
    Realizing how things came across, Cynthia shook her head and chuckled nervously.
    “Looking is okay. Just not touching. Isn’t that right?” She barely glanced at Cole, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
    Which was ridiculous. I shouldn’t be worrying about the health of my ex-fiancé’s new relationship.
    It wasn’t my business. What was my business was getting a deposit from them to hold the date.
     “Okay. So tell me what Cole was like as a kid. Did he always get into trouble?” Her eyes landed on mine and she narrowed them. “Or was he always on his best behavior? He never talks about his past.”
    I hadn’t realized my hand had been frozen in position with the butter knife stuck straight toward Cynthia until Nick cupped his hand over mine. I slowly put the knife back on my plate with a clink.
    “That’s because I was a boring kid.” Cole smiled.
    “Doubtful.” Cynthia turned her attention back to me.
    “He, umm.” My eyes flicked to Cole’s, and his lip curled slightly as he waited for my response. “He played soccer so he didn’t have much time to do any real damage.”
    There. That was easy. Stick to the facts.
    “Did he play any other sports? I can’t imagine him playing soccer,” she asked, bringing her hand to her wine glass. Cynthia was about to marry Cole and she had no idea what sports he played?
    “He played lacrosse briefly in high school until his mother made him stop,” I laughed, remembering how unglued she came when he came home with a black eye and a broken wrist.
    “Why’s that? Why’d you stop?” she asked Cole.
    “I broke my wrist and my mom wasn’t thrilled.”
    “Makes sense,” Cynthia said, her gaze lingering a second too long at the bar.
    I didn’t even need to turn around to know who had come on duty behind us. One of the few eligible bachelors on the island, Kyle, always managed to snag most women’s attention when he poured drinks.
    For Cole’s sake, I didn’t want to believe what Nick said about her, but it wasn’t looking good.
    “If Cynthia’s looking for dirt, I’ve got some.” Nick grinned. “Cole did egg my bedroom window in high school, and he toilet papered the house.”
    I spun in my seat and stared at Nick. “Are you serious?”
    “Yeah. I was in tenth grade, which put you guys in eleventh.”
    “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked Nick.
    He shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
    I glanced at Cole and his brow arched, obviously still proud of his accomplishment.
    “What about parties? Who did he date in high school?” Cynthia asked and my heart stopped. “Was it some nerdy girl with no personality?”
    “Oh, did Cole not tell you? Cole and Natty went together from first grade until their second year in college.” Tori’s words hovered in the air and I let out a huge sneeze.
    Did I forget to mention I was allergic to stress?

 
     
     
    “Natty…”
    “Natty, are you okay?” Nick whispered. His arm circled around my shoulders and he held me tightly. The room still spun as I looked around and saw three sets of eyes staring down at me. I’d somehow managed to slide onto the floor. Did I fall out of my chair? Why didn’t I remember anything from point A to point B?
    What a way to make an impression. The pounding in my chest only worsened, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. This wasn’t a good look.
    Hives slowly crawled up from my chest, and any second the red splotches would reveal themselves on my neck and face. The prickle had already started.
    “I’m fine,” I whispered, attempting to climb up off the floor. “Everything’s fine.”
    “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how in the world that slipped out,” Tori told me. “Well, I kind of do, but still I had no idea you’d have that reaction.”
    “It’s not your fault. I doubt I’d be able to handle having someone hit on my boyfriend either. If I were to ever have one.” My gaze fell to the two empty seats across the table as