Free No Tan Lines by Kate Angell

isn’t fair.”
    Trace looked down at his T-shirt and board shorts. “What wasn’t fair was your cousin Jenna charging me sixty bucks for these clothes. Paybacks are a bastard. You’ll eat the rent and pay for the remodeling. Twelve months will establish Nicole in business.”
    “Jackass,” muttered Shaye.
    “Beave,” said Trace.
    “You two argue like an old married couple,” Nicole commented as she approached them.
    Trace’s throat tightened.
    He swore he heard Shaye gag.
    Married. The word would never extend to a Cates and a Saunders.
    “The shop is perfect.” Nicole touched his arm in an appreciative gesture. “I can envision the renovation.”
    “Envision it small,” Kai said darkly.
    Trace had never seen Nicole glare at anyone as she now did at Kai. She had fire and fight in her eyes. And a backbone. Kai’s jaw jutted at a don’t-mess-with-me angle.
    Battle lines were now drawn between the jewelry designer and the handyman. Trace hoped it wouldn’t escalate into an all-out war.
    He had his own problems with Shaye.
    She would try to double-deal him down the road.
    He had to expect the unexpected.

Three
     
    S haye Cates expected Nicole and Trace to depart shortly after viewing the shop. But there was no hurrying them. They pushed an hour into ninety minutes. Nicole shared her vision of the store with Trace while Shaye and Kai stood by the door.
    Twice Kai held the door open.
    Twice the two ignored his hint that they leave.
    They’d stuck around forever.
    An apprehensive lump formed in Shaye’s throat, one she couldn’t swallow. Kai was ticked at her, as he had a right to be. Anger poured off him in waves. His aversion to Trace went back years. However, his immediate dislike of Nicole Archer proved puzzling.
    Kai was laid-back and never judged anyone, yet Nicole seemed to hit a nerve from the get-go. Perhaps it was because she was Trace’s lover. Kai saw them as a team. Both of them were trespassing on Cates property.
    Shaye rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension. The knots only tightened. She might have gotten off easier had Nicole paid rent. A total freebie wouldn’t sit well with her family. Not well at all.
    The designer’s free pass would force other shop owners to cover her rent so the boardwalk remained solvent. Business was slow, and everyone was struggling. Nicole would add to their burden.
    Shaye glanced at the couple as they moved toward the door. Could they walk any slower? She scrunched her nose. If she were objective, she’d have to admit, the two looked good together. Handsome men and beautiful women were drawn to each other. Trace and Nicole were no exception. They complemented one another, even amid the gutted shop.
    Wood shavings now speckled the satin ankle ties on Nicole’s wedge sandals. Dirt smeared her white shift. But she had the polish and poise to pull it off. Her jewelry dazzled amid the dust.
    Then there was Trace. His Volleyball T-shirt accented his chest, the tribal tattoo a stamp to his masculinity. His board shorts hitched low on his hips. Pink wasn’t his color, but neither did the neon detract from his long, muscular legs. Barefoot, he watched for discarded nails and picture-frame hooks. He looked more like a tourist than the heir to a town.
    He listened attentively to Nicole, then made a few suggestions of his own. His lover took them all in, nodding her approval.
    Nodding was not good, Shaye realized. Each agreement raised the cost of the renovation. The Cateses would be laying out a fortune. Kai would do the work. Maybe he could cut a few corners.
    “What shop was here most recently?” Nicole asked. “There are picture hooks all over the floor.”
    “Behind the Lens,” Shaye said. “My Uncle Dave was a professional photographer. He restored historical photos of the town and its earliest residents. He also made scenic postcards and amusement-park videos. Tourists flocked to the memorabilia. He retired this spring.”
    Shaye still had dozens of Uncle