Free Sweetest Mistake (Nolan Brothers #2) by Amy Olle Page B

him. “If nothing else, you’re at full capacity for four weeks during the off-season.”
    Her bright smile knocked him back.
    Damn if she didn’t turn it on Max.
    “Okay.”
    Max smiled. “Okay?”
    Emily nodded.
    “Excellent.” Max unzipped the front pocket of his backpack. “I’ll contact the others.”
    “Do you n-need anything from m-me?”
    A cell phone cradled in his hand, Max frowned. “Do you have anyplace we can store gear and equipment? Someplace out of the way but easy to access?”
    “There’s an attic space at the end of the hall. W-would that work?”
    A light entered his eyes. “Sounds perfect.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Yeah, can you keep that neighbor kid away from the windows?”
    She blanched.
    Max held up a hand. “I’m kidding. It’s a joke.”
    She blushed an adorable shade of pink. Luke didn’t meet many women who blushed.
    “We really are very safe here,” she said. “Plus, the island has a very… active police department.”
    Max let loose with a derisive smirk. “Aren’t they all?”
    With a guilty glance in his direction, Emily ate her smile. “They’re very responsive.”
    A rusty laugh rattled around in Max’s chest. “It’s all good. The last thing I need are the cops hanging around this place.”
     

     
    Luke turned on the stairs. “I was not interrogating him.”
    From her spot on the step above him, Emily peered into his eyes. “You demanded to read the script.”
    He twisted away and stomped down the steps. “Is that not a reasonable request?”
    “No. It’s high-handed and overreaching.” A smile teased. “You’re the cook, remember?”
    “Chef,” he snapped.
    When they reached the bottom step, the fresh scent of sea air pulled her attention to the living room. Broken glass littered the floor, winking in the fading light.
    Luke stiffened beside her. “I’m going to take a look around outside.”
    While he disappeared through the front door, she returned to the living room. She rescued the broom from the floor where she’d deserted it in her futile dash to save the cookies from their fiery death. As she dumped the last of the glass fragments into a trash bag, she heard the sound of Luke’s voice through the broken glass.
    “Hey, I’m not going to be able to make it tonight. There’s been an incident at the inn...” His voice faded as he moved away from the window.
    Was he talking to the exquisite blonde? The wrench of envy nauseated her. Somewhere during the nine years of her mom’s slow death, she’d lost the taste for bemoaning her perceived misfortunes. In school, she’d devoted many long hours to wishing away her stutter, her unfortunate coloring, her awkwardness. All of herself, really. Then, her mom got sick and she learned what true misfortune was.
    She scooped up the bag of glass and carried it to the trash can in the kitchen. The shiny, new, immaculate kitchen, now covered in a layer of foam and filth.
    She plucked her cell phone off the countertop and sent Mina a text to ask if she recalled the name of the company that had replaced the home’s custom windows last winter.
    Then she filled the farmhouse sink with warm, sudsy water and set to work. Removing the slop proved tricky and she refilled the sink twice with clean water before she’d made noticeable progress.
    As she turned back to the stove with a clean basin of water, the back door opened and Mina popped her head inside.
    Her eyes grew huge when she saw the kitchen. “What happened?”
    Emily sat back on her heels. She’d opened her mouth to try to explain the sequence of events that had led to the mess, when a loud pounding reverberated through the house.
    She climbed to her feet. “What is that?”
    “Noah and Luke are going to board up the window.” Mina pulled open a drawer and picked out a dishcloth.
    Emily filled Mina in on the rock, though she’d apparently already learned the whole story from Noah, who’d heard it from Luke. They cleaned the remainder of