One in a Million Read online

  Tanner tried to read them but the kid was good. “You’ve been standing up for your friends.”

  Troy nodded once.

  “Good,” Tanner said. “One more thing.”

  Troy tensed. “Yeah?”

  Tanner put his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “The way you’ve got your friends’ back? I want you to know that I have yours in the same way. And I expect you to let me know when you need me to do something more.”

  Troy seemed to grapple with that a moment and then nodded again.

  Tanner helped him guide the boat out of the harbor. They then took the water exhilaratingly fast and hard, and both were grinning like fools when they finally returned to the docks two hours later.

  Troy helped tie everything down and lock up without being asked, already knowing the drill.

  When they were back in the truck heading home, Tanner said, “You did good.”

  “On the boat?”

  “That too.”

  Troy stared straight ahead, but Tanner thought maybe he was smiling just a little bit.

  Callie hung out at her grandma’s that night. She told herself it was because she was worried for Lucille, but that wasn’t it.

  Callie wasn’t worried about her grandma. Nope, she was pretty sure her grandma was saner than all of them put together. The truth is, Callie needed the comfort of being there. Period.

  Just after dinner, Lucille squeezed Callie’s hand. “Stay with me tonight?”

  “Of course,” Callie said, even as she knew it was a pity date. But a bunch of Lucille and Mr. Wykowski’s friends came over, and they brought out the big guns—Kahlua and milk.

  Which meant that Jeopardy was a rowdy affair, after which Callie fell asleep on her grandma’s couch.

  And woke up with a man with a jackhammer inside her head. She drove home and told herself it didn’t matter if Tanner had come looking for her last night. They weren’t a thing.

  But still, as she walked into her building, she looked around as if she could possibly see signs of him having been by.

  As she was unlocking her door, Becca peeked out and smiled. “I was just coming to see you,” she said. “Two things. One, remember when we made a list of things to do for my wedding and I insisted on handling a lot it myself? Well, with the big bachelor/bachelorette party coming up this weekend, I forgot all about one of the things I said I’d do.”

  “What’s that?” Callie asked.

  “Booking the B&B for the weekend of the wedding for our out-of-town guests.” She grimaced. “I know, it’s a biggie. But I’m banking on the fact that this is really off season and the place will still have rooms. I also want to get my mom and cousin a day at the spa there. Do you think it’s too late?”

  “Let me handle it for you, okay?” Callie asked. “Consider it done.”

  “Thanks,” Becca said gratefully. “And the second thing is, I’m planning to sell my furniture since I’ll be moving into Sam’s soon. I wanted to see if there’s anything you need before I sell it. A couch? Microwave? More socks for the vents?”

  “Ha,” Callie said. “No need for those, I don’t think.” She ignored Becca’s frown. “And no furniture, thanks. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying so I don’t want to acquire a bunch of new things.”

  Becca smiled.

  “What?”

  “Well, I said the very same thing when I first came to Lucky Harbor. And then I met Sam.”

  “Yes, but Sam’s taken,” Callie said.

  “You never know who might turn into your Sam.”

  “Pretty sure I don’t have a Sam in my near future,” Callie said.

  Becca chewed on her lower lip. “Are you sure? Because you might have already met him.”

  Callie ignored the little squish her heart did at this thought. “Nope.”

  “I was trying to be subtle here,” Becca said. “But I’m just going to come right out and say it, okay?”

  Callie sighed. “Could I stop you?”

  “Definitely not. Look, we know Tanner’s been sleeping here with you. And I’m real glad because other than his temporary assery at the Love Shack, I think he’s an amazing guy.”

  She could deal with this, Callie told herself. Probably. All she had to do was a little gossip control. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “Really? Because what it looks like is that you finally decided to let your hair down and have a good time—which after how hard you’ve been working, you totally deserve. And it looks like that good time came in the form one of extremely sexy ex–Navy SEAL.”

  “Okay,” Callie said. “So maybe it’s exactly what it looked like.”

  Becca laughed. “Yay!”

  “But it’s just a good time.”

  “Whatever you say,” Becca said with a secret smile.

  Callie shook her head. She gave up.

  “I’ve gotta run,” Becca said. “Breakfast tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Callie said. “Um…that’s it? You’re not going to grill me for more info?”

  “Yes, but I’m saving it for breakfast. Mostly because Olivia’s much better at getting info than me.” She flashed a grin when Callie groaned.

  “I really don’t have info on what’s happening,” Callie said. “Or not happening.”

  “Honey, that’s the very best kind of story.” Becca squeezed Callie’s hand. “And don’t worry. Sam mentioned a few days ago that Tanner’s been wearing the same silly grin you’re wearing. So there’s got to be a bunch of good stuff to tell.”

  “Sam said what?”

  Becca’s grin widened. “I believe his exact words yesterday were ‘Tanner’s good for shit today. He’s so relaxed I had to check him for a pulse.’”

  Callie bit her inner cheek.

  “Sam asked him if he’d just gotten a massage or something,” Becca said, “and Tanner apparently said ‘or something.’ So then Sam told me he wants a massage.”

  No sense in denying it. She’d covered the vents but she couldn’t cover the truth; it was probably all over her face. “It’s a temporary sort of thing. Very temporary.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Becca said. “You guys can’t keep your eyes off each other, and the chemistry…it’s like watching fireworks whenever you’re together. I really thought this could turn into something more.”

  “I don’t want more.”

  Becca didn’t look convinced, so Callie took her hand. “It’s true. I know you’re new in love and think it’s for everyone, but it’s not. I’ve been there, I know.”

  “Then he wasn’t the right one,” Becca said.

  “Definitely he wasn’t,” Callie agreed.

  “But how will you know if Tanner’s the right one if you don’t give him a shot? What if he’s the One, Callie?”

  She brushed that off, but as she went about her day, the question stuck with her.

  What if Tanner was the One?

  Did she even believe in the One?

  Once upon a time she had, but she’d changed. Hadn’t she? The question stuck with her as she stopped by the B&B to book the place for Becca’s wedding weekend. She met Maddie, the innkeeper, who took her reservations, and then Maddie introduced her sister Chloe, who ran the day spa.

  “Heard you’re seeing Tanner Riggs,” Chloe said.

  Callie blinked. “Is there a sign written on my forehead?”

  Chloe laughed. “No. It’s your grandma. She’s on a mission to see you matched. She considers herself somewhat of a master on the subject.”

  “She’s a master at the crazy,” Callie muttered.

  Chloe laughed. “That too.” Her smile softened as someone came into the room. Callie turned and found Sheriff Thompson standing there.

  He wasn’t dressed like a cop at the moment. Jeans, a University of Washington sweatshirt, and battered running shoes, and he wore them with the same authority that he’d worn his uniform. The gun at his hip might have helped there. He strode directly to Chloe, pulled her in, and laid a kiss on her