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“Barty’s sister’s serving in the restaurant at the inn. Plus, you have a big stain on your shirt.” She points at the brown bull’s-eye marking my flannel.
“Damn. Nothing gets by anyone in this town.” All the more reason to stay away.
“Word on the street is the two of you looked real cozy together at the gas station.”
“No, we did not. She spilled her coffee on me, and then I cleaned up as best I could and left. Period, end of story.”
“Not what I heard.” Poppy grins, her light-blue eyes practically sparkling at the gossip. “I heard her hands were all over you, and the two of you couldn’t stop staring at one another.”
“Yeah. She was trying to get the damn coffee off my shirt. Everyone should start minding their own damn business in this town.”
“Why so defensive, big brother?” Poppy elbows me, her lips pursed in a teasing smirk.
“I’m not being defensive. Nothing happened. And it aggravates me when people flap their gums about stuff that doesn’t need talking about.”
“Grand medium roast for King!” The barista shouts out the order even though Poppy and I are the only two customers.
“You have anything else to harass me about, or can I resume my errands?” I reach around her for the coffee, the pounding in my head louder than ever.
“I guess that’s all for now. But are you interested in Juliet? She is a Capelli.” Poppy scrunches up her nose in distaste.
I press my lips together, gut swirling. For one, it’s none of Poppy’s business who I’m interested in—or not—and two, I do not need relationship advice from my baby sister.
“Thanks for the reminder of her last name. And no, not interested.” I grit my teeth, the words sounding hollow to my ears.
“Oh-kay. Because even though she’s cute, the idea of crossing lines is a bit much. Even if she did help with the lawsuit.” She flips her hair over her shoulder, reassured that I’m not breaking any unspoken family rules.
“Got it, Pops.” I shoot my sister a wave and head for the door, eager to end this conversation.
“You should consider dating someone, though!” Poppy shouts after me, and I shake my head, not bothering to look back.
Yeah, I hate errand day.
Since I’m near the courthouse, I drop Roman a text to check whether he’s free. I don’t want to hang out until lunch anymore, but it’d be good to see him in person. Since he married Skye, I’ve barely seen the guy.
King: You busy? I’m in town
Rome: Yeah, I’m working. But I can take a quick break. Where are you?
King: I can meet you at the courthouse
Rome: See you in 5
I tuck my cell into my pocket and head over to the courthouse. It’s a short walk across the town square, no big deal. The weather’s perfect—spring in Florida is one of the best times of the year. Sunny, low humidity, clear skies. The ocean breeze carries the sound of the waves, and that’s enough to calm me, at least a little.
Outside the courthouse, Roman heads down the marble staircase as soon as he catches sight of me.
“Hey.” He nods his dark head at me but keeps his hands to himself. Unlike Poppy the hugger, Roman’s much more reserved. I like that in a person.
“How’s it going? Things good with Skye?”
The corners of Roman’s lips tip up in a smile at the mention of his wife.
“Yeah, she’s good. She’s feeling better, now that she’s in the second trimester.”
“Good. I hear morning sickness can be rough.”
“Brutal, man. It should be called ‘all-day sickness.’ Glad that part’s over. Anyway, what’s up? You want to have lunch?”
