“Yer surrender,” Shayne said, watching as she thought that over as she finished taking a long sip of coffee before she put the cup down and helped herself to the slice of coffee cake topped with apple streusel that he’d ordered for her.
“What exactly am I surrendering?” Ashlyn asked as she reached over and stole his fork.
“Careful, lad, she’s armed,” Declean said, sounding really fucking amused as he hopped up onto the busy counter, where the baristas were struggling to keep up with the long line of customers desperate for their morning caffeine fix.
“Why don’t ye want ta work with me, lass?” Shayne asked, watching as she took her time cutting a small piece of coffee cake with her fork.
“Besides the fact that I work alone?” Ashlyn asked, placing that one perfect bite of cake in her mouth and savored it with a soft moan that left him struggling not to think about the dream he had last night.
Christ, the things she did to him...
“Besides that, lass,” Shayne murmured, settling back in his chair as one of the baristas brought him another coffee and a slice of coffee cake before moving on to the next table.
“I don’t trust you,” Ashlyn said, cutting another small bite of coffee cake before scooping it up with her fork.
“Because ye don’t know me,” Shayne pointed out.
“I know enough,” Ashlyn said, placing the bite in her mouth and drew his attention to her lips, making him wonder if they were as soft as they looked before he realized what he was doing and looked away.
“And what exactly do ye think ye know?” Shayne asked, only to end up glaring when Declean released a long-suffering sigh and a muttered, “I knew he’d fuck this up.”
“He always did have a way with the lasses,” Aidan said as he suddenly appeared on the counter next to Declean.
“That you’re hiding something,” Ashlyn said, meeting his gaze as she took another bite.
“Never said I wasn’t,” Shayne said as he picked up his cup of coffee and forced himself to take a sip of the bitter liquid.
“Fair enough,” Ashlyn said, taking another bite as she seemed to think that over.
“What do ye want ta know?” Shayne asked, watching her expression turn assessing as she absently twirled the fork between her fingers.
“Do you really think that playing twenty questions is going to help?” Ashlyn asked, taking another bite.
“It couldn’t hurt,” Shanye pointed out.
Nodding, Ashlyn finished off her bite before she said, “Fine. I’ll play along. Where were you born?”
“Ireland,” Shayne said, wondering why she was starting with the basics.
“How long have you been in the United States?” she asked, finishing off the last bite of coffee cake.
“Not long,” Shayne lied, watching her nod absently as she set her empty plate aside and reached for his.
“Your accent is softened and the way you annunciate your words tells me that you’ve been living in the United States for quite some time,” Ashlyn said, watching him as she took a bite of the second slice of coffee cake.
“I’m a fast learner, lass,” Shayne drawled only to go still when thetskingstarted.
“And a bad liar,” Declean said, shaking his head in disgust.
“He really is,” Aidan readily agreed.
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?” Ashlyn asked, moving onto the next question.
“Seven brothers, lass,” he said, barely getting out the last word when she followed that up with, “And Tristan’s the youngest?”
“Aye,” Shayne said, watching her take another bite as she slowly nodded and-
“You do realize that I’m not buying the long-lost brother story, right?” Ashlyn asked, never taking her eyes off him as she took a sip of coffee.
