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Don’t talk to her
Don’t under any circumstances smell her
Just don’t fucking breathe
***
The morning smell of fresh rain and salty surf overtook me as I left my apartment and headed to Lopa.
I tampered down most of my ability to feel and was pretty confident I’d make it through the day. After all, I always succeeded at what I set out to do. Unless you count falling for a woman who was now engaged to my brother. I parked and said a silent Hail Mary to myself. Please let her have grown ugly in the past few weeks.
She hadn’t. Her smiling face greeted me as I stepped inside. Our eyes met, briefly, before I noticed the new umbrellas swaying slightly in the breeze on the back deck.
My eyes flitted to a small wooden stage in the corner, and I thumbed in that direction. “Who plays there?”
“A few local bands. Great idea isn’t it?” Penny beamed as she came toward me, her long legs taking each step slower than the last.
“Pfft.” I shrugged my shoulders and crossed my arms.
She ran a hand down the jacket of her business suit. Her pink tipped nails glistened in the morning sun against the white of her jacket. Those nails had scratched down my back the day before she got engaged to my fuckhead brother.
“It drums up quite the crowd.” She was nervous as a slight tremble in her voice gave her away.
“Nice rock,” I said, glancing at the shimmery diamond resting on her finger. “Now, where do you want me?”
Her copper-colored eyes widened as she choked back a cough. She shook her long sun-kissed tresses as she waved a hand to the bar. “After you, Lord of the Alcohol.”
I grinned, slightly, and made my way to my new home behind the bar with my old liquor friends. Each bottle a reminder of a path I didn’t want to travel down.
Once the doors opened, the crowd filtered in. A few locals, and many vacationers, occupied my bar, and kept me busy, while I mindlessly served drinks. I was such a dumbass for agreeing to help. Hopefully she’d hire someone soon, so I could get back to my comforting couch.
THREE
PENNY
The Lord of the Alcohol intoxicated my veins
His movements were swift, calculated, and controlled as he maneuvered behind the bar, pouring liquor like a pro. Sitting on the patio, I tried not to stare. Impossible. My eyes kept going back to his sexy self instead of the front door where Dex would be entering soon. Too bad I couldn’t lock the door and hide away inside the Lopa forever. I shook my head as I glared down to the sizeable diamond ring on my left finger. A token of his love he’d called it. More like a prison. A reminder of my betrothal. Theo was right about it being a rock. My hand felt heavy and weighted down with all the secrets.
I stared at the same sentence I read over and over for the past hour. The report I had been working on needed to be handed into my father at the end of today, but I couldn’t focus. Having Theo here had my body on edge. Grabbing the paper and my coffee, I headed into the back office to try to get some work done.
You can never let Theo know any of it.
I wanted to spill my guts to Theo, but I had big reasons not to. My mind wandered back to the day I met with my father at his office.
The day after Theo and I made love. The evil games my father and Dex played that day would never be forgotten by me.
“Knock, knock, here comes the cock.” Dex’s idea of a joke made my insides churn. Such crass humor, and most times I pretended not to hear him. He pushed his way inside the tiny office as I finished off the report.
“Hi,” I quipped.
“Ready?” His tall, burly frame overpowered the office, and I rose from the chair.
“Let me grab my things, I’ll meet you out front.”
“Sure. I see Theo is enjoying himself behind the bar.”
My hair fell over my shoulders as I glanced up to him. “Yes, he is.” Leave.
