Page 18 of A Whim and a Prayer

“It’s good to see you, beautiful,” he said with a caress of her shoulder, sending more blood to her cheeks when his fingers lingered. With his cleft chin, dark hair, and classic features, Winnie always said he reminded her of her movie-star idol, Cary Grant, but all Beck saw was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, eyeing Little Red Riding Hood for a quick meal.

He gave the perfunctory nod to Beck and Abby before zeroing in on Winnie like radar. “Haven’t seen you at Revere Beach lately, doll, and I’ve missed you.”

Beck fought the urge to roll his eyes as he tapped Abby’s arm. “Move it, Abs—I gotta get you two home.”

Gaze darting to Beck, then back to Winnie, Brayden gave a nod over his shoulder to a booth on the other side. “I’m here with a few buddies, so if you’d like to join us, Winnie, I can take you home—”

Winnie shot to her feet.

“No.” Beck nearly bulldozed Abby out of the booth, gaze suddenly as hard as his tone. “She’s with me.”

A wrinkle popped in Brayden’s brow as he flashed an irritated look at Beck before relocking on Winnie. “I thought you two were only friends ...”

“We are,” Winnie piped up, apparently finding her tongue behind all the drool. She scooted out of the booth, obviously intending to take advantage of the invitation.

Beck stood to his full height of six-foot-three to intimidate the Lothario’s five-foot-ten, drilling him with a possessive glare. “Friends or otherwise, she’s with me tonight, hot shot, so move on because I’m taking her home.”

“Beck!” Winnie’s mouth dropped open, but he didn’t give her any time to object. Bumping McCarthy out of the way, he gripped her arm to haul her out of the booth after shoving the bill and payment at Abby. “Here, Abs, pay this for me, will ya?”

“What are you doing?” Winnie hissed under her breath as Beck all but dragged her out the door and to the car before she finally broke free. “Are you crazy?”

“No, just ‘responsible,’ remember?” Hands moored to his hips, he stared her down. “Since one of us has to be.” He opened the door. “Get in, Dennehy, now.”

“No!” She stomped her foot. “Hate to tell you, but you’re not my mother, Campbell.”

A nerve jumped in his cheek. “No, but I am your mother’s designated chaperone and your best friend.” He paused, chest expanding and contracting while his anger slowly siphoned out. He pinned her with a solemn look, the barest hint of a threat in his tone. “Unless, of course, you don’t want the latter anymore after I take you home …”

A sheen of tears glazed her eyes as she shook her head, making him feel like a heel rather than a hero who just saved her from a snake. She slid in the car with a sniff. “I don’t understand you, Beck. You know how much I’ve wanted him to ask me out forever.”

“Yes, I do,” he said quietly as he rounded the car, leaving the passenger door open for Abby before getting in on the other side, “but he’s no good for you, Pooh. He’s too old and too loose with women, and at seventeen—”

“Almost eighteen,” she insisted.

“But still seventeen”—and a young seventeen at that, he thought with a protective press of his lips—“so you sure don’t need a twenty-four-year-old wolf at your door.”

“Boy, that was close,” Abby said as she got in the front seat next to Winnie, out of breath from running all the way. She bent forward to shoot Beck a wink. “Good thing your guardian angel was with us, right, Cuz?”

“No—”

“Yes.” Beck’s response overlapped Winnie’s, making Abby chuckle while Winnie folded her arms, staring straight ahead with a mulish mouth to avoid Beck, no doubt.

Abby pinched the back of her cousin’s neck, prompting a turtle duck of Winnie’s shoulders. “I know you’re crazy about Brayden, Win, but honestly, as good-looking as he is, he’s a womanizer to the core, who would only break your heart.”

Winnie burned her with a mock glare. “Etu, Brute?”

Abby laughed, giving Winnie’s knee an affectionate pinch. “Hey, it’s only because we both love you to pieces, right, Beck?”

“Right,” he responded with a slow exhale of air, his half smile calcifying a tad as he stared straight ahead.

And one of us, a little too much ...

Chapter Twelve

“Thanks for the malted and the ride, Beck,” Abby said as she got out of his car when Beck dropped her off. She reached in to tousle Winnie’s curls before closing the door and leaning on the open window. “And for being such a great friend to my favorite cousin.”

“That’s debatable,” Winnie mumbled before sending Abby a pursed smile. She finally blew her a kiss, never able to be cranky at her best girlfriend. “But thanks for helping out with this fundraiser, Cuz. I knew I could count on you and Killjoy over here.”

Abby grinned at Beck. “Uh-oh … somebody’s in the doghouse. And, sure—what else do I have to do but study?” She tapped the open window and waved. “G’night, you two. And, Win,” she called as she ran up her walk, hands cupped to her mouth, “have a great first day back at ‘Rat-cliffe,’ she said with a grin, purposely mispronouncing the ritzy college Winnie’s father had insisted on and Abby’s parents couldn’t afford.