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“We get that a lot,” Michael said. “But I’d say we’re more like brothers. Right, Wayne?”

“You can say whatever you want right now, Michael. You’re off the clock,” Wayne affirmed.

Look at me!

“Well, if you’re friends with Elise, then I’m afraid I have to insist you sit with us,” Matt said.

No! No, no. This is the worst idea in the history of ideas.

“Of course. You’re welcome to,” Elise said. Her voice was clearly strained, flustered.

Michael yanked two stools up to their table as Marcy arrived with double whiskeys.

“I see you got a Rum Runner,” Wayne said, mostly speaking to the glass itself. “I guess you haven’t been on the island long enough to know that those things are a cultural faux-pas after Labor Day.”

Elise’s stomach flipped over. “I guess you’ll have to tell the culture police that it’s just too good to pass up.”

“This girl. She has her first Rum Runner, and she basically stumbles down the road,” Wayne said, speaking directly to Matt. “I knew better than to trust her with another one.”

Matt’s smile faltered. It was obvious, at least in Elise’s point of view, that Wayne had decided this was a kind of stand-off.

It didn’t mean that Wayne still wanted to be with her, or even thought of her as anything more than a friend.

It only meant that he was jealous.

And maybe that small bit of jealousy was all that could possibly exist between them.

“Sounds like it hasn’t been all writing, writing, writing, after all, huh, Elise?” Matt said.

Elise rolled her eyes. “You don’t expect me to live my life as some kind of writing saint, do you?”

“A saint? Elise Darby is no saint,” Michael said, cackling.

Elise cast him a dark look. After a pause, she said, “Michael’s just come back from a long trip away.”

“That’s right! And imagine my surprise when I discover my Aunt Elise here, all the way from California.”

Elise felt the words like a punch through the stomach.

“Aunt Elise?” Matt asked.

“Sorry about that. That’s just a funny thing I’ve started to call her,” Michael said, waving his hand from side to side. “I guess if you aren’t used to the island, you aren’t used to our jokes.”

“I’ve heard about this. This small of an island must have its own lexicon, its own dialect, its own...well, jokes. Just because you must be such a tight-knit community,” Matt affirmed.

He was every bit the kind of guy who had to validate everything with logic.

Wayne gave Elise a look then, one that Elise would remember for the rest of her life.

The look said,Is this guy really who you want to spend your time with?

And the look confused her much more than ever.

“And what brings you to our island?” Wayne asked, directing his attention back toward Matt.

Matt’s face brightened even more. “Elise has been non-stop talking about this place. Apparently, it’s changed her writing life. I had to get out here and see it for myself. I have to admit, part of my trip involves trying to convince her to come back to California... Although I don’t know how successful I’ve been so far.”

“Just give her a few more Rum Runners, and she’ll do anything you want,” Michael whispered under his breath but loud enough for Elise to catch it.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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