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Lyra took her daughter by the hand and left, leaving me alone with Bennett. For all his talk about business being good, he’d had no patrons that required his attention the whole time we’d been talking. Now that Lyra was gone, tension returned to the air. At least my ovaries had finally settled down.Note to self: make sure any business discussions with Bennett take place in the absence of his niece.
I wondered where the hell Stephanie was. Surely, it didn’t take this long to pick a song. Focusing on the music, I realized it hadn’t changed. I surveyed the room, searching for my sister.What… the… fuck?She was playing darts with two elderly men, one of whom was relying on a walker to stay upright. And she’d made me stop working because she was “sooo hungry.”
“So, can I get you something?” Bennett asked, his voice filled with resignation. Apparently, he’d realized I wasn’t going anywhere.
Get used to it, buddy.I’d lost my job at my law firm over Reg. There was no way in hell I would let another man derail my career.
“I don’t know.” I lifted my chin. “Can I trust you not to spit in my drink?”
He pursed his lips. “How old do you think I am? Thirteen?”
I opened my mouth to fire back a snarky retort but clamped it shut. I was in the Carolina Banks in a professional capacity, and I would not resort to being childish.Okay… starting now.
“I’ll take iced tea.”
“Long Island Iced Tea?”
“No, just regular iced tea. I’m here on business, remember?”
He stared at me, his dark eyes locked on mine. The air crackled between us with a different kind of tension, the kind that made my thighs quiver. “I wish I could forget.”
***
Bennett
I PUSHED AWAYfrom the bar, leaving Claire staring at me, open-mouthed.I’d like to do things with that pretty mouth.I tore my gaze away.
“I’ll get you that tea.” Of all the damn bars on the island, she had to walk into mine.
The truth was I would have liked to forget why she was there. Although we were adversaries, I enjoyed our verbal volleys, and God knew I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. That didn’t mean she was going to win. No matter how sexy she was when she went into lawyer mode, she would not ruin my home with a god-awful resort.
I’d have to have a serious talk with Lyra to set her straight. The Ramsey-Croft siblings stuck together. My sister must have been so worn out with work and Sophia that she wasn’t thinking clearly. Not that I was going to forbid her to be friendly with Claire. That would cross a line. But if she happened to hang out with Claire and talk some sense into her, that would be okay.
Because I sure as hell would not be able to do it. Reasoning with Claire had seemed like a good idea when Wes suggested it, but I was doomed to fail. Deceit wasn’t my thing, and I felt deceitful trying to befriend Claire to further my agenda. No, I would have to go about this differently. She might have the fancy law degree, but she didn’t know the people of this town like I did.
When I returned from the kitchen, which was where we kept the iced tea, Claire’s sister had returned to her side. A bit of disappointment that I wouldn’t have her to myself flashed through me, but mostly, I felt relieved. Stephanie would provide much-needed interference, ensuring I wouldn’t say something I shouldn’t.
I placed the tea in front of Claire. “Can I get you something to drink?” I asked Stephanie.
“What do you recommend?”
“We have a great IPA on tap, brewed right on-site. The pale lager is another good one.” Those were my go-to recommendations, not because they were my favorite but because they were the most generic.
Stephanie wrinkled her nose.Figures.
“Beer? No thanks. How about a pisco sour?” she said.
It wasn’t often a patron’s order threw me for a loop. “Sorry, not sure I can do that one.”
“How about a peachy keen?”
Again, I was left scratching my head. I was a damn good bartender, but I didn’t keep up with every new drink that came on the scene. The beer brewed on-site was our specialty—all other beverages on the menu were an afterthought.
Before I could reply, Claire spoke. “How about sex on the beach?”
My eyebrows rose, and I turned my attention one hundred percent to Claire. “Excuse me?”
Stephanie clamped her hand over her mouth, trying to silence her laughter. A flush settled on Claire’s cheeks, and damn if it didn’t make her hotter, somehow bringing out the blue of her eyes. Double damn that I wanted to know if that flush spread to other areas of her body.
