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My sister rolled her eyes. “Please. For the past week straight, he’s totally monopolized you. We were supposed to be doing sisterly bonding in your downtime, but instead, you’re playing hide—”
“No, no, no!” Carmen said, putting her hands over her ears. “Maybe this is immature of me, but I don’t want to hear those details about my brother.”
I glared at Stephanie. “We’re not playing anything,” I hissed. “Besides”—I directed this next comment at Carmen—“Bennett has a prejudice against outsiders. We’re just passing the time while I’m here.”
“I hate to say it, but you’re right,” Carmen said with a grimace. “Though he’s spent more time with you than anyone else I can remember. And he’s never brought anyone home to our parents’ house before.”
“Annette invited me through Lyra,” I reminded her. “I’m an old friend of the family. That’s all.”
Carmen shrugged. “If you say so.”
“Where are you going?” Stephanie asked.
I hesitated. “To his parents’ house to keep Paul company.”
The two women’s gazes met, and they burst out laughing.Damn it.I’d proved Carmen’s point. But despite how it looked, going to Bennett’s parents’ house didn’t mean anything.
“Whatever,” I grumbled. “Have a laugh at my expense.”
“All I’m saying is that Bennett doesn’t trust just anyone with his family. Yet you’re somehow in the inner circle. It makes a sister wonder. That’s all.”
I finished off my glass of wine way too quickly. “There’s nothing to wonder about. As soon as Bennett sets up the meeting with the local business commission, I’ll present my case for the resort, they’ll vote, and my work will be done here.”
Carmen frowned. “He’s setting up a meeting for you?”
“Not forme. It’s for the good of everyone. It’s more efficient than both of us going around to the commission members one by one to state our cases.”
Carmen didn’t seem convinced. “Again, if you say so.”
I hopped off the kitchen stool and felt the wine immediately go to my head. “I don’t say so. Iknowso. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for my, uh, outing.”
Their cackling was the soundtrack to my exit.
***
Bennett
AS WE SATaround the dining room table, the center of which was home to a huge pile of poker chips, Paul stared incredulously at Claire.
Her eyes widening, she looked down at her hand and then back at my stepfather. “What?”
“Why didn’t you go all in?” he demanded.
She pointed to the pot. “I bet an extra fifty.”
“Why didn’t you go all in?” Paul asked again.
Claire looked at me, a plea for help in her eyes. Understandable, considering I’d tutored her for the first half hour we’d played since she claimed not to remember much about the game.
“Don’t look at me,” I said. “I folded. Good thing. I didn’t realize you were a card shark.” Too bad she hadn’t pulled that hand at a real table instead of the family dining table, where we played with pennies and nickels—dimes if we were feeling bold.
“I felt nervous about putting in the extra fifty,” she said. “I’m not the risk-taking type.”
I chuckled. “You realize that its fifty cents, right? And my fifty cents, to boot.” Claire hadn’t had any cash on her, so I’d bought her in using the stash of change I kept in my truck for this very purpose.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Paul shook his head. “I thought you were taking pity on a crippled old man.”
“I don’t see any crippled old men,” Claire replied without missing a beat, “but even so, I don’t do pity plays.”
