AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, fuck girl. I told you to stay out of his orbit.” Belinda chuffed as she walked by.
Grinning, Ethan slid his hands over hers with the ease and intention of a man who always got what he wanted. The glint in his eyes said he wanted her—but not in a smarmy way. There was genuine interest there, a flicker of genuine curiosity. Interesting considering they’d literally just met.
“Having a bit of trouble staying upright, are you?”
Clearing her throat, Kimber righted herself and tried not to sink into an embarrassed puddle. “Don’t most women have that issue with you?”
He shrugged; his grin pleased. “Sometimes. Okay, often.”
Hitching a brow, she enjoyed the warmth that went through her at this gentle banter. “And why do you think that is?”
“Because I’m a gentleman and that’s hard to find these days.”
Well. He wasn’t wrong. “That’s introspective of you.”
Belinda picked up Kimber’s drink and wiped beneath it. “Don’t let him fool you into thinking he’s some heaven-sent modern man of your dreams. He read that tidbit in a fancy woman’s magazine.” Making her point, Belinda reached beneath the counter and produced a stack of fashion and beauty magazines and dumped them on the counter in front of Ethan. “You keep leaving these behind and I’m tired of picking up after you.”
Scooping the magazines like he was embracing a small child, he pulled them into a neat pile and gave them a little pat.
Kimber drew back. “Those are all yours?”
He was gay. Of course he was.
The grin fell from his face. “They were Belinda’s first. She set them out on the table, and I read a few.”
He was so nonchalant about it that Kimber couldn’t help but smile. Obviously very comfortable in his own skin, Ethan flipped through the magazine on the top and stopped on the recipes section. “See, this looks good.”
She followed his gaze to a very photogenic pot roast. “You cook?”
Closing the magazine, he shoved them aside and turned to fully face her. “Change of subject,” he interjected. “If you’re in Dingle for work, you must work for a media outlet or UFO investigation group.”
She fished a couple of peanuts from the bowl on the bar and cracked one open. “Media, yes. I’m here to interview Pel Cappa about his clean air initiative.”
He winced playfully. “That sounds incredibly boring.”
Spinning in her seat to survey the crowd, Kimber felt the first pull of fatigue as the long day caught up with her. Pel had twenty minutes to show, or she was leaving. In the meantime, maybe the locals could contribute to her story, starting with the Golden God with a fashion magazine fetish.
“Do you know Mr. Cappa, Ethan?”
“We haven’t been officially introduced, but I see him around. No loss if I’m being honest. The man thinks a lot of himself from what I’ve seen… and heard.”
Her reporter brain perked up. “How so?”
Ethan thought for a moment. Kimber allowed herself one quick glance at his face, then returned to watching the crowd. It was too easy to get caught up in him. From Ethan’s left, a dark-haired man watched them. He tried to make it inconspicuous, but she’d been people-watching long enough to know he was surveying them.
“Pel likes to throw his money around and will tell every detail of his life to anyone who will listen.”
“Sounds pretentious.”
Ethan pointed to a booth across the room in the corner. “Come in here most evenings, and you’ll hear all about his life right from the source. He’s a loud talker, and the less he thinks people are listening, the louder he gets.”
“Interesting.”
She couldn’t say what she was really thinking.
Ethan leaned lower against the bar, his breath touching her cheek. “I’m curious about his UFO research.” A strange light danced in Ethan’s eyes. His pupils appeared elliptical, but when he blinked, everything was normal.
The jet lag was really catching up with her.
