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Andy relaxed. Pretty much everything had the sand dollar logo on it.
“I’m only wearing this shirt because Baby Frankie doesn’t like to be covered up.” Mary glanced down with a rueful grin. “I think she’s a bit of an exhibitionist. I have no idea who she gets it from.”
Andy did. His name rhymed with Duke.
Snatching up a loose-fitting black T-shirt similar to what she already had on, Andy slung it over her shoulder.
Mary winked. Then suddenly winced, an“oof”slipping from her as she palmed her belly again. Her belly that suddenly appeared to be rippling like a wave.
Holy mama! Was that a foot?
Andy was riveted by the sight. Which was, at once, both freakishly grotesque and extraordinarily beautiful.
“Pretty sure my girl’s gonna be a surfer too,” Mary gasped out.
“Perhaps you should sit down.”
She waved off the concern. “I’m fine. She’ll calm in a min—”
Luke suddenly appeared at his sister’s side with a take-no-shit expression and one long arm pointed towards the cashwrap. “Sit. I’ll finish up here.”
Mary looked like she would argue, but then the shells hanging from the front door tinkled as a man walked in. He had brown hair with a bit of gray at the temples and wore chinos, a white polo, and tasseled loafers. In his hands was a slotted drink tray with two familiar Styrofoam cups.
“Fine. I think Frankie might be hungry anyway.” Mary strolled off towards the promise of sustenance but stopped in her tracks to shoot directives back at her brother. “You’ll need to get Andy set up with an employee account and password.”
“Got it.”
“And walk her through the POS.”
“Sure.”
“Andbe nice!”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest in a way that looked the exact opposite of nice, his gaze shifting to the man holding the shakes. “Take her to the beach, and don’t let her come back for at least two hours.”
Shakes Guy frowned. “I was planning on taking my Benz in for a detail.”
This was apparently the wrong thing to say because Luke uncrossed his arms to jab a finger at him. “If my sister doesn’t come back from her break zen as a fucking yoga instructor, I will hold you personally responsible, Paul Berry.”
Paul Berry seemed to grasp Luke was serious. Placing his free hand at the small of Mary’s back, he guided her from the store. “Maybe we can squeeze in an adjustment after the auto shop. You feel tense, Sugar Lips.”
Andy grimaced.
You could tell a lot about a person by their choice of endearments for their partner, and Sugar Lips did not say much for Paul Berry.
Mary must not have been feeling it either because she swatted his hand away as she mumbled about her brother being a bossy ass.
Luke, meanwhile, was muttering about his sister being a stubborn ass. “For the love of Christ,” he hissed after the door tinkled closed, “she just needs to stop working so much.”
Andy had to agree with the man on that point. It looked as though Baby Frankie was ready to make her grand entrance into the world any day now, and Andy was so not prepared to have a ringside seat to the blessed event. “Don’t worry,” she said with quiet resolve, “I’m here now, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t have to.”
This, apparently, wasreallythe wrong thing to say because Luke turned on her in a flash. “Number one, that’s my job on account of Mary’s baby daddy being a complete tool.”
Luke took a step towards her, and it was all Andy could do to hold her ground let alone eye contact with the man.
“Number two, pardon my suspicion here, Creeper, but I’m not sure I’m buying your motivations for getting this job had anything to do with helping my sister when I deleted fifty fucking photos of Kyle from your phone.”
Okay. Ouch. She’d suspected his suspicions of her were prompted by the beach stalking, but to hear it laid out like that was a bit harsh. He could have at least said, “fiftyfreakingphotos.”
