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“I can’t leave her standing alone on the deck…” He let his voice trail off when he realized what he had said.
“Like you did to me?” Claire folded her arms. “At the golf place?”
Heat rushed to his cheeks. “I was concerned for Dani. I had to make sure she was okay.”
“You shouldn’t trust her, you know. She’s a manipulator.”
He couldn’t help but think of that childish saying about rubber and glue. If Dani was a manipulator, then Claire was a master at it. “She’s not what you think.”
Claire’s jaw worked and she pressed her lips together. “She’s a drunk and a liar. You should let her go mooch off someone else.”
Austin cocked his head to the side as he assessed what Claire had just said. “Wait, how do you—”
“Everyone knows she’s penniless, and has wormed her way into your life. It was on the news.” Claire folded her arms as if saying that made it a fact.
“Gossip channel, you mean?” He took a step back from her. What was he doing? This whole conversation was pointless. He wasn’t going to leave Dani to spend the day with the likes of Claire Sullivan. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. Just let me go back to Dani.”
Claire smiled, although it kind of looked like a snarl. “Sure. Go. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“You didn’t offend me.” He just wasn’t at all interested in getting back together with her, but he kept that part to himself. She wouldn’t listen anyway.
Her features softened. “All right. Go. Have fun with her. I hope you find happiness.” Claire took a step toward him and before he could react, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He jerked back. She ignored the fact that he practically shoved her away and patted his chest. “Have fun with your little girlfriend. You’ll regret it when she makes a fool out of you.”
She turned and walked off, leaving him stunned. Had that just happened? Had she really kissed him? Of all the…he didn’t even know how to finish that thought. He was so done with her. At least she was gone.
He hurried back to the forward part of the deck where he’d left Dani. She was sitting at the table, her drink in her hand. He couldn’t tell if she was mad or not. He sat down across from her and picked up his Pepsi. “I’m sorry, that was rude of her to drag me off. But I think that’s the last we’ll see of Claire.”
Dani raised her eyebrows. “Oh? What happened?”
“I told her we were—” He stopped short. He hadn’t meant to tell Dani what he’d said. Now he didn’t know how to finish that sentence. “Uh…”
A look flitted onto Dani’s face. It was a cross between curiosity and skepticism. “You told her we were what?”
Great. Now he had to say it. Why couldn’t he keep his big mouth shut? “T-together,” he stuttered and more heat assaulted his face. This was not going well. He needed to shut up.
Surprise registered on her face. “Together? Us?”
He nodded, deciding that non-verbal communication would be best.
“What did she say to that?” She studied his face.
He shrugged. Never in a million years would he actually tell Dani what Claire had said. It would hurt her. Claire was a vicious woman and her words could die on the wind.
He stuck his straw in his mouth and gulped down the rest of his soda, hoping it would cool him. It didn’t work. He tipped the glass to get a piece of ice, but they all came at once, crashing onto his lips. Man, he couldn’t catch a break. Now he looked like a clumsy idiot.
“I hate when that happens to me,” Dani said, obviously trying to lessen his embarrassment.
He wiped at his lips. “Yeah.”
“Listen, I don’t mean to change the subject, but I was wondering…” Dani pulled the pineapple slice off her glass and took a bite. “Can I ask you something personal?”
Anything to take the subject off Claire. Austin nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Do you have a stutter?” Her dark brown eyes held a softness to them, and her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sorry if that’s a stupid question. I just noticed it a few times. Please don’t take offense.”
Oh, fantastic. He’d rather jump overboard than talk about his speech impediment. And here he was hoping to get away from talking about embarrassing things. He took his straw and stabbed at his ice. Maybe that would make it melt faster. He suddenly needed a drink of water.
Dani reached out and put her hand on his knee. “I’ve upset you. I’m sorry. Ignore that. You don’t have to answer.”
