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I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and get her as far away from him as possible.
But this island was only so big, and he was bound to show up sometime.
He looked pretty haggard, but I’d seen him much worse. His clothes were wrinkled and stained.
At least when my brother and I had been little, he’d tried to hide it.
It took him a moment to notice us. He never was very sharp this early in the morning. But when his head turned, he saw Marin first.
His gaze swept up her legs, lingering on those bare thighs for far too long.
I wanted to break his damn nose.
And then finally, he looked up, and that was when he saw me, and the asshole fucking smiled.
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” he said, stepping away from the counter.
“Not long enough,” I answered.
I saw Janet out of the corner of my eye with our order, but she instinctively stopped, placing it on the counter, and then backed away.
“Heard you got a new girlfriend.” His eyes roamed, and this time, he took even longer. “Pretty.”
My hand on her leg curled into a fist. Marin silently watched our exchange, obviously confused. But it didn’t stop her from placing her own hand on top of mine, unclenching my fingers to rest on her leg once more.
I took a deep breath. I wouldn’t take his bait.
“Why are you here?”
It wasn’t like him to be out this early. He was like a vampire—allergic to the sun and human emotions.
“Nothing beats a good cup of coffee,” he answered, and then he gave Marin a wink. “Especially after you’ve had a few too many.”
A few too many. Fuck me.
He didn’t know how tonothave a few too many.
“You know how it is, right,son?”
I felt Marin stiffen next to me as all the puzzle pieces settled in place for her.
A memory flashed in my mind. A late-night visit. His ass on my couch, smiling like a Cheshire cat as a bottle of whiskey sat on the table between us.
“Not so high and mighty now, are ya? It’d be a shame for the town to learn of your little… problem.”
I swallowed down a lump in my throat.
“Don’t call me that.”
Only my father could make a term of endearment sound demeaning.
“Would you rather have me call you Captain Green?” he sneered.
“Well, since the only time I ever see you lately is in an official capacity…seems pretty fucking appropriate.”
He stepped forward, and that was when I really got a whiff of it—the alcohol and sweat from his clothing.
How many times had he come home like that?
