Naughty Stranger (Dangerous Love 1)

Rhett rose. “Good; you won’t mind if I come along, then?”

Boone glanced over his shoulder. “Sit down. Shut up. I’ll be back in an hour.” He moved toward the door.

“Yeah, right, buddy,” Rhett called, laughter in his voice. “Seven minutes, top.”

Boone shook his head, snorting a laugh, hurrying out of the station before anyone grabbed him. Three blocks down, he approached Snappy Lobster, a food truck that sat in the corner of one of the public parking lots in town. He joined in the lineup of eight people, which wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“Boone.” Zoey, a girl from Kinsley’s graduating class, smiled from inside the truck when he finally made it to the front of the line. “How are things?”

“Good.” Boone smiled.

She hung out of the window a little. “I heard about the murder yesterday. So awful.”

He was well aware of the listening ears around him, so he gave the most professional answer. “We’re diligently working the case. You’re safe. We’ll catch who did this.”

Zoey’s bright pink lips turned up into a sweet smile. “And we’re glad for it. The usual?”

“Give me two today.”

Zoey’s green eyes all but sparkled. “Paying a visit to the new shop owner?”

Boone snorted. “News spreads fast.”

Zoey barked a laugh. “I think Kinsley was spreading the word to make sure no one else snatched her up.”

Of course Kinsley had. Everyone went into her bar, and his sister was as protective as he was. She also apparently wanted them together. Truth was, so did he. Now he only needed to convince Peyton of that too.

“Let me grab your order,” Zoey said, turning away.

Boone glanced next to him, finding the crowd watching him. Small-town living had flaws. Nosy people was one of them. But he oddly missed that when he and Chelsea left their hometown for New York City. His ex-wife obviously hadn’t. She stayed in New York City after the divorce. He’d immediately come home.

Five minutes later, Boone was walking back down the road with a brown bag full of food that was making him hungrier as the seconds went by. The smell of freshly squeezed lemon, lobster right out of the ocean, and spices infused the air when he entered Peyton’s shop. Looking delicately pretty today, she had just handed someone his receipt, and not just anyone.

Remy’s boyfriend, Damon Lane.

Peyton sent a relieved smile Boone’s way. “Hi.”

He’d have liked to think she was happy to see him, but he suspected she appreciated the interruption. He smiled in return. “Hey.” To Damon, he added, “How are things?”

“Been great.” Damon grinned, showing off his pearly whites.

The man was pretty, Boone would give him that. But there wouldn’t be a day where Boone would ever spend that much time on his hair. Not a strand of Damon’s brown locks was out of place, and even his eyebrows atop his dark brown eyes appeared to be waxed to perfection.

“Heard about the murder yesterday,” Damon said. “Terrible thing to happen to that girl.”

“Yup,” was all Boone would say on the matter.

No one liked Damon. Most of all Kinsley, but Damon always rubbed him wrong too. There wasn’t a genuine bone in the man’s body. Everything seemed like a show.

But Remy was not his sister. He tried not to worry about her too much, knowing she didn’t want him to interfere with her life.

Damon held up the bag. “Well, thanks again for helping pick this out for Remy.”

“No problem.” Peyton smiled.

He strode by Boone. “Later.”

Boone nodded his goodbye.