Love on the Lake (Lakeside 2)

Dillion taps on the steering wheel. “Sure, sure. Not making a big deal at all. But now I want to know if the rumors are true.”

“What rumors?” I do not like the spike of jealousy that comes with that question.

“That he’s got it going on.” She motions below the waist. “And that he’s an animal in bed.”

I twist a lock of hair around my finger. “Well, he’s definitely got it going on, and I don’t know about an animal, but he has a high drive and excellent stamina.” He’s very attentive and seems to derive an immense amount of pleasure from giving me orgasms. “Please don’t tell my brother any of this. Or say anything to Aaron. I don’t really know what this is, and like I said, I don’t want to make a thing of it.”

Dillion raises a brow. “Van already knows.”

“How?” I sincerely hope he didn’t come knocking on my door when Aaron was over and hear things he shouldn’t have.

“Aaron’s truck is parked in the driveway four nights a week. After work. And he’s here for hours. He was almost finished with the loft when you moved in, so it’s pretty obvious what’s going on. But it’s cool. I’ll keep it to myself. I can’t speak for Van, though. I’m sure he’s already done the protective-bro thing.”

“I seriously hope not.”

We pull into the parking lot of the Town Pub, and Dillion backs the truck into one of the only available parking spots. As soon as we step inside, I’m surrounded by familiar faces and smells. The comforting scent of fried food and the pungent aroma of fresh beer mix with the sound of happy chatter. Some of the patrons recognize me and wave as I pass, calling me over to say hi.

“I didn’t know you were working Wednesdays now, too,” Mike, one of my Thursday regulars, says.

“I’m here as a customer tonight, but I’ll be behind the bar tomorrow.”

“Good, you pour a better pint than Louis.” He winks and we move on, stopping a couple more times before we reach the booth in the back corner where Dillion’s friends are already seated.

Dillion introduces me to Allie, as well as Tawny, who I’ve already met.

“Hey! I’m so glad you finally came out.” Tawny’s smile is genuine, if somewhat chagrined. “Next time we can go to my place, though, if it’s weird to hang out where you work.”

“Oh, I’m fine. I don’t mind,” I tell her.

It only takes a minute before Aubrey, one of the regular servers, comes over to take our order. Tawny passes me a glass, since she and Allie ordered a bottle of wine, and I also order a Coke for the caffeine.

When I lived in the city, I used to go out for cocktail night with my girlfriends. We’d also go to clubs and order bottle service. I’d spend hours getting ready, picking out the dress I wanted to wear, getting waxed and plucked and my hair and makeup done. I hated the clubs. They were loud, with bad music and too many people. Troy would always get drunk and gropey.

This is so much nicer. The faces are familiar, and I find that I’m glad I didn’t bail, even though I considered it earlier.

“You’ve been here for, what? Less than a month? And you already know pretty much everyone in town,” Tawny says.

“It’s because I’m a new face.”

“Maybe, but I was at Boones’s last week and so was Harry, and he was going on and on about his new hire and how you were redoing all the displays and if they needed someone to help them out, they should look at hiring you.”

“Really? I had no idea.” I tamp down a sudden spike of panic. “I don’t know if I can take on any more jobs, though, since I picked up a shift at the diner on Mondays.”

“You mean the one where my mom works?” Dillion asks.

“I must have forgotten to mention it. It was when I picked up lunch on Monday. She was running herself ragged trying to keep up with the lunch rush, so I said I’d be happy to help out.”

“Oh my God, I thought Van was joking when he said you can’t say no to anyone. How many jobs is that now?”

“I can say no. I just didn’t want to. And five. This is a good way to find out what I’m good at and what I like doing. Plus I’ll only be there for a few hours, so it’s not a big deal. Oh, I was wondering if you all have one of those farmers’ markets on the weekends around here.”

“We used to, back when we were kids. I’m not sure what happened to it, but I’m guessing maybe not enough interest or whatever,” Dillion replies.

“Really? I would have thought a farmers’ market would do well here. It’s such a great way for local businesses to connect with the summer folk. I wonder what it would take to get it up and running again.”