Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)

An hour later, he finally walked into Paradeisos, the diner owned by Nicholas’s sister Kassie. Quinn had never been to the diner before, but judging by the warm decor, he figured he’d be back again. Glancing around, he noticed Ari sitting at the counter in the back.

“Can I help you?” a dark-haired woman asked, menus in hand.

“Actually, I’m looking for someone. I’ll just go on back to the counter, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course not.” She smiled, her gaze raking him over from head to toe before she gestured toward the rear of the restaurant.

He strode back, all the while feeling the presence of the hostess following close on his trail as she click-clacked in her high heels. He reached Ari and chose a stool beside her, glancing over. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and little makeup adorned her face. He liked her fresh, natural look better than the made-up-doll look she chose for her nights working at the casino.

“Hi there,” he said, laying one hand on the stool behind her.

She turned. Only the slightest widening of her eyes told him she was surprised to see him. “Following me even when I’m off duty?” she asked, the chill in her voice obvious. “Pretty silly of you, since there’s not much I can find out from my own family.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” he said, thinking of all Zoe knew. The usual gut-twisting guilt followed. To distract himself, he took in the basic diner look—linoleum floors, vinyl seats, tables in the center and booths by the windows, with individual coin-operated jukeboxes for each.

But considering this was a Costas restaurant, there was a unique flair. Every table had its own centerpiece of what looked like a Greek god. A naked Greek god with some portion of the anatomy left to hold flowers.

“So this is your Aunt Kassie’s place?”

“Mmm.” Ari focused her gaze on the milk shake in front of her, stirring the thick liquid.

Obviously she was going to make him work for conversation. “Is that dinner or dessert?” He pointed to her drink.

“It’s comfort food,” the hostess said.

He’d forgotten she was even there.

“Ari always drinks a milk shake when she’s got a lot on her mind. At least she used to when she lived at home. She’s been gone so long, none of us really knows what she likes anymore—”

“Go away, Daphne,” Ari said in a singsong voice. “She likes to lay the guilt on me. It makes her feel better, since she gets so much of it from her mother,” Ari explained to Quinn before tipping her head back to Daphne. “Get a life, cousin,” she said good-naturedly.

Aah, Quinn thought. So these two women were related. He’d never experienced ribbing from a family member, and he envied Ariana even this luxury.

“Here’s your Burger Deluxe.” A man dressed in black pants and a white shirt placed a plate in front of Ari.

The delicious aroma wafted under Quinn’s nose and his mouth watered.

“What can I get for your friend?” the waiter asked Ari.

“What makes you think he’s my friend?”

Ari’s voice held a trace of boredom Quinn didn’t buy for a second. Her hand was gripping her fork so tightly she’d have nail marks in her palm when she finally let go.

“His hand’s on your stool and you no tell him to get lost,” said the man whose name tag read Gus. “On second thought maybe I just call him your boyfriend?” The man chuckled.

Quinn raised an eyebrow and watched as Ariana gritted her teeth. He stifled a laugh, saying nothing. In this case discretion was smarter, especially since Ari still held the fork in her hand.

“He’s not my anything.”

“Then you won’t mind if I ask for his phone number.” Cousin Daphne leaned close, her big breasts brushing against his arm.

Ari glanced at the sight and scowled. “Argh! I should have stayed home. At least the damn monkey respects my privacy.”

Once again Quinn was tempted to chime in, this time to remind her of Spank’s Peeping Tom tendencies. But being smart, he shot Ari an I’m-so-innocent look instead.

“I get you a burger, too,” Gus said without asking if Quinn even wanted one. The other man strode off, pulling a laughing Daphne along with him.

“This side of the family is just as interesting,” Quinn said once he and Ari were alone.

She poured ketchup onto her plate then poked at the red puddle with a thick french fry. “They’ve all sent more than a few men running for the hills.”

Quinn hadn’t been a cop this long without learning how to read people, and Ari’s sarcasm was a definite cover for her share of pain. Though he enjoyed her eccentric relatives, she didn’t. She had no idea how fortunate she was to have family in her life, he thought. But apparently she’d been given good reason to distrust people’s reaction to the Costas clan.