Laura took another bite of mango to delay her response, savoring the fresh tang of the fruit as if it were her last. It could be. “Have you thought about allowing non-shifters in?”
Scarlet raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded at her to continue as she took a nibble of her sandwich.
“I understand you’ve done that for the Mr. Shifter’s competition on a temporary basis, just for the event, but you might get good business if you continued to allow shifters and their guests, whether those guests are shifters or not.”
“An interesting prospect,” Scarlet said, clearly considering the idea. It surprised Laura until she recalled that Scarlet thought she was Jenny; people listened to Jenny. “You are a shifter, are you not?”
“I am,” Laura said automatically, then hesitated to remember that she had filled out her application stating that she wasn’t. She was Jenny, she reminded herself. The good sister. “My father was, too, but not my mother.”
“Or your sister.”
Laura tried not to panic. Out of habit, she reached carefully for the nearest possible weapon, in this case a fork, and curled her fingers around it. She ignored Scarlet’s words and said, as mildly as possible, “This is also the kind of place a shifter might like to have a wedding, if they could invite their human friends, too. Or kids.”
“No kids,” Scarlet said firmly, putting her sandwich down. “Laura, you don’t need to have any fear here.”
Hearing her real name from Scarlet’s lips made Laura want to bolt, but she wasn’t stupid enough to outright attack her with the fork now clenched in her hand. Whatever shifter animal Scarlet had within her, Laura doubted that four skinny, one-inch tines would even slow her down.
I could protect you, her wolf told her, but she wasn’t as sure as she usually was.
“Just imagine the gorgeous beach-side ceremony, and the sunset photos you could get afterwards,” she babbled.
“Tex told me about your trouble.”
Laura’s fear transformed to fury. He’d told Scarlet? He’d jeopardized her cover by blabbing to this woman about her deepest secrets? Just like everyone else, he thought he could make better decisions for herself than she could. How dare he.
Scarlet continued, either oblivious to Laura’s anger or assuming it was just a symptom of her fright. “I’m doubtful that your former, unsavory associates could have followed you here. We’ve been booked in full with a waitlist for weeks now, and your visit was only just confirmed a few days prior to your arrival. I’d like to talk about the possibility that someone may have had designs on your sister and see if we can figure out any details about who this could be and how to catch them.
With effort, Laura unclenched her jaw. “I appreciate your help in this matter,” she said, aware that it sounded as icy and insincere are she felt. “I don’t know anyone who didn’t like my sister, and I don’t know anything about her work.”
Scarlet gave her a long, thoughtful look, but didn’t question her. “You are, of course, welcome to stay here as long as you wish, and your safety is one of our first priorities. I can arrange a room with Tex as soon as -”
“No!”
There was a moment of silence, and Scarlet cleared her throat. “Forgive me,” she said formally. “I presumed that because he was your mate…”
“Being a mate apparently doesn’t mean he isn’t a class A jackass and I will have nothing more to do with him,” Laura said without thinking. “A mate isn’t a mandate.”
“Very well,” Scarlet said neutrally, after a heartbeat. “Your invitation to remain at Shifting Sands stands regardless of that. I will expect civility. You can come by my office and have a look at my standard contract at any time. It’s room and board with profit share instead of tips, and you would be expected to pull your weight; no one is too good for laundry duty or cleaning when it’s needed.”
Laura wondered if she imagined the skepticism in her voice, but it only hardened her resolve.
Don’t fall for cowboys, she told herself. You knew better.
She always knew better and fell anyway.
Chapter 18
Tex flipped the bottle in one hand, a grin the size of Texas on his face while he tossed the shaker in the other hand. He poured the concoction out with a flourish, and added the garnish with a spin.
The scattered applause warmed his heart, but not as much as the memory of Laura in his arms. It was her smile that he remembered the best. Her curves, yes, and oh little green gods, the way she rose to meet him… but it was the relaxed, easy smile that lit up her face afterwards that made him feel like he’d just turned a stampede.
“A gin and tonic, Cowboy! And a Libertas!”
Tex tipped his hat at the bikini-clad guest, putting the beer glass under the tap while he selected the gin from the glass display behind him and put ice in a tumbler. A generous splash and a squirt from the tonic tap, and he had both drinks out on napkins.
He turned to take the next order, and found himself looking at Laura’s face.
It was not smiling. It was neither relaxed, nor easy.