I drag myself into Aiden’s Pub and search out Mitch. The place is busy with the dinner rush, but my partner is easy to find. He’s always got the rear corner booth.
As I approach, someone behind me catches my arm, and I turn to face Tina, most definitely one of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made. I deliberately pull away and put as much room between us as possible.
“Hey.” I purposely don’t fake a smile. This woman will turn everything back on me in a heartbeat, and I can’t express how disappointed I am to see her in town after only three weeks away. “You’re back.”
“Yep.” She gives me that cute smile, the one that’s got dirty undertones. “Dad’s up and about again.”
“Good to hear.” I turn away and start toward Mitch, praying she lets it drop.
“Sam Adams?”
I cringe and cut a look over my shoulder.
“I’ve got your table with Mitch,” she says.
I’m just so fuckin’ lucky today, I can’t stand it. “Sam Adams.”
I’m rolling my eyes when I slide into the booth opposite Mitch, who’s smirking.
“Shut the hell up.” I drop the folder of invoices on the table.
Mitch shakes his head. “She may be pretty on the outside, but she’s batshit crazy on the inside. I told you and told you and told you.”
Mitch had, but I’d had an unusually long dry spell, way too much alcohol, and just wanted a warm body. That one-time fuck has been costing me for nearly a year. And, no, it hadn’t been worth it. “I really don’t want to hear that the rest of my life, dude. It was one time.”
Mitch gives me a look that tells me he’s trying to puzzle me out. “Other than Tina, what’s buggin’ you?”
Tina drops off the beer with a flourish. She leans her hip against the table and twirls a piece of her long, dirty-blonde hair around her finger. “I’d love to get together. When can we make that happen?”
“It won’t happen. We’ve been over this. It will never happen.”
“Yeah, you’ve said that before.” Tina puts her hand out, wiggling her fingers. “You owe me twenty bucks and a twelve-pack of Firestone Walker IPA.”
I was drunk when I made that bet t
oo. It was after Otto died and everyone in town was both reeling from the loss and worried about the future of such a big, valuable piece of land in their community.
Disgusted, angry, I lean back and reach for my wallet, but Mitch slaps the table. “No.”
His bark is all for Tina, but she snarls right back. “A bet is a bet, and he lost—I knew the ice princess would come back someday, even if it was only to sell the place. I’d be willing to go double or nothing, but we’d have to renegotiate those terms. Let’s guess how long she’ll stay. That pampered princess won’t make it a week.” She leans in with an all-knowing expression. “Even if you rekindle things, she’ll just dump you again. If you expect a princess to settle in a commoner’s village for a man, you’re not as smart as I thought you were.”
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Mitch says.
“Terry, from the market, told me two out-of-towners came in and were talking about the marina and seeing Laiyla.”
Mitch’s jaw drops. I ignore the burn of his gaze. All I can think about is the look on Laiyla’s face when she heard about Otto’s cabin.
“I’m not doing this.” I pull out my wallet and look through the fold. “Shit. I don’t have a twenty.” I look at Mitch. “Spot me, man. I want this over.”
“You’re not getting any money here,” Mitch tells Tina. “Now get the fuck away from this table and stay away, or I’ll have a private talk with Craig, and you’ll be out of a job.”
God damn, I love this man.
“You oughta tell that wifey of yours you need more sex,” she says to Mitch, “or better sex.”
Mitch and I surge to our feet at the same time—him to get in Tina’s face, me to get in between them.
“You’re so fucking gone,” Mitch says.