Love and Other Things (Crystal Lake 4)

Sid nodded. “The hot water and heat weren’t on, but t

hat was my fault being a day early and all.” She made a face. “Something your pal Beck didn’t seem to like.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Oh yeah.” Sidney drained her wineglass, liking the slow buzz it brought, and held it up for another. “He might look good half-dressed holding on to a kitten, but he sure as hell isn’t someone I’d choose to spend time with. I know his type. He’s too good-looking for his own good, with an inflated sense of self, and his manners are crap.”

“That doesn’t sound like Beck,” Molly replied, sounding a tad strained. Which Sidney would have caught if she hadn’t downed two large glasses of wine on an empty stomach. As it was, she was distracted, though she caught a strange look pass between Nate and Molly. She was just about to comment on it when Petal began to bark and whine, followed by the sound of the front door closing and the stomping of heavy boots.

Sid swung around on her stool and looked at the doorway. “You expecting company?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at Nate.

“My brother.”

Sid frowned. Okay. She knew there was a story here, but for the life of her, she couldn’t nail it down.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Molly said, a panicked look on her face as she slowly made her way around the island to stand beside Sid.

“No. Why would I?” Sidney’s puzzled frown deepened. She opened her mouth to ask about their guest when a familiar voice drew her attention back to the kitchen doorway.

The guy who’d given her the key to the cottage, the guy she knew as Beck, stood with Nate and gave him a hug, his smile wide and open and pretty damn devastating if a girl was interested. No scowling there. Nope. He saved that for Sid, apparently.

He looked up suddenly and caught her eye, and his smile disappeared like ghosts melting into the shadows.

“What’s she doing here?”

He glanced from Nathan to her, and then back to Nate again, his features hard, his eyes glittering and dark.

“I thought this was a family dinner.” His voice was biting.

Seriously? The man with the key was Nate’s brother?

Sidney set down her wineglass and glanced at Nate. She didn’t know how to act because the words that sat on the tip of her tongue were not nice. Not only did his manners leave a lot to be desired, but the guy was an arrogant piece of work.

“Normally when you walk into a house, you start off with a greeting.” Nathan glared at his brother. “Like, ‘hello’ or ‘nice to meet you.’ You’re lucky Mom isn’t here, because she sure as hell would set you straight.” Nate glanced her way. “You’ve already met Sidney, someone I’ve known for a long time, and I invited her for dinner. There is no agenda, so wipe that look off your face, apologize to Sid for being a prick, and grab a beer.”

Sid snuck a look at Molly for help. Agenda? What did Nate mean by that?

Beck muttered something under his breath, and Sid was pretty sure it was aimed at her. “The last time I showed up for dinner, one of your friends was sitting right where she is. She had more arms than a damn octopus and showed up at my house the next day with a dozen muffins.” He sounded disgusted. “I don’t like muffins, and I sure as hell didn’t like her.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Sid piped up, more than a little insulted. “I don’t like to bake.” She swirled the wine in her glass. “And I’ve only got two arms, I promise.”

His gaze swung her way, and for a moment, it felt as if they were the only two people in the room. Her heartbeat filled her ears, and she wasn’t aware she’d held her breath until it fell out of her in a long sigh.

“Okay, then.” Nathan shook his head, clearly exasperated. “Now that we know Beck’s not in danger of waking up to fresh-baked muffins tomorrow morning, can we start over?”

Chapter Three

Dinner was a disaster, and Beck was more than willing to take responsibility for it because he’d set the tone. The entire evening had been a subdued affair, definitely not the norm for Nate and Molly’s place.

He sure as hell didn’t blame Sidney Barrett for bailing five minutes after the plates were cleared. She’d claimed fatigue and a long travel day and, after hugging Nathan and Molly, nodded his way, a quick, polite sort of thing before she disappeared into darkness.

It was more than Beck deserved.

“You got anything you need to talk about?” Nathan asked from across the kitchen where he was loading up the dishwasher. “Some thing that’s got you acting like a complete asshole?”

Molly, working overtime growing two babies in her belly, plunked her butt onto the sofa a few feet away and looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Beck thinks we’re trying to set him up with Sid,” Molly said. “And your brother doesn’t like being set up.”