Full blush flaming, she tongued the back of her canine as she turned to look at him. “Always,” she answered, driving a stake straight through his heart.
Unable to resist, he leaned in and kissed her. Just once, not too long, but Pippa’s enthusiasm vibrated the entire restaurant. “Ha. Success,” she hissed joyously. “I knew it.”
Sophie rolled her eyes and reached around to squeeze her friend’s opposite shoulder as she tugged her close, loving with a hint of threat. “Don’t get cocky. If I were them, I might be plotting my revenge.”
Cole leaned back and looked over his shoulder, watching the town waking up as he dodged the bullet of admitting he appreciated the devious move.
“When you least expect it,” Trace said with wicked delight.
The rain had let up and the sun pushed through a narrow break in the clouds, its glow glinting gold off the asphalt. Shopkeepers strolled in to the backs of the shops across the parking lot to open for the day. Tourists let their hoods down, beanies and French braids and ponytails secured tight, however, to combat the wind.
A single guy leaned against a light pole down the street, isolated in a narrow strip of shadow. Playing on his phone, looking up now and again. His hands must be freezing. A few feet to the side, and the scrap of sun would be much more comfortable.
His baseball cap masked his face. Not a very practical hat if he wanted to walk on the beach. The wind would flip that right up and over and carry it away like a kite with a snapped string.
“Cole?” Trace said, turning and resting her fingers on his jaw.
“Yeah?” he answered in a low voice without looking.
“Everything okay? Your food is getting cold.”
Her words bounced around in his brain without landing.
The man’s focus was controlled. He sure as hell wasn’t a local, and slim chance he was a tourist. Cole bit down on the side of his tongue, unable to look away.
The man suddenly turned away and lifted his phone to his ear. Almost out of sight, the man plucked off his cap and waved at someone. Full on chatting now, he walked efficiently out of sight.
Nothing. Just paranoia. Cole blinked away the moment and turned back toward his plate.
“Well, what’s left of it. I helped myself…” Trace said, worry leaching into her teasing manner.
He dragged himself fully into the moment and nudged her knee with his. He glared down at his plate. “Did you take my sausage?”
She snorted a laugh and shook her head, tipping a subtle accusation toward his other neighbor. “I know you better than that.”
At the end of the table next to him, Freya had her fork stabbed into the sausage, smiling as she ripped off a bite.
Next to her, Zane took a piece of bacon from Freya’s plate and tossed it onto Cole’s, winking at his wife as he did. Quietly, Zane tipped a nod to Cole. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Cole answered quickly. Everyone at the table was happily chatting, but Asher had been watching him, too. Fuck, these guys were probably just as bad as he was, aware of every shadow. “Old habits,” Cole added casually. He plucked up the bacon and snapped off a bite, tipping a teasing eyebrow at Freya as he did.
She hooted a laugh and scooped up a bite of her buckwheat pancake.
“You passed,” Sophie said, nodding with a goofily serious pride.
“I what?” he asked, not pausing as he hashed his last egg with sweet potato chunks.
“Not that it’s actually a test. Freya is a thief, but she always pays back and then some, usually with an original piece of art.”
Freya stole a hunk of bacon from Zane’s plate and munched another bite. “By value. It’s usually a win-win.”
“So what, do I get a cocktail napkin doodle for this?” he asked, snapping off another bite of bacon.
She shrugged and shared a mysterious look, as if she hadn’t decided yet. The table exploded with teases about clothing theft and historical paybacks, bouncing until the conversation migrated back to Pippa’s setup last night.
Trace lowered her hand and splayed it over his thigh, a gentle reassurance without bringing attention to the fact that he was miles away from the conversation. “Pippa’s got it coming,” Trace said, nose scrunched as she bounced her promised revenge with the increasingly one-upping table.
“Look at you, all happy and snuggly. Why would you question my methods, when they work?” Pippa beamed with her glowing honey eyes, flipping her hair back and laughing gleefully. Damn, Cole wished he had even half of that energy.
