“Oh, I mind quite a bit.” Kenzie rounded the corner and glared, jamming a finger into Ian’s chest. “Did Aleck text you?”
Sarah looked up at Aleck and caught the quick flash of guilt on the eldest McLaughlin brother’s face.
“As I said, we’re just here for lunch,” Ian protested with a tone of innocence that nobody was buying.
“Hmmph. Fine. Go sit in the corner and I’ll bring you out something in a minute.” Kenzie shook her head.
Unable to look away, Sarah swallowed hard as he suddenly turned his gaze to hers. The amused light in them and mocking tilt to his mouth made her insides flutter. For a moment she thought he would ignore his sister and come right up to the bar and take the two empty barstools next to her. And when his gaze fell on the open seats she bit her lip to avoid a groan of disbelief.
But then he winked and gave a small shrug before turning and leading his chick of the hour to the corner table in the shadows.
“I’m so sorry about this, Sarah. I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Kenzie said softly, as she approached the bar again. Her gaze darted to her brother. “And you, Aleck, good job. You’ve officially joined Ian’s name on my shit list. I can’t believe you’d tell him she was here. I promised Sarah he wasn’t around.”
“We’re all adults now, Kenzie.” Aleck’s brows were drawn together, and though there was regret in his eyes, his voice was terse. “It’s a big island, but a small community. They’re bound to run into each other.”
“It’s fine,” Sarah agreed, her voice husky. “I’m nearly done with my lunch anyway. I should probably just leave.”
Kenzie sighed. “Oh, please don’t. We’ve only just had a few minutes together.”
“We’ve had almost an hour.” Keeping her tone gentle, Sarah pulled a twenty from her wallet and placed it on the counter. “This should cover my lunch.”
Aleck pushed it back toward her. “It’s on me. It’s the least I can do. I’m sorry, Sarah.”
Shaking her head, she refused to pick up the money. It didn’t matter that it was almost the last of her cash and her checking account was running dry.
She hated feeling indebted to anyone, and owing any favors to a McLaughlin was just a bad idea in her book.
“I insist on paying.” Sarah slid off the stool, which was high for her petite frame, and adjusted her purse. “Kenzie, give me a call and we can hang out at Gran’s home one of these nights. Watch movies, eat Top Ramen. You know, just like the old days.”
“Okay, I’ll call you later.” The apology was blatant in Kenzie’s gaze as Sarah rushed past her to the door.
Outside in the sun, Sarah struggled for her eyes to adjust as she dug in her purse for her keys.
“Always on the run, I see.”
Her fingers wrapped around the keys just as the soft, lilting voice reached her ears.
Dammit, he’d followed her outside? Heart thumping and mouth dry, she waited for Kenzie or Aleck’s voice to demand he come back inside. But there was nothing, just silence.
As the seconds ticked by, her disbelief grew. She had to face him. Alone. Sarah turned around, struggling desperately not to let every emotion rushing through her reflect on her face.
“What do you want?” She’d meant to say something clever. Flippant. Not only had she not managed to, but her question was almost a plea, infused with a faint anguish that was chronic when she thought of him.
His lopsided smile fell back into a grim slash and his gaze darkened. “Now there’s a loaded question, aye?”
“Not really, no.” She clenched her hands around her keys and turned away to unlock the door. “It should be fairly simple.”
His hand fell past her to the door, holding it closed. “Well it’s not. We should talk.”
A laugh of disbelief ripped from her, but then it died and her throat went tight. “You want to talk? About what?”
“Fuck. I’m not even sure anymore.”
Really that shouldn’t shock her. He was making trouble, just because it’s what he did best. “I’m only here for a month. Can we just make it a point to avoid each other?”
“How very adult of us,” he mocked.
She spun around to face him, not bothering to hold back the frustration. “Maybe it isn’t, but I think we said everything that needed to be said eleven years ago…” She trailed off as his expression slid from mocking to dark. Bitter.
“Aye,” he said with deceptive softness. “Eleven years ago you were quite thorough in telling me how you really felt.”