Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
I’m about to ask him if he really thinks I’ll haunt him—or grab his face and kiss him so hard, the ghost of my kiss will haunt his lips for at least the next few days—when someone clears their throat and a perky voice says, “Well, well, if you two aren’t about to charge full speed into a giant pile of shit.”
Chapter Ten
CHRISTIAN
Fuck. We’ve been caught.
And by a family member, no less.
I pull away from Starling, but I don’t turn to face my sister. I can’t, not yet, not until I get the hard-on straining the teeth of my zipper under control.
I settle for glancing over my shoulder at Melissa with a smile, “Would you believe Starling had something in her eye and I was just helping her get it out?”
Melissa snorts. “Not a chance in hell. But what you do in your free time is your business. I’ll simply remind you both that your siblings are married and that banging people you’re related to, even by marriage, is rarely a good idea and leave it at that.” She claps her hands sharply together. “Now get moving, Chris. I need that bar up and ready to start serving in ten. We’re seating now and the drink orders will be the first things rolling in.”
She drags a critical gaze up and down my body. “And find time to put on a costume please. We have extras in the bins behind the bar. Once the dancing starts, people will actually be stopping by the bar in person, and I don’t want your jeans and t-shirt ruining the fantasy.” She shifts her gaze Starling’s way with a smile, “Come with me, sugar. I’ll get you seated with the rest of your group. You look fabulous, by the way. I can see why Christian was having trouble keeping his hands to himself. That dress is fire.”
“Thanks,” Starling says, still looking a little flustered as she moves around me, an unspoken question in her eyes.
“I’ll text you when I’m done here,” I tell her. “We can finish our conversation at the bike shop? Nine p.m.?”
Relief softens her features as she nods. “Okay, cool. See you then.” Turning to Mel, she adds, “And don’t worry about showing me to my seat. I can find it. You should stay here and pick out the most obnoxious costume possible.” She flashes a wicked grin my way. “I think Christian deserves a little punishment for arriving late and out of costume.”
Melissa laughs. “I like the way you think.”
“I liked what you were thinking five minutes ago more,” I say, ignoring the now hushed voice in my head warning that this is a bad idea.
We’ve gone too far down the sex mentor road to turn back now. We’ve already made our first rule—no banging in the house—and have a date to meet up later. And if I back out now, Starling might go home with Theo, and then I’d have to kill my cousin.
Or castrate him.
Or lock him in a windowless room for a few weeks until Starling forgets about him and directs her amorous attentions elsewhere.
Any of the above could result in prison time and irrevocable damage to my relationship with my cousin, and I don’t want that. I like Theo. A lot. I just also happen to like him far, far away from Starling with zero chance of seeing her naked.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Starling says, fluttering her fingers as she backs away. “See you later. Excited to try your food, Melissa.”
“You won’t be disappointed,” Mel calls after her as Starling starts across the empty dance floor toward the brightly lit side of the tent. “Not in my food anyway,” she adds beneath her breath as she turns back to me with a sober expression. “What are you doing, Chris? She’s practically a kid.”
“She’s not a kid. She’s a force to be reckoned with,” I say, moving behind the bar. “And we have a plan to make sure no one gets hurt.”
“Oh, well, then everything should be fine,” Melissa says, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Plans like that always go off without a hitch. Ben and I had a plan like that, but then he decided he didn’t like making out with girls, filed for divorce, moved in with a guy named Radcliffe, and joined the gay biker’s club.”
I wince. “I’m sorry, Mel. I know shit has been hard lately.”
“The hardest part is that Radcliffe looks better in a crop top than I do,” she quips. “No pastry chef should have rock-hard abs. It’s a sin against the foodie code.” She crosses her arms over her chest with a sniff. “Missing my best friend hasn’t been much fun, either.”
I find the bin of costumes and drag it out from beneath the bar. “I thought you and Ben were getting along okay. That you still have family time with Chase together every week and that kind of thing.” Chase, my two-year-old nephew, is the sweetest kid. We were all glad to hear Ben was committed to keeping the family as whole-feeling as possible considering he no longer lives in the same house.