“Y’all about ready to get this started?” Nash called to the trio of owners by the newly completed bar top.
“That wasrude, Nash King.” Rory swept past him, shoulder checking him in the chest as she went. “And I won’t forget it.”
“Don’t imagine you will.” He swept out his hand in a gesture that said the floor was all hers. “If you’re ready, princess.”
From Willow’s place off to the side, she could just make out her sister’s narrowed eyes and stifled a laugh. Rory didn’t take well to people talking back to her, and Willow loved Nash all the more that he couldn’t seem to care less.
“There a problem, y’all?” Nola asked.
Rory plastered on a smile. “No, no problem at all.” She strode to where Finn, Drew, and Nola all stood, seeming to ignore Nash completely as he hung back, his arms folded over his chest. “All right, now I know y’all are on a tight timeline, so I only focused on products that aren’t special order to speed up delivery times.” She grabbed a few pieces from the stack Nash had dropped off and arranged them on the bar top. “It’s a shame because doing so cut our choices down quite a bit, but I think—” Rory broke off when her eyes finally landed on Willow. “Will, what—”
Four heads swiveled in her direction, Nash being the only other one who didn’t already know she was there. She pushed off from the wall and strolled over to the bar, surveying the products on display. Dammit, Rorywasgood at design, if her thoughtful choices were any indication. Couldn’t she be bad atanything?
“Well, hey, Rory. Fancy meetin’ you here.”
“What—” Rory cleared her throat, ran a hand down the wrinkle-free silk of her camisole, and darted her eyes to their audience before snapping them back to Willow. “Could I speak with you for a moment, please?”
Without waiting for Willow’s answer, Rory grabbed her by the elbow and tugged her into a corner out of earshot from the others as they all looked on with amused expressions. Finn shot her a wink and a smile before turning around and responding to something Drew had said.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Rory said, hand smoothing over her perfect chignon.
Willow raised a brow. “No? So it’s not you helping out the owners of Havenbrook’s very first bar, somethin’ Daddy would absolutely despise?”
“What? No, never. I’m here…” She trailed off then leaned closer, her voice dropping low. “Well, I’m here keepin’ an eye on things for him, actually. He asked me to—”
“Cut the shit, Rory. Finn already told me.”
She froze and blinked, either from Willow’s choice of language or what she’d revealed. Finally, Rory huffed and crossed her arms. “All right then, you caught me. But that doesn’t answer the question of what, exactly, you’re doing here.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t. But you’ve always been the smart one, so I’m sure you can figure it out.”
Rory glanced over Willow’s shoulder toward Finn, a single, perfectly shaped brow lifting in question. “Have to say I’m surprised you’re okay with me knowing about that. You don’t exactly share things freely with me.”
Willow would have to be oblivious not to hear the hurt in her sister’s voice, but she’d played this game too many times before to fall for it. She snorted and rolled her eyes. “And I wonder why that is, Miss Perfect. Sisterly bonds never meant much to you so long as whatever dirt you had on us got you in Daddy’s good graces. I can’t count the number of times you tattled on the three of us. And it looks like that’s comin’ back to bite you in the ass.”
Rory’s back went ramrod straight. “Wait just a second, now. You don’t have to go tellin’ Daddy.”
“I suppose I don’t. But in that same breath, neither do you. Mutually assured destruction is sosisterly, don’t you think?”
“You can’t ask me to lie to Daddy.”
“No? Great, then I’m sure he’ll be very happy to learn his eldest and most perfect daughter’s been helping his nemesis and the rest of the people he thinks will ruin his fine town. Can’t wait to tell him all about it!” Willow spun around, her sights on the door, though she hoped with everything she had Rory would stop her. Tattling on her sisters wasn’t her style, but if she had to use it for leverage to get Rory to agree not to do the same, then so be it.
She wasn’t quite ready for her daddy to find out what she’d been getting up to with Finn again. Not when they were so close to the Fourth of July parade and her big yearly event. Not when he’d finally given her praise. Not when he was close to finally recognizing her worth around town, seeing that she brought something of value to their namesake. In her daddy’s eyes, being tangled up with Finn would only damage that, despite the fact that she’d been doing her job just fine.
Rory didn’t let her get three steps before she wrapped her fingers around Willow’s arm and tugged her back. “Fine. But if I’m gonna be lyin’ to Daddy, then I better get somethin’ else outta this.”
It was probably too much to ask that her sister just do it out of the goodness of her heart. She’d participate in every fundraiser under the sun, be the first to pass around a get-well card or send a casserole over to a new momma, but she didn’t have quite the same generosity toward her sisters. Baby steps, and all that.
“Bonding with your sister isn’t enough?”
Rory rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Just…we can help each other, all right? Cover for each other, maybe, if we need to.”
Willow tried and failed to keep her mouth from dropping open. “You, Aurora Jane, first daughter of Mayor Richard Haven of Havenbrook, want to strike up…alyingbargain?”
“Well, you don’t have to make it sound so scandalous. I just thought—”
“Deal.” Willow grabbed Rory’s hand and shook it before she could offer any stipulations. “Fair warning: I’m telling Mac.”
