“Well, when I was really little, I had this great-great-aunt. She was ancient, and smelled like…medicine, and some kind of horrid mints, and a nasty, stale old perfume. Occasionally I’d get dropped off at her house to be babysat, and I’d immediately be surrounded by doilies.”
She could almost see Trask shiver.
“They were on every chair, every table, the couch, and even on the pillow where I was supposed to nap. And they all smelled exactly like her. It scared the fuck out of me, and to this day, when I see a doily, I almost can’t breathe.”
Jett had been blindsided; not expecting Trask to admit toanyfears. She was happy he had, though, and was sure it had done the trick.
“How’s your dick, now?”
“My…?”
It took him a second before he snorted. “Behaving at the moment. Thank you. But you are an evil woman, Jett. Very evil. Did you know that?”
“You say evil, I say creative,” she countered with a shrug he couldn’t see. “But at least now you can go fetch my dogs.”
“I can, indeed,” he agreed with a chuff.
“Good. Do that, then get your cock home to me as fast as you can without crashing.”
“Jett—”
His voice held a warning, but before he could call her on her renewed impertinence, Jett hung up.
Let him chew onthatone.
Jett knewshe was grinning when she walked back into Diver Downeast, and right on cue, the grilling started immediately.
“So what did the big grump-ul-upagus have to say?” Spence asked.
“Yeah. Was he pissy?” Buck added.
“Nope. He says he’s happy that I’m Diver Downeast’s newest employee. He’s actually picking up my dogs for me, then I’m to meet him at the family homestead if one of you can give me a ride there.”
“We can,” Tabitha responded.
“But seriously,” Buck prodded, clearly not buying it. “What did hereallysay?”
Did she keep them in suspense, or did she…?
Ah, hell.Jett was so excited by the unexpected turn of events with Trask, that she needed to share.
“He actually admitted that he likes me,” she thrilled. “And that he’s not averse to finding out if we can be athing,” she told them.
“Bea thing, ordoa thing,” Spencer questioned with a raised brow. “Those are two very different concepts, and you need to be careful.” Jett knew he spoke in code because Sheila-the-innocent was still in the room.
Jett thought for a moment, and answered in kind. “Well, itmightend up being more of the latter, but I have hope he’ll become so enamored of me, that he’ll eventually start to appreciate all my other stellar attributes. I’m not a bad person, you know. He could do so much worse.”
She’d wondered how his brothers would feel about her dating Trask, so she put that out there to test the waters.
“Hell, yeah, he could,” Buck concurred, having swear-credits with Sheila.
“For sure. We really like you,” Spence added. “And Trask could have hooked up with some stuck-up bitch…” Spence groaned and pulled a ten out of his pocket, stuffing it in Sheila’s jar without prompting. “…who’d worship the hallowed ground he walks on and stroke his already overblow ego. Then he’d be even more insufferable than his is now, so I’m all for you being his chick-of-choice, Jett. You’re not going to let him get a swelled head.”
“Orrr…perhaps he—” Spencer dragged out.
Tabitha slapped a hand over her husband’s mouth. “That’s enough of that. We don’t need to hear anything more aboutswelled heads.”
She shot a cautious look at her sister, then sent one around the room that told them all to shut up.
