“Your happiness is,” she argues, her voice low so no one else overhears, those intense brown eyes trained on my face. I have to look away and pretend I’m super focused on Finn’s hands as he spins a pen he found lying on the table. “And you looked really happy when you walked in. Happier than I’ve seen you in a very long time. Now I know it was just about the custody stuff, which is great. But I was hoping it was maybe like a blow job or a morning bang after pancakes or something.”
I swivel my head and lift both eyebrows. “What the hell, T!”
“Must be Jake’s kidney,” she pats the area of her abdomen where the scar must be. “Sorry.”
“Sit down. Over there,” I command, and she slinks back to her seat, smiling. I’m grossed out by her words because she’s my sister and I don’t want her thinking about whether or not I get my rocks off but as soon as I heard the word blow job, I thought about that kiss again. How soft Chloe’s lips were and what they might feel like wrapped around my shaft.
Fuck. I push off the counter and walk over to the small window, my back to everyone so I can adjust my dick in my pants and will it to calm down. “I hate these come-to-Jesus family meetings,” Dad grumbles, his head still in the fridge. “Sometimes I think Declan believes we’re the Sopranos of seafood.”
Finn, Terra, and Nova all laugh at that and Mom almost smiles. Dad pulls out a beer from the fridge. Ma shoots him a death glare. He puts it back and pulls out a Coke. More glaring. He grumbles under his breath and puts it back, pulling out a flavored sparkling water instead. Ma stops glaring. The rest of us exchange smirks.
Dad grouses as he pops the tab on the can of water. He takes a sip and makes a face. “Chewie wouldn’t even drink this and I’ve caught him lapping out of the toilet bowl.”
Before anyone can react, the back-door swings open again, and Declan walks back in. He’s holding the door open for another guy, who is dressed similarly to Deck in a full suit and a woman who is in a charcoal pants suit. They are as out of place as Declan and I know instantly they aren’t from here. Hell, even the mayor’s idea of business attire in Ocean Pines is a golf shirt.
I glance at Finn with a what-the-fuck-is-this expression and he lifts his shoulders in a no-fucking-idea shrug. Ma and Dad look just as confused. Terra is blinking rapidly, which means she has no clue what is going on either. Nova definitely doesn’t look confused.
“Hello all,” Declan says briskly in his work-mode voice, like he’s the CEO addressing his shareholders and not a dude talking to his family. “Thanks to all for coming on relatively short notice. I appreciate it, and I think you’ll be happy you did.”
He motions to the couple behind him as he walks around the table and grabs two empty seats, pulling them out for his guests. “May I introduce you all to Dalton and Lesli Anne McAvoy. They’re brother and sister and owners of McAvoy Marketing and Advertising, a family business just like us. They’re here to help us take Hawkins Family Lobster—”
“Hawkins Lobster Shack,” Mom interjects firmly, and Finn and I exchange grins.
“Sorry,” Declan pauses and starts again. “They’re here to help us take Hawkins Lobster Shack to the next level.”
Dalton clears his throat, puts a large brief case down on the table and smiles. It’s not a friendly smile. It’s a business smile. It’s analytical and distant and kind of condescending. I glance at Dad, and he’s not impressed. He’s leaning back against the counter, arms folded, eyes narrowed. My mom’s expression is stern. Nova glances over at me with a pleading look because she knows this is already not going well. But if she thinks I can save it, she’sloco. I’ve never been able to bail Declan out of problems because he doesn’t listen to me.
“Nice to meet you all. I have to say, I’ve heard of your amazing company,” Dalton says, his voice too smooth, too even, to sound authentic. “I had your soup for lunch just yesterday, Mrs. Hawkins, and it’s decadent.”
“You mean mychowder?” Mom corrects and she’s almost frowning. “Thank you.”
Oh buddy, it’s going to take a lot more than that to win this lady over. A self-made Maine woman who raised four kids while growing a business and keeping her ornery fisherman husband in check is not falling for bullshit compliments.
“But here’s the thing, I think you need to get your products into more people’s hands,” Dalton says, and he leans on the table and pauses to look each of us in the eye. When he gets to me, I give him a smile for Nova’s sake. “And I don’t think enough locals know about you.”
“We have a very supportive community,” Dad replies tersely. “Everyone in Ocean Pines knows about us. We’ve served them and their kids and now their kids’ children.”
“Which is great, but Ocean Pines is miniscule. Your food—your business—should be drawing people in from all over Maine and the tri-state area for that matter,” Lesli Ann chimes in and steps up to the table next to her brother. “We think that not only could we improve your in-restaurant business by twenty-five percent but we could also expand your market with one simple and easy idea.”
“We’re not greedy,” my mom says simply. “We’re getting by fine right now.”
“After the mortgage on the building is paid, and the employees and expenses, we aren’t putting away enough to pay for the new boat we’re hoping to buy in the spring,” Declan says, and my dad pushes off the counter and straightens up like a lightning rod.
He is not a fan of talking money on a good day and never in front of strangers. Terra sighs. “Declan, maybe we should have had a meeting before this meeting, to discuss the idea of having this meeting. I don’t think springing an ad agency on us was the best idea.”
“I’m the head of business development. I’m not going to apologize for developing business,” Declan says sharply.
“You gave yourself that title, dude,” Finn reminds him with a smirk. “All you are to us is the big brother who doesn’t like to work in the restaurant so we gave you something else to do.”
“I’m the only one in this family with a business degree and the reason we didn’t lose everything after we had that little financial issue a couple years ago,” Declan snaps and my body turns to stone. Everything is tense, hardened, even the pit of my stomach. Fucking hell, is he really going to bring that up in front of strangers?
Nova stands up, her chair scraping loudly against the tile floor. “Dalton, Lesli Anne, why don’t I take you out front and get you something to drink while the family takes a moment to work this through?”
Nova walks around the table and opens the door to the kitchen and motions them to walk through. As they do, she continues to speak in a calm, carefree tone. “A coffee? Or a milkshake? Something harder? We have a nice selection of spirits.”
As soon as the door closes, the room erupts.
“Why the hell can’t any of you give them a chance?” Declan barks. “At least hear them out! I picked them because they’re a family business just like us. I thought you’d see how they can relate to us. And they have great ideas if you’d just listen to them! How am I the only one who wants this business to succeed?”
