Page 71 of Shark’s Pride

“You’re merciless.”

“So you told me an hour ago.” She laughed evilly.

The last thing I wanted to do was play a silly game with my competitive as hell sister-in-law after little to no sleep. Especially when I would be the one who ended up in the hot seat when I lost.

I decided to change the subject altogether. “Are you sure we have all the ingredients for this order?” I scrutinized the printout she’d handed me a few minutes ago. “This is for fifty people. Do we have everything for the main course?”

“There isn’t a main,” she returned. “It’s all hors d’oeuvres. Anniversary party, I think. Came in through the website at midnight.”

“Who plans their anniversary party at midnight for later that same damn day?”

“People who had sex and made up instead of getting divorced and burning down the house?”

She giggled while I scowled. It was good to see Sebastian and I weren’t the only couple with crazy problems at home every night.

“Sometimes I seriously worry about you.”

“Pfffft.” My sister-in-law pulled the clipboard off the peg in the wall and studied the rest of the orders for the day. The fact that she flipped through so many pages was both exciting and stressful.

“Beefing up the functionality of the website has really stepped things up, don’t you think?” I asked her.

“Agreed. But I think it’s a little too early to tell if it’s the new norm. Might just be a coincidence, with us popping up on timely keyword strings.” Rio shuffled across to the oven and set the temperature to preheat the appliance. “But if the pace stays like this, we may need to think about hiring another person.”

“On the same page with you.” After debating it for half a second, I decided to go for the gusto on feeling out another topic. “I was actually going to talk to Bas about it last night, but things got a little crazy, so we never had a chance.”

“Bas? As in Sebastian?” She looked back over her shoulder but didn’t move from her spot in front of the oven. “Sebastian Shark?”

“Yes, Rio.” I laughed to emphasize the tease. “That’s who I’m talking about. Why are you acting surprised?”

“Well, it’s just…” She shrugged. “The way you said that ‘things got crazy,’ it sounds like you had…well…a night. A whole one. Like…”

“Like what?” I had to press, despite noting the firm line of her lips and the tension at the corners of her eyes.

“Like you slept over with him.”

“And what if I did?” I pushed out half a laugh.

“At his place?”

“What does that have to do with anything we’re talking about?” I managed a new laugh and breathed a little easier when she flashed back a full smile.

“You’re totally right.” She put her hand up. “It’s not my business. One has nothing to do with the other. I think Sean and I are still trying to get used to the idea of you as an adult with a boyfriend, let alone that you’re with Shark.”

“But really, Rio. Besides being my boyfriend, the man runs a successful company of his own. Several, actually—if you count the subsidiaries.”

She made a face that was difficult to identify. “I’m aware of that, Abs.”

“He probably could share a lot of valuable business advice with me.”

“I’m aware of that too.”

“What?” I finally demanded. “What is it?”

She set down the puff pastry sheets she’d pulled from the freezer and stared at me. “I feel like you’re hiding something from me.” She unwrapped the dough with sharp tugs and tears, exposing the frustration she hid from her tone. “Something that has Sebastian Shark’s name all over it.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to stop this. Every time his name comes up, I don’t want you to assume I’m keeping something from you.”

“Only when you are.”