Page 68 of My Temptation

“Might be. Depends on who invited you,” the bartender replied.

“Jenny and Carl. They come to the festival every year. Said last year someone named Kevin invited them here.”

The bartender nodded slowly. I squeezed Ethan’s hand, knowing we passed the first test, and we moved slowly toward the bar before sliding onto the stools at the end.

“Where’re you from?” the bartender asked.

“North Carolina,” Ethan answered, and the ball in my stomach started to untangle.

“You got a name?”

“Joe. This is April.”

He nodded slowly. “What’re ya drinkin’?

“Two beers, whatever you have on tap.”

The bartender looked between us before moving away.

“How’d you hear about the festival?” a woman sitting a few seats away from us asked.

I squeezed Ethan’s hand, letting him know I'd take this one before I answered. “A friend of mine came here once with her boyfriend. She told me how much fun they had, so we thought we’d check it out.”

She studied me closely. “You enjoy it?”

“Yeah.” I leaned my shoulder into Ethan’s and smiled. “It was fun but definitely seemed more family-oriented than we thought it would be.”

“Here you go.” The bartender slid two beers in front of us.

Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet before sliding a few bills toward the bartender. “Keep the change.”

The bartender’s eyebrows lifted slightly before he nodded and walked away.

“You looking for something not family-friendly?” the woman asked, and my attention shifted back to her. I couldn’t read her well, but I had the feeling she was studying my answers very closely.

“We were just looking for a little more excitement on this trip, that’s all.” I smiled and shrugged. “If you know what I mean.”

“You married?”

“Dating,” I replied. “The town we live in is a little boring, so we thought we’d take a trip and see what trouble we could find.”

A small smile played around her lips when I laughed, and I relaxed a little more. Nick was right about this place without ever stepping foot inside. This was starting to feel really familiar. My role was one I played for nearly two years. I wasn’t supposed to have much on my mind except partying and doing whatever it took to keep my man happy.

“Devil’s Lake wasn’t nothing exciting either before they started the festival and then the following year invited everyone in for bike week,” the man next to her said.

“When did they start the festival?” Ethan asked.

He considered that and looked at the woman beside him. “Both started a few years back.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “It’s been a few years now. It used to be we’d just fish in that lake. Now they got all kinds of activities all summer long.”

“Do the locals go to the festival?”

“Some do,” the man sitting next to her replied. “But it’s mostly tourists.”

When I heard Ethan’s voice, I shifted in my seat to face the couple a few seats away and leaned against his shoulder. It gave me the perfect vantage point to see around the bar without making it obvious that I was. I tried to hide my disappointment when I didn’t see Samson. “I’m guessing from the way you say that you don’t like having the tourists in town.”

“Usually a bunch of city snobs.” He scoffed. “Looking for an outdoor adventure, but we don’t have much time for them. There’s talk of a couple of high-rises going up so there are more places for them to stay.”

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