Page 12 of Seductive Nights

"You know, Margo, maybe if you'd lighten up, you'd have a little fun too. You seem to be a bit of a stick in the mud."

"I am not a stick in the mud."

"Really? Well, I can't imagine that you're much fun to be around. All you do is snap at me. And your shoulders are so stiff, and your jaw is so tight, it doesn't look like you've ever smiled."

"You're boorish."

"Well, maybe. But I'm fun."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Anyway, I delivered your offer to the seller, and she has accepted."

Margo pulled the offer from her bag. "Here's your copy. Closing's next week. Let me know the time of day you want to have the closing, and I'll have it arranged with the title company."

"Perfect. Thank you so much."

He looked the offer over quickly. "Did you want a raspberry iced tea or something a little stronger to help you loosen up a bit?"

"I don't need anything to loosen up a bit, Jace."

"Oh, I beg to differ. A beautiful woman like you should be smiling all the time."

"Maybe I have reason not to smile."

"Well, you might, but you're going to make a nice commission off of this sale, so that should be reason enough to smile. If it's not money, what is it?"

"Really, my personal life is none of your business. I'll be in touch about the closing." She turned and walked out, and Jace shook his head.

That woman was uptight.

As in Uptight.

Man. As he walked back to the kitchen, he saw Hanna and Quinn walking in.

"Hey there, you two. Are you here for lunch?"

Quinn grinned. "I sprung Hanna from the bakery. She doesn't get out for lunch much, but her mom is available today. So here we are."

"Fantastic. I'm sorry I don't have a table yet, but you can wait at the bar. It shouldn't be too long. Most people have to get back to work.”

Hanna giggled. "I'm one of those people. Good thing my mom knows the bakery like I do. Maybe better."

He winked. "You get full service from the owner every day here, lady. As soon as I can get you a table."

She laughed and walked to the bar with Quinn, and he stepped back into the kitchen, took a drink of water out of the bottle he had sitting on the counter, and then went back out, rotating his neck.

His encounter with Margo had irritated him. He wasn't sure why. When he walked back out to the dining room, he stopped at the bar to make sure Quinn and Hanna had gotten drinks.

"What can I get you two?"

Quinn looked at him. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. So good news, bad news, and good news."

"Okay." Quinn chuckled. "How about good news first?"

"All right. Well, I just made an offer on the thrift shop next door, and it was accepted today. So I'll need you to come and take a look at it for me so that we can make plans for expansion of the restaurant and the kitchen and tearing down the thrift store next door."

"Hey, buddy. Congratulations." Quinn reached out and shook his hand. "That's wonderful. What's the bad news?"

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