Page 24 of Wine Whiskey & Lipstick

Dillyn glanced down at the ground and smirked.It should be.“The encryption is pretty tough.”

Something was off. Selah could feel the tension in the air as she looked between Dillyn and her warden wannabes. “I see you’ve met my brothers, Ben and Lucas.” Selah turned toward Ben. “This is Dillyn Anderson.”

Ben responded. “We’ve already met.” His voice was still rough.

What was his problem?Dillyn was ready to get her ass back to her own slice of heaven. It was clear Ben wanted her gone, and Lucas seemed to be taking his cues from his brother. “I just came over to get my phone.”

“Oh, sure! It’s in the house.” Selah glared at Ben and Lucas. “My goodness. It’s so hot out. Why don’t you come inside for some lemonade, and I’ll get it?” Selah was dying for some female company, especially with someone as worldly as Dillyn.

“Thank you, but I’ve got to get going.” Dillyn politely declined. “If you could just grab it, that would be great.” Dillyn glanced over at Lucas. He tipped his head and almost gave her a smile. Ben remained stone-faced and wouldnotgrant her even a hint of a smile.

“Make sure you wash it off,” Ben said, remembering Dillyn was a germaphobe.

Dillyn frowned at him. Why was Ben being an asshole? She didn’t understand it.

Selah’s shoulder drooped in disappointment. “O-ok . . . okay. Sure.” She rolled her eyes at her brothers as she went inside, leaving Dillyn alone with them.

Nobody said a word.This isAwkward.

Fortunately, Selah was only gone a few moments. “Are you sure you don’t want to come inside for a glass of lemonade?”

Not even if the grounds opened and hell swallowed me whole. Dillyn smiled. “Thanks so much for asking. We just have a lot on our agenda for today but feel free to drop byourplace anytime. You have an open invitation.”

“Really?” Selah asked.

“She’s just being polite,” Ben said.

A sense of rebelliousness rose in Dillyn. “Actually, I’m beingneighborly.” She smiled at Selah. “We’d love to get to know our neighbors. You’re welcome to visit anytime you feel the need for some girl time.” Dillyn’s smile vanished the second she turned away from Selah and toward her brothers. “Gentleman.” It was weird that Ben was acting like anything but.Whatever. Don’t give it another thought.Dillyn straightened her spine and got into her car. She revved the engine before backing up and speeding off.

Selah was pissed. She turned fiery eyes toward her brothers. “What was that? Why are you two always acting like jerks?!”

Lucas shrugged. He was following Ben’s lead, figuring Ben had a good reason to be an asshole, so he just went with it.

Ben waved off her irritation. “Women like her are too nickel slick for their own good.” He knew Dillyn was anything but, yet those words still came out of his mouth.

“How do you know what she’s like? You only met her five minutes ago,” Selah asked.

“I told you we already met.”

“Wait a minute. Before last night? When? Where?” Lucas was genuinely curious.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ben responded. “After our conversation this morning, I don’t want anyone filling your head with the joys of living in the city.”

“Selah knows she’s not moving to the city.” Lucas had the good sense to be a little embarrassed. “And if you’re not going to tell me what Dillyn did to deserve us acting like jerks, then we should apologize.”

“You don’t know any such thing, Lucas Cash! I’ve had it up to here with y’all’s bullshit!”

“Hey! Watch your mouth.” Ben’s eyes went wide, equal parts appalled and amused by his sister’s outburst.

Selah ignored him. “I have dreams that are bigger than this farm. One day, you, Ben, and Wyatt are going to wake up, and I’m just going to be gone!” Selah stormed off toward the house, leaving Ben and Lucas staring after her.

Ben released an exasperated sigh.

“If we don’t figure something out, Selah is going to make good on that promise,” Lucas said matter-of-factly.

Ben knew Lucas was right. Lately, he couldn’t seem to get it right with Selah. Begrudgingly, he agreed, “Yeah, I know. I’ve been trying to work out a solution all morning.” If he were honest, Ben hadn’t been able to work out his confusing emotions about Dillyn either.

Lucas was thoughtful. “I might have an idea.”

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