Page 27 of Whiskey Kisses

He waggles his eyebrows. “The time we went to Croatia?”

“Ugh, not the fishing boat story.” I groan, playing it up. “Again, Finn? Really?”

“You mooned half the town,” he says. “I will tell this story until I die.”

Evie snorts, slapping her thigh, and shoots me another grin. “Sorry, I can totally see you doing that. You always were kind of naughty.”

She has no idea how naughty I can be. I give a lock of her hair a playful, adolescent tug.Keep it innocent, Tristan.

“I’m goingto rent a house out on Tybee Island.”

I’m walking Evie to her car, the boys a couple paces behind us. I haven’t seen Cole since we fought the other night, but this is his city. He could pop up at any time, and the last thing I need is being caught unawares again.

Evie nods, pulling her keys from a purse so tiny it’s a wonder it fits anything. “Okay.”

“I think you should move into it,” I add.

“With you?” she squeaks, stopping on the sidewalk.

“Well, yeah.” Placing my hand on the small of her back, I give her a slight push so that she starts walking again. “It’ll be easier to keep an eye on you, for one thing, but for another, do you really want to stay where you are now? Knowing your dad will probably lose his shit when he finds out about this?”

“Why do you need to keep an eye on me?” she asks, chewing her bottom lip. She had pink lipstick on at one point, but she ate it off hours ago.

“Because, Evie. When he finds out you played him by marrying someone other than his old crony’s kid, he’ll be hot.” A smile rises, unbidden. I can’t help it. I love winning, and in this little game of chess, I’ve definitely checkmated Randall Doyle. “And when he finds out you marriedme, he’ll go nuclear.”

“You’re right.” The tremble in her voice deflates the smugness ballooning in my chest. “I’m so stupid. I didn’t think past the wedding. I thought …”

“We could keep it a secret?” I finish. “The whole point of us getting married was to make you off-limits. Legally. Your dad has to find out eventually, and it’s more convincing if we live together.”

Evie sidesteps a tiny yellow flower growing from a crack in the sidewalk. “Of course.”

“Hey.” Iwrap an arm around her shoulders. “It might be rough for a while, but I got you. Don’t worry about it.”

She nods, but I can tell she’s not fully convinced. “When are you planning on moving into your new place?”

“Tomorrow, probably.”

“Really?” She blinks in surprise. “How’d you find something that fast?”

“Cash is king, for one thing.” I take the key fob from Evie’s hand and unlock her car, which is just up the block. “But I’ve known for a while that I’d need a more permanent homebase in Savannah. I need a month-to-month lease, and this place fits the bill.” For other reasons, too: it’s in a plush neighborhood with enough people around that visitors with nefarious intent would think twice. The house itself has several exits, and there’s a path behind the house, leading through the woods to the street behind. While I’ll have to keep an eye on that, it could be useful in the event we need to leave quickly.

“What about furniture?” she asks. “Or is it already furnished?”

I nod.

“So, just like that, huh?” I can’t tell if she’s impressed or if she thinks I’m crazy.

“Just like that.” Shrugging, I hand back the fob. “Why wait?”

“You might be the most spontaneous person I’ve ever met,” she muses, squinting up at me.

Yeah, she definitely thinks I’m crazy. “That’s what they say.” I open her door, and the hem of that damn dress inches up as she slides in, giving me another flash of thigh before she tugs it back down. “Let’s get you out of there before saying anything to your dad, okay? We’ll have to move quickly. Larry’s dropping off the certificate tomorrow morning, so this might not stay a secret for long.”

Larry,Timmy’s uncle and ex-mobster turned minister, calls as I’m pulling into the driveway of my new digs. He might not be about that life anymore, but Lucky called in a favor for me.

“Hey, Larry,” I answer, putting the car in park.

“Hi, Tristan,” he says. “I just dropped your license off at the courthouse, so I’ll be on my way if there’s nothing else you need.”

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