Page 16 of So Close

“Aub?”

“Mmm-hmm?”

“Why did you take Trey’s business card home?”

Startled, Auburn caught her sister’s knowing gaze and felt herself blushing to the hairline.

“I didn’t think you saw that.” She’d grabbed it behind Chiara’s back as they’d walked out of the bar. Because. Because it was beautiful and so was he, and even if she had no intention of doing anything about it, she couldn’t quite bear to leave behind the evidence that he wanted her. “Anyway, it’s moot. No way I could possibly have sex with himnow.”

“Well, it might help convince him to sell you Beachcrest,” Chiara said playfully.

“I wouldneversleep with someone to get something from them. Never.” Auburn’s voice cut right across her sister’s teasing, steely.

And more than a little defensive.

Her stomach hurt, suddenly.

“Never again, anyway,” she said quietly, finding her sister’s gaze.

Chiara raised her eyebrows and put a hand on her sister’s knee. “It wasn’t like that. You know that, right? You weren’t Patrick’s…mistress.”

Auburn set her root beer down on the coffee table. She took a deep breath. Mistress was nicer than the word that had flitted through her own head during Chiara’s long pause.

“Maybe so—but it was sure how it felt, in the end. I promised myself that I’d never let anyone own my life like that again. And since my lifeisBeachcrest at the moment, that means I can’t let anyone take it from me.”

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

“I’m here to win.”

8

Trey’s nephews, Tyler and Jacob, stood on either side of him as he tapped another nail into the siding of Brynn’s house. “You don’t want to drive the nailheads flush with the siding. Because the head will break the face and let water in.”

He showed them how to leave just the nailhead exposed, then handed the hammer to Tyler and watched him as he imitated what his uncle had just demonstrated.

“Good,” Trey said.

Tyler had gotten a lot more comfortable with the hammer over the last few days.

Helping his nephews reminded Trey of when Carl had shown him how to build the covered lemonade stand. That had been his favorite part of the whole venture. Aside from counting the money at the end, of course.

Working with Tyler was pretty satisfying. The boy was a good listener and a hard worker. So far, they’d cut away the rotted siding, primed and painted the new boards, and begun replacing the ruined pieces. Next they’d caulk any gaps.

You could see that Tyler was eager to be helpful to his mom. Trey remembered the feeling well. Wanting to be helpful was how Trey’s firstrealbusiness had gotten started. He’d done so much yardwork for his mom that it had made sense to start charging other people to do it. Xavier Landscaping had eventually grown more successful and better trusted than most of the companies run by the town’s men.

Brynn came up beside him. “Thank you,” she said quietly, tilting her head to indicate her son.

“I’m here anyway, until I get this deal done.”

“You can’t just sayyou’re welcome, can you.”

It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t try to answer it.

“What’s going on with the inn? I thought you were selling it to your developer friend?”

“Things got a little complicated. Auburn Campbell wants to buy it.”

The mention of her name set his blood in motion.Just anger, he told himself, though he knew it was a lie.

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