Page 44 of Sweet Home Louisiana

“Pretty girls who like to party are kind of my thing,” he said.Predictably.

Maddie dropped her arms and stepped forward.“I don’t think that’s it.”

“You don’t think I like pretty girls who like to party?”He quirked an eyebrow.“I think you knowpersonallythat’s not true.”

“I think you’re doing it to protect Josh.”

Something flickered in Owen’s eyes and she knew she was right.

“You think poor Josh needs protected from a bunch of bridesmaids?”

“I think bachelorette parties and other groups of girls come down here for a good time.And I think that includes drinking Ellie’s Hurricanes, and driving fast on airboats, and flirting with hot guys.And I think that they tip better and give better reviews when those hot guys flirt back.And I think that now that Josh is with Tori, he doesn’t want to flirt with other girls, and he definitely doesn’t want to be in the position of getting phone numbers or having girls rubbing up against him, but that if he turns them down or pushes them away, it might make him seem like a jerk.So you save all of that from being an issue by taking the girls out yourself.”

She watched Owen swallow.

“That’s me.Always willing to do that hard stuff for my buddies.”

She smiled.“I didn’t say you didn’t like it.But yeah, I think that’s it even more than you liking that the girls show up in high heels and short skirts.”

“Wow, you’ve been giving this a lot of thought,” Owen said.

“I have.I also think that you and Josh also try to keep Sawyer from taking out groups that include kids.”She tipped her head.“Is he even more over-reactive when there are kids on board?”

Owen blew out a breath, as if finally giving up.He nodded.“Definitely.”

Maddie shook her head slowly and took another step closer to him.“Wow.That’s pretty great.”

“We’re just looking out for the business,” Owen said.“If Sawyer snaps at little kids and ruins their trip, it’s bad for business.”

“Uh-huh.”She took the final step until she was standing right in front of him.“I’m not buying it.I think you’re looking out for Sawyer and Josh and that you would do anything for either of them way before you’d worry about the business.”

Owen swallowed.“He’s worried about scaring the kids.”

Her eyes widened.“What?”

He nodded.“The scar.He’s worried it will scare little kids.So we’ve been trying to keep those tours with me and Josh.”

“Oh no,” Maddie said softly, her heart breaking a little for Sawyer.He loved kids.

“I think he doesn’t want to get asked what happened, too,” Owen said.

“You and Josh are takinga lotof the tours.”

He shrugged.“We’re doing what we need to do.”

“I really like that about you,” she said, her voice a little husky.

Owen’s gaze got hot and lifted his hand and cupped the side of her face.Instantly everything in her went soft and warm.

“Is this what you needed to talk to me about?”he asked.

She hadn’t really needed to talk to him about anything in particular at all, but she wasn’t ready to confess that she was hiding him from a past one-night stand—and she really hoped it had only been one-night—because then she’d have to tell him why.

She nodded.“Yeah.”

“You’re okay?”

Well, with him standing this close and his hand on her, she was feeling a strange combination of very-okay and this-is-going-to-complicate-everything.Still, she said, “Not quite.”

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