Page 23 of Shattered Secrets

Ripped from her thoughts, Scarlet spun toward the voice with a hand on her chest. She grinned as Poppy gave her a side hug and settled onto the barstool Matt had vacated. “Twice in one day? What a treat for me!” They’d grabbed coffee earlier during her morning break.

“Cade said he was meeting the guys here for dinner, and the twins are hanging with some of their high school friends, so I figured I’d come over and harass Four.”

“Why does everyone want to harass me?” the man grumbled as he set a coaster in front of her and topped it with a glass of ice water.

Poppy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You know you’re gonna miss me when I’m away.”

“You keep telling yourself that, cuz.” Four chuckled at Poppy’s glare. “The usual?”

“Please,” Poppy said, giving up her mock irritation and gesturing to Scarlet’s nearly empty bowl. “And I’ll have what she’s having, plus an order of the beef carpaccio with extra crostini.”

“You got it,” he said, placing Poppy’s cocktail down on a second coaster. “Scarlet, do you like chocolate?”

About to take a sip of water, she raised an eyebrow. “Is that a real question?”

Four grinned. “I take it that’s a yes?”

She tapped the tip of her nose. “Got it on the first try.”

“Uh, what about me?” Poppy asked.

“You’re a given, Pop. You’ll do dessert before dinner every time.”

Scarlet bit back a smile at the look Four gave Poppy. It could only be described asduh.

“Our head chef put together a new dessert, and I’d love to get your opinions on it. It’s an espresso chili torte. Flourless chocolate cake, chili salted caramel, white chocolate espresso mousse, and spiced dark chocolate ganache with a raspberry puree and cacao nibs. You two in?”

Scarlet’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Again, Four, is that a real question?”

Laughing with his hands held up, he said, “Hey, you never know. I’d hate to presume anything.”

“You can always presume me and chocolate are a go.” She grinned. “Always.”

“Noted. I’ll be right back, ladies.” He tapped the bar top, then disappeared into the kitchen.

“I take it Daisy’s doing the big backyard-movie-night thing?”

Scarlet looked at Poppy in surprise. “How did you know?”

“How do I know anything, Scar?”

Her lips pursed, the corners lifting, and she nodded. “Small town.”

“Yup,” Poppy said, popping thep. “Flora and Katie ordered a bunch of these adorable plastic kiddie bento boxes that look like popcorn bags. The shipment was delayed, but thankfully, itarrived this morning. They wanted to make sure each kiddo had a souvenir from the first annual backyard movie night.”

“Of course they did.” Both women had come in individually while Scarlet had been working at the diner this morning. They’d apologized profusely for what had happened with Daisy, and while she didn’t blame either of them at all—it was a crazy unfortunate accident—she appreciated the sentiment.

Scarlet eyed her watch, then her friend. “I have another hour-plus before I need to leave to pick up Daisy. Want to fill me in on today’s gossip?”

“Oh please,” Poppy said, bumping her shoulder. “The diner is gossip train central. I’m sure you’ve got way more juicy tidbits than I do.”

A burst of laughter had Scarlet glancing over her shoulder. It looked like the guys were having a good time.Well, that’s just stupid.

“What’s stupid?” Poppy asked.

Dammit. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But in for a penny and all that... She tilted her head toward the table of men. “That much alpha male hotness in one place should be outlawed.”

Cade and Matt, along with Gavin Frazier, Sheriff Quinn O’Conner, and Joe Buchanan, who was the son of Doc Buchanan—a silver fox in his own right. They were a formidable bunch.

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