Page 76 of Boss Me

When I lifted away, his eyes fluttered open. “What was that for?”

“For? Nothing. I did it because I can.” I let my gaze roam from his glazed eyes to his kiss-reddened mouth, all the way to the bulge in his shorts. I lingered there, and when I flicked my stare up to Ben’s face, his eyes had sharpened.

He licked his lips. “Ready to go?”

“You bet your ass I am,” I growled, too low for anyone else to hear.

He squirmed in the chair and surreptitiously ran his hand over his shorts before he held his arm out to me. “Help me out of this thing?”

I gripped his hand and tugged him out of the low chair, all the way up until his chest met mine. He wobbled, and I grasped his shoulders. “You all right?”

“Yeah.” He blinked. “That punch is potent.”

“Hell, yeah, it is. I almost got contact-drunk when I kissed you.”

“Good thing we have a ride home.”

Home. I smiled.

In my family, good-byes are never quick. Or sober. Almost an hour later, I tossed Ben’s last cup of punch and followed him into the back seat of the SUV. Mateo looked over his shoulder to ensure we’d buckled our seat belts. I helped Ben with his.

He let his head loll against the headrest. “Did you have fun, Mateo?”

“Of course. It’s always good to have my primo back home. I can tease him like I used to do when we were kids.”

“Oh, really?” Ben gave me a wicked side-eye before he met Mateo’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “What’d you used to tease him about?”

“Girls. And guys. And sports. Never school, though, because that was the one thing he kicked my ass at.”

“One thing?” I raised an eyebrow.

“One thing. I just defeated you at hacky sack. And don’t get me started on Isaac.”

“Okay, okay.” I held out my palms. “You win.”

“I heard an interesting story today,” Ben said. “From Luis.”

“Oh?” I rubbed the face of my Rolex.

“He said you’re part owner of the resort. That you gave him the seed money.”

Luis. Get a cup of punch in him, and he sang like a kingbird. I squared my jaw. “It was a good investment.”

“And Isobel said you funnel your share of the profits back into the community.”

“I’m sure she didn’t say that.” Tía abuela wasn’t a loose-lipped drunk.

“She said you’re funding the new community center construction. And I remember that family friend of yours said you did the same thing with the school. Like, built it with your hands.”

“Isobel loves the community center,” I grumbled. “Dancing is good exercise for someone her age.”

Mateo snorted. “We wish he’d stick to the fundraising. To keep him from hammering those money hands.”

I glared at him in the mirror. “Everyone needed to pitch in after the hurricane. I wanted to help my family.”

“Is everyone here on the island your family?” Ben turned his head to face me and blinked slowly.

“Not everyone. Not in the city. But in this part of it, just about. Mamá and I lived in the U.S., but she brought me back whenever she could.” Whenever Mick would let her, or when he was too drunk to care. Though he usually cared when we got back. Still, those few days or weeks of peace had been worth it. And investing in the resort not only helped my friend but was a way of thanking the small community for what they’d done for me.

---