Page 38 of Resting Beach Face
“That’s a rather personal question,” he teased, even though he knew perfectly well I meant his coffee drink, the double-praline.
“Not when you advertise it all over town,” I said waspishly.
“Ohhh!” He laughed. “I forgot how spunky you get in the morning.” He picked up the coffee carafe. “Just be careful. It gets me all hot.”
“Cash, have you forgotten our talk from Saturday night?”
His eyes met mine. “I haven’t forgotten a single second of that evening.”
Why did I get the feeling the kiss had been playing through his mind as much as it had mine? That was silly, though. A kiss like that would mean nothing to Cash. He’d shared one with Sawyer only two weeks ago, after all.
For all I knew, he’d gone straight out and found the nearest warm body to lose himself in after he left Saturday.
A bitter taste flooded my mouth. I couldn’t be with Cash, but that didn’t mean I liked the idea of someone else enjoying him, either. It was…a confusing contradiction.
Cash’s flirty smile dropped away. “I’m just teasing you, Declan. A good laugh eases the tension, you know? But if youwant me to stop making flirty comments, I will.” He paused. “Well, I’ll try my best. It’s kind of engrained into my DNA, so you may have to correct me a time or two.”
To my surprise, I didn’t like that idea. He wouldn’t be Cash if he wasn’t flirting.
“No, don’t censor yourself,” I said. “Don’t treat me with kid gloves. If you want to flirt, flirt. Just be prepared to be shot down hard.”
He pretended to shiver. “Making rejection sexy. Only you can do that.”
I shoved his shoulder. “Go pour coffee. My guests will have to put up with the poor substitute I brew here. I have to fix my platter.”
After Cash left the room, I took a deep breath, only aware now of how much oxygen he’d taken up. I wasn’t sure which had gotten to me more—his flirting or his offer to respect my boundaries.
When people found out I was some flavor of asexual, they usually either asked awkward questions about my sexual history or they tiptoed around me on eggshells, assuming that even the vaguest reference to sex would send me running.
Cash had swaggered into my kitchen and acted as if nothing had changed. As if I was the same guy he’d lusted over for two years. And as much as I’d tried to shut down that lusting, a part of me was relieved that the truth hadn’t changed how he saw me.
I appreciated his offer to respect my boundaries. It reassured me he wouldn’t be pushing for something that couldn’t happen. But ultimately, I wanted Cash to be himself, even if occasionally it meant losing my breath in his presence.
I rearranged the platter, moving the pastries back into their concentric formation, then entered the dining room.
Cash stood at the head of the table, coffee carafe sitting in front of him forgotten as he spread his arms. “And then he said,Tell these tourists to keep their rods out of my hole!”
Janice, a middle-aged divorcee who’d come to Swallow Cove to visit her sister, gave a throaty laugh. “He did not say it that way.”
“He did. I swear he did.” Cash flashed me a grin. “Declan can tell you.”
I froze as all eyes turned to me expectantly. My eye twitched.
“I was just telling them about the Weekend Hookers,” Cash said. “Tom bought one of their hats, and I thought he should know who he was representing.”
Tom, who’d booked a room with his quiet wife, Ellen, chuckled. “I didn’t know I was buying a piece of local notoriety. Figured it was just a funny play on words.”
“Oh, it’s that too,” Cash said. “We have a lot of both here in Swallow Cove.”
“Well, now, I almost wish I’d booked at that new resort so I could see this Chester fella in action,” Tom said.
Cash flashed me an apologetic smile. “Oh, you don’t need to go to the resort to find him. He’s at The Rusty Hook pub most nights. He’ll be the guy loudly complaining about strangers messing around in his hole.”
That set them into another round of giggles. I set the platter of pastries into the center of the table.
“Sorry for the delay this morning. I’ll get Cash out of your hair so you can eat in peace.”
“These pastries look delicious,” Ellen said with a smile as she reached out to take a tart.
