Page 63 of The Kiss Keeper
The room cleared out as she went table to table, brushing loose petals and wisps of fabric into her hand, soaking in all the time she’d spent in this room, then stilled, sensing Jake was there. She grinned as the heat returned to her cheeks.
“Are you just going to watch?” she said over her shoulder as the door to the lodge let out a weary creak and gently closed.
“Wow! You look…” Jake began.
She dusted the remains of the lobster luau prep into the bin then turned. “Silly?” she asked, staring down at her feet.
Why was she so nervous all of a sudden?
“No, stunning,” he finished.
“In a tank top and a lobster skirt?” she teased.
Jake crossed the room as if he owned it, and she couldn’t stop her pulse from racing at the sight of him. But before he could reach her, he stopped and frowned.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s your feet,” he answered, concern lacing the words.
“What about them?” She wiggled her toes.
“You’re wearing sandals, Heels.”
The mention of his nickname for her sent an electric jolt of anticipation through her body.
“It’s a luau,” she answered, doing her best to not look like an enamored idiot.
He raised a finger. “It’s alobster bakeluau. And I’ve been working my ass off for the last few hours, digging a hole big enough to fit enough lobsters to feed your entire family, and…”
“And what?” she tossed back, her hands on her hips.
He raised an eyebrow. “And if I can see your feet, you know who else will be able to see them.”
She grinned. “It’ll be dark soon, and I can guard my toes against Dr. Foot Fetish. Plus, I think you’ve put the fear of God into him, and that doesn’t hurt.”
“He’s not so bad,” Jake said with a shrug.
Her jaw dropped. “Leo?”
“Yeah, I spent the day fishing with your grandpa and the Elks Club. Leo and Marcus were with us. When your cousins aren’t around, their husbands aren’t too bad. Marcus did try to eat the bait, but we got him squared away with a bag of Funyuns.”
“So, you survived?” she asked with a chuckle.
His expression softened. “You mean, did your grandfather grill his favorite granddaughter’s new Jake? A little bit, but I survived.”
“You seem to be able to handle yourself. It’s almost as if you came into this whole ruse with a plan,” she added, trying to get a laugh out of him, but the opposite happened.
Jake’s jovial expression faded as the door to the lodge swung open, and Josie and Maddie burst into the room.
“You’re the queen, Aunt Nat,” they cried as they ran up and handed a crown decked with mini plastic lobsters glued to the side.
She turned to Jake. “How did I become the queen?”
“I nominated you,” he answered, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
The lobster queen was no queen.
“Do you know what the queen has to do?” she asked.
