Page 12 of A Real Good Bad Thing

Maybe if I’d kissed the stingray sooner or held on longer, I might have had Eli’s luck—breezing through life with a grin, taking what he wanted because he could. He had charm.

Duke had that too. I’d fallen for the easy way he had about him. But the moment things didn’t go his way, he’d turned into a complete asshole.

I hoped Eli wasn’t all bad. But I wasn’t holding my breath.

I drummed my fingers against the counter, waiting for Devon to finish up with the last of his early-evening customers at Stingray Town Hire and Tours.

“But don’t they, you know, sting you?” a woman with big sunglasses and gold hoop earrings asked him in a Jersey accent.

He moved his hand like he was petting a dog. “Nah. They’re like little puppies. They know you have food, so they get all excited and cuddle up next to you.”

“I do like puppies,” the woman said more confidently.

“Course you do. Now, go enjoy the puppies of the water,” he said in his cheery voice—one that no doubt helped him get that steady stream of traffic in his store. He’d made a damn good living renting gear and operating tours for visitors to mingle in the crystal-blue waters with the world’s friendliest stingrays.

The customer thanked him, then headed out to join the rest of the tour group.

Finished with business, Devon turned to me and held his arms out wide. He wore a teal blue tank top and board shorts, revealing brown skin and muscles. “Give me a hug. It has been far too long,” he said as I embraced the man I’d been friends with since I was a tow-headed kid in that first stingray picture. Then, he stepped away enough to look me over fondly, as if taking in how much I’d grown.

“I know. I miss you,” I said softly. Losing traction here had hurt my heart the most.

“Then get your butt down here more often,” he said, pointing wildly to the floor, the ceiling, and the window that offered the most gorgeous view of endless blue water and a sky currently dotted in diamond-like stars.

“I’m doing my best. I’ve got a tour next week. I’ll be bringing them here to your shop.” I smiled, grateful to chat about work for a moment before I got to the heart of my visit. That would be tougher—intel about Eli.

He scratched his chin. “Actually, I have a small group on Saturday—a short private tour visit to the stingrays, and my second-in-command has a family thing to go to. Want to do a man a favor and help out?”

I nodded enthusiastically. Anything for a friend. “I would love to. Text me the details?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “So you came to town early?” Then he fixed me with an expectant stare. “Any special reason?”

Recon.

But I couldn’t say that, of course.

Instead, I gestured to his picture-perfect window and the moonlit indigo sea beyond. “Do I need more of a reason than that?”

“No.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Hell no.”

“So, Devon,” I said, clearing my throat and changing the subject. “I need your honest opinion on something.”

“Uh-oh.”

“It’s not bad. I promise,” I said with a laugh, mostly to keep the mood light as I, well, pried. “Now that business is picking up for me again, I want to run a tight ship and make sure customers are happy. So when someone on a tour asks me about the nightlife, should I mention…?”

Devon smiled in understanding. “You want to know how Sapphire is doing.”

“Exactly.”

“That place is red hot. Packed crowds every night. It’s like a goddamn mint.”

Mint.

I bit back my immediate questions.Is Eli making a mint with someone else’s money? Did his old company fund that damn club?Instead, I leaned across the counter and planted a soft kiss on Devon’s leathery cheek. He pretended to catch the kiss in his hand. “Now I’ve got my next seven years,” I teased. “Thank you.”

“If only a kiss from me had such powers,” he said, then turned a shade serious. “Hey, I get that you’re not on the greatest terms with your stepdad. But I’m all for family getting along and putting the past behind them, and I hope you’re able to do that. Even though he’s not your flesh and blood, he’s the man I saw taking care of you when you were a kid.”

I sighed. It would be so much easier to write Eli off as an asshole if that weren’t true. But I could only put the past behind me if he played fair. “He was good to me,” I admitted with a grumble.

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