“I did savory and sweet. Eli, I have some healthy for you,” Bliss looked at me. “He may have talked you into the potato skins last night, but normally he eats like a health nut. It can be annoying.”
I forced a smile as if I cared.
Eli Hardy
SHE HADN’T BEEN a dream. But the flirty girl from last night with the shy smiles and gazes was gone. This one was tense and obviously uncomfortable with the situation. She even seemed upset. I for one thought I was still dreaming when I walked in and saw her there. All fresh faced with hair damp from the shower looking as damn perfect as I remembered.
I tried to get her to look at me, but she kept focusing on her food that she barely touched and only looked up to speak if asked a question by Nate or Bliss. It was becoming obvious to everyone that she didn’t want to be at this table with me. Bliss had even begun giving me questioning looks like I’d done something wrong. Hell, I was drunk last night. I just remember her eating the potato skins with a fork and how good she felt in my arms while we danced, and then things went black. The one time my never drinking much has kicked me in the ass. I decided to get drunk, and my low tolerance knocked me out.
I needed to call Larissa when I got home. Ask her about it. She’d know. She knew it all working behind that bar.
“Where are you headed next, Lila Kate?” Bliss asked too cheerfully. I also noticed they were calling her Lila Kate. Not just Lila. She’d introduced herself as Lila. That I was sure of. Lila Kate was cute but sounded childish. Was that annoying her? Because it was bugging me. I was ready to correct Bliss.
“I’m not positive. I was going to study a map today. Make a decision. I have a few ideas. Friends I’d like to visit.”
So, this adventure she’d spoken of hadn’t been something I dreamed up.
“You’re traveling alone?” I asked. I still didn’t think that was a good idea.
She barely glanced at me and gave a tight nod. “Yes.”
“Is that safe?” I asked.
She went very stiff. Her shoulders went back, and her head tilted suddenly in a very regal pose. Interesting. She looked like a Kennedy as she answered, “Yes.”
“Lila Kate can pull a pistol and not miss under pressure. She’s unassuming but lethal,” Nate said with a crooked grin.
“You carry a gun?” I asked incredulously. I didn’t even carry a gun, and I was a male in Alabama.
She gave a dainty lift of her left shoulder. “Of course.”
“You must have brothers like Bliss,” I offered thinking that had to be the only excuse.
“No. I’m the only child.”
“My mother gave her lessons. Harlow, Lila’s mother, was nervous when Lila Kate started driving. So my mom offered to teach her how to handle a gun,” Nate added.
I looked at Nate. “Your mom carries a gun too?”
Nate chuckled. “Oh, yes. My mother is feminine, beautiful, and a complete badass.”
Bliss laughed with him. “Yes, she is,” she agreed.
“Story goes, my mom’s first night in Rosemary Beach she pulled her gun on Lila Kate’s dad. Scared the shit out of him,” Nate was smiling as he said it.
That brought a small tug at the corners of Lila’s mouth. She liked the story too. I watched hoping she’d smile that bright smile from last night where her eyes lit up. But it never came.
Bliss and Nate began laughing over his first meal at her parents’ house when one of her brothers brought a gun out to threaten Nate. I listened to them talk, but my attention stayed on Lila. Once she finished her meal, she told Bliss how delicious it was and that she would clean the kitchen. She then excused herself to make a couple of phone calls. One was an important call to her mother.
After she’d left the room, Bliss glared at me. “What did you do to her?” she whispered.
I shrugged innocently. “I didn’t do anything. I swear. We ate, drank and danced a couple of dances. That was it.”
Bliss didn’t look convinced. “She was quiet and nervous. Very uncomfortable.”
“That’s just Lila Kate. She’s not a big talker. She doesn’t draw attention to herself. She listens but rarely joins in. You’ll get used to it,” Nate explained. But I disagreed with him. The girl from last night hadn’t been like that. Something had been wrong this morning. I just didn’t know what.
“I want her to enjoy her stay here,” Bliss said her voice sounding sad.
“She will, baby. I swear Lila Kate is just quiet. I’ve known her my entire life, and that’s just her.”
Bliss sighed then nodded. “Okay. Well, it’s obvious she doesn’t care for you,” she said looking back at me. “Maybe I could take her shopping and invite Crimson instead. I bet she’d like your sister.”