Page 27 of Kiss of Deceit

Harry shrugged. “Word on the street. Someone must have seen.”

I didn’t call him on his bullshit. He probably heard it from Tristin at the sheriff’s office. There was little that happened in this town that I didn’t know about. Tristin and Lucas were close friends, and I had a feeling that was part of the reason Lucas got away with half the shit he did. It was usually petty things, but if he was bothering Hallie, then that needed to end. The girl was young and sweet and had only been here for a six months. She’d made a mistake getting mixed up with Lucas.

“Maybe you should do your job, so interns don’t have to do it,” I said. “If Lucas is bothering his ex, you should be the one stepping in.”

He frowned in annoyance. “There’s no law against him going to the café. If he’s doing something else, then I’ll fucking deal with it.”

“Sure, Harry.”

“Don’t be a dick.” With that, he slid off the stool and grabbed his glass before striding away toward a table.

The man couldn’t take any criticism.

A laugh caught my attention, and I glanced across the room to see a table full of interns. Surprise filtered through me to see Dani. She hadn’t stepped foot in my bar since the night we spent in the backroom—when she’d promised that she would never come in here again.

Her back was to me, and I wondered if that was on purpose. She was sitting next to the guy, Miles, who had a thing for her. There were four others sitting with them, and they were all chatting and having a good time.

“Another one.”

An empty beer bottle was set in front of me, pulling my attention away from Dani. I headed toward the cooler, grabbing a new beer and opening it before giving it to the guy. He threw down a few dollar bills and walked away with his drink. I couldn’t stop my gaze from traveling back to the table where Dani was.

Her long brown hair was down like it always was, and her back was straight, making me believe she wasn’t as relaxed as everyone else around the table. I caught her peeking over her shoulder more than once as if uncomfortable that she didn’t have a visual of the entire room.

“Did you two hook up again?”

My heart jumped at the voice that came from behind me. I whirled around to see Adella smiling at me.

“You don’t work tonight,” I stated, crossing my arms. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “I was bored. There’s not much to do here at night. Figured you could use help.”

“I don’t.”

“Really?” She laughed. “I could work the bar while you go talk to her.”

She was purposely trying to get under my skin. “I have nothing to say to her,” I scowled.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” she sang out as she stole the rag from my hand. “You didn’t mention that you’re living with her.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Who told you that?”

“Fiona.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I grumbled. “It’s no one’s damn business.”

“You really didn’t think anyone would find out?” she teased. “Gossip is Fiona’s middle name.”

“They put her in my house by accident. Once they find her another place, she’ll be gone.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that.”

I stared at her. “Why?”

“Fiona made it seem like there were no other housing options.”

“That’s not what she told me.”

“Because you’re a grumpy ass. She probably doesn’t want to deal with you.”