Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(9)

“Yep. Family dinner tonight,” I said, watching as his gaze moved to Lila, and he literally perused her body with no shame at all.

The fucker.

Stick to pouring cocktails, dickhead.

Kline was a great employee, but would I want him dating my sisters? Hell, no.

Lila was included in that mix. I’d always felt protective over her.

“Damn. I was going to see if you wanted to grab a drink with me after work tonight, Lila.” He waggled his brows at her, and I fought the urge to pull him over the bar and shove the bottle he was holding up his ass.

“Hey, how about you get back to the customers and stop harassing the employees?” I growled, catching Kline completely off guard.

“Sorry, brother. Just offering a pretty lady a drink. I meant no offense.” He held up his hands and raised a brow as if he were confused by my reaction.

I should feel like a dick, but I didn’t.

“You’re fine. He’s overreacting, as usual.” Lila shot me a look and then turned back to Kline. “How about tomorrow night?”

What the fuck?

Kline smiled. “Yeah, sure. That would be great.”

“We’re going to be late. Let’s go.” I placed my hand on her elbow and led her toward the door.

“You leaving?” Brandy asked. She’d been our hostess here for the last few months, and the girl was nosy as fuck for a seventeen-year-old who should be more interested in what her friends were doing than what I was doing. I wasn’t in the mood for the inquisition that always came when I saw her, so I tried to make a fast dash out the door.

“Yes. Family dinner. Kline’s locking up.”

“Are you going to family dinner, as well, Lila?” she asked when we were one step out the door.

“Yes. I am.” Lila paused to look at her with confusion. “Why do you ask?”

“I just, well, I know you’ve been gone for a while. And I just didn’t know you were still so friendly with the family.”

What the fuck was happening here? Between Kline and Brandy, I was getting agitated, which was not the norm for me.

“She’s always been a family friend. No explanation needed.” I shot her a warning look that basically said to step the fuck off, and her eyes widened.

I pushed open the door, and we made our way outside, and I led her to my truck. I loved the weather this time of year. It was warmer in the day but cooler at night down by the water. Reynolds’ was only a block from the cove, so the ocean breeze swirled around us.

I tugged open the door, climbing in, and I reached for the seat belt and pulled it across her body.

“What are you doing, Bear? I can buckle my own seat belt.” She shook her head and chuckled.

“Old habits die hard, Snow,” I said as I clamped it into the metal bracket beside her before shutting her door and making my way to the driver’s side.

Lila fell forward and started laughing once I pulled out of the parking lot. Her hands were on her knees, and she finally looked up at me.

“What’s so fucking funny?” I asked, still irritated that my own damn employees harassed us on our way out the door.

“Well, first off,” she said, sitting back upright. “I’m a grown woman, and I don’t need you buckling my seat belt or biting off Kline’s head for asking me to have a drink.”

“He’s a fucking player, Snow. I don’t want you getting mixed up in that.”

“You do know I’ve been living on my own for the last four years, right? I am very capable of deciding what and who I want.”

Now it was my turn to shoot her a look. “Is that right? And you think you want Kline fucking Barley?”

“I’m not saying that I do. I’m just saying that I can speak for myself. And since when do you hate the guy so much? He’s your head bartender.”

“I don’t hate Kline. He’s a great fucking bartender. I just don’t like him for you.”

“The last thing I need you doing is deciding who you like or don’t like for me. Same with Travis and Brax. I’m not a kid anymore.”

I nodded. “I know. I just want you to tread carefully with Kline. He’s a good employee, and if he hurt you, I’d be forced to fire him and then I’d have to kill him. And that just gets messy.”

Her head fell back in laughter again, and she glanced over and smiled at me. “Shall we talk about the girl who is barely old enough to have a driver’s license and wants to claw my eyes out every time I’m around you?”

“Fucking Brandy. Her dad is Coach Benson, and he was my baseball coach. He called in a favor to get her the job, but she’s a nosy little thing, right?”

“Umm… nosy isn’t exactly what I would use to describe her. I’d say she’s developed quite the crush on you, Bear.” She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her laughter. “You always had a way with the ladies, and that obviously hasn’t changed. The long hair, the scruff, it only adds to the appeal.”

My dick strained against my zipper, and I adjusted myself as slyly as I could. For whatever reason, getting praise from Lila, and the way her gaze scanned over me before quickly turning away, had the big guy standing at attention.

“You like the hair and the scruff, Snow?” I said, and a pink hue climbed her neck and covered her cheek.