The Lemon Sisters (Wildstone #3)(50)

Brooke wanted to, but it was a little late now. “You’re married, Min. And he’s your neighbor.” And he had his tongue down my throat, so . . .

“Well, it’s not like he’s an old geezer with a spare tire and false teeth,” Mindy said, clearly defensive now. “He’s smart and funny and . . . well, hot. I mean, if you could see him in the mornings after his run—”

“Jeez, Min.”

“What? Let’s be honest, it’s not like I’m the only Lemon sister who ever crushed on him. You had a big, fat crush on him in high school. You know you did.”

That’s when they both heard a noise behind them. Hoping it was Ketchup, but knowing her luck didn’t run in that direction, Brooke turned to find, yep, both Linc and Garrett in the doorway. Awesome. Linc was in a suit, Garrett in battered jeans, battered boots, and a T-shirt that had some sawdust still sticking to it, both men clearly coming in from work.

Linc glanced at Garrett, then back to Mindy. “Tell me there’s dinner.”

Mindy blinked. “That’s what you want to talk about?” she asked. “Not my crush on the sexy guy who lives right next door?”

“I skipped lunch,” Linc said. “My stomach’s eating my other organs.”

Garrett raised his hand. “I want to talk about the fact that you think I’m sexy.”

“I hope it’s steak,” Linc said, sticking his head in the fridge.

Mindy went hands on hips. “So you don’t care about my crush?”

Linc shut the fridge. “Do you still have it?”

Mindy looked at Garrett.

Garrett raised a brow.

“Would you be jealous if I said yes?” Mindy asked Linc.

Linc eyed his wife, suddenly appearing to realize she was 100 percent serious. He paused. “You really have a crush on my best friend?”

Mindy sighed. “No, my vagina had a crush on him, not the rest of me. And he’s also my best friend.”

“Please never say ‘vagina’ again,” Brooke said.

Linc looked at Garrett.

Garrett lifted his hands. “Hey, there’s enough of me to go around.”

Mindy smacked him. “Oh my God. Tell him nothing ever happened!”

“That’s true,” Garrett told Linc. “Mostly because she’s a little . . .” He circled his finger at the side of his head, the universal sign for crazy.

Mindy smacked him again.

“Ow,” he said. “And see?”

“Look,” Mindy told her husband, “it was a temporary crush. Like I said, my—” She broke off and eyed Brooke. “—lady parts wanted him. But my heart wanted you, the end.”

Brooke went to the freezer for the vodka.

“I thought you said that was seventy-five percent water,” Mindy said.

“It’s still twenty-five percent vodka.” She poured a healthy glug into a cup and knocked it back.

“Is no one going to ask Brooke about her crush on Garrett?” Linc asked. “Maybe she’s still got one.”

Everyone looked at Brooke.

Brooke considered a second shot of vodka.

Mindy took that bottle away. “Do you still have a crush on him?”

“Gee, it’s such a shock that I don’t come home anymore,” Brooke said. No way was she spilling the beans, not on their past, and not on whatever that had been in the hot tub. It wasn’t that Mindy and Linc wouldn’t understand. It was that she didn’t know how to talk about her and Garrett from that time in her life, not without losing it. And there was no reason to do so anyway, since it wasn’t like they were going to be a thing now.

Or ever.

“And I don’t have a crush on him,” she said without looking at Garrett. “If I ever did, and that’s a big if, it was because I was young and stupid. Very stupid.”

“How disappointing,” Garrett said dryly.

Mindy laughed. “It’s just like old times!” She looked at Brooke. “And see? You can have fun here, so you can’t leave. And . . . I’ve got a surprise for you.” She pointed to the camera still around Brooke’s neck. “The county’s going to pay you for your pics.”

Brooke blinked. “What?”

“Wildstone’s mayor stops by the shop every day for a smoothie. She says they’re putting together a new tourism package that includes brochures and a website. They need content of everything from the beaches to the wineries to the ranches to downtown . . . everything. I got you the job.”

Brooke shook her head. “I’ve got a job.”

“This one’s flexible. And it pays really well.”

Brooke fingered her camera. “I’m out of practice. I might suck.”

“You don’t.”

“What if I hate it?”

“Well, then you’ll suck it up like the rest of us tax-paying citizens for the sake of eating.”

Linc was flipping through Mindy’s binder. “Oh shit, my bad, it’s my turn for dinner.” He smiled at Mindy. “I’ve got this, babe. Garrett, set the oven to 450 degrees—we’re having pizza rolls.”

Mindy looked a little panicked, and Brooke knew why. Pizza rolls were not on her list of approved foods. But as Linc was one, actually home, and two, trying to be in charge of dinner, she knew Mindy wouldn’t take it from him.