Nobody But You(80)

“Kenna—”

“Say it or I swear to God—”

“I love you, too, Kenna.”

This instantly swallowed up her frustration, and she sagged a little bit. “Wow,” she breathed. “You really said it.”

“I meant it.”

“Good,” she said fiercely, and hugged him tight. “There just might be hope for you yet. Now let’s go find your stubborn-ass twin.”

“There’s something I have to do first,” he said, looking around for Sophie. Kenna was right. He had some things to tell her, and he hoped she’d hear him out before—as Hud had put it—she killed him dead.



As Sophie had worked the breakfast, she’d known she wore a perma-smile. She simply couldn’t help it. It hadn’t been just the sex—though that got more spectacular each time, which was saying something.

It was that Jacob loved her. He loved her. He loved her.

And here was the thing. She knew that nothing good ever came from such a deep, potentially gut-wrenching emotion, but hope sprang eternal. And she couldn’t help but think that this, with him, was different.

“Looks good on you,” Chris said when she refilled his orange juice.

“What does?” she asked.

“The morning after.”

She jerked and poured orange juice down the front of herself. “Crap.”

Chris grinned.

“You,” she said. “Zip it.”

He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key.

Sophie rolled her eyes and headed toward the next table but was stopped by a voice that put her back up before she even turned.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Lucas. Grinding her teeth, she looked down at herself. Orange-juice-splattered apron over jeans shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top. No makeup, which meant she was without her armor. She blamed all the great sex she’d been having because she’d mistakenly considered the after-sex-glow makeup enough—

“You going to turn around?” Lucas asked.

She grimaced, swallowed it, and then faced him.

He took in her appearance. “At least you spilled on yourself this time,” he said.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“There’s a dent on my boat. Why is there a dent on my boat?”

“You mean there’s a dent on my boat.”

He narrowed his eyes. “We could fix that right now. I’ll buy the thing from you.”

“I’m not selling it to you,” she said.

“Name your price.”

“Fine,” she said. “One million dollars.”

He choked. “Are you insane? Wait, don’t answer that. I already know.”

She crossed her arms. “I still don’t get why you are here.”

“The question is why are you here?” Lucas asked.

“I’m working. Your turn.”

“But servers are supposed to be nice,” he said. “And sweet. And subservient.”

She lifted the pitcher of OJ threateningly, and he raised his hands in surrender, laughing, the bastard. “Okay, okay, cease fire! I’m working too. I’m Cedar Ridge staff. Well, not staff staff. I’m the resort’s attorney. I’m just here making sure everything’s going well.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re a Cedar Ridge attorney?”

“Yep.”

She blinked as she processed that. So Lucas worked for Cedar Ridge too. And Jacob hadn’t mentioned it. Not once. “Since when?” she asked.

“Since the Kincaids hired me, shortly after our divorce.”

“All of them?”

“All of them who?”

“All the Kincaids,” she said. “You work for all of them?”

“The five siblings, yes.”

“Including Jacob?” she asked, heart in her throat.

“Well, no.”

Sophie let out a shaky breath. Okay. Okay, so this wasn’t any big deal. She knew Jacob couldn’t have had anything to do with hiring Lucas, as he hadn’t even been in town at the time. And he must not know even now. Otherwise he’d have absolutely told her. One hundred percent, he would have told her—

“Didn’t meet Jacob again until he came back to town.”

“Again?” she asked.

“We went to school together.” Lucas cocked his head and studied her closely.

Sophie turned away. Lucas was a people reader, and he was a master at it too. But he simply turned her around to face him again. “You’re her,” he said slowly, understanding dawning in his gaze. “The one he’s been seeing.”

She closed her eyes.

“And he didn’t tell you about me.” He laughed. “Oh, that’s good. That’s really good.”

Which was funny because Sophie kind of felt the exact opposite. She’d trusted Jacob with pieces of her that she hadn’t ever trusted Lucas with. And he’d shaken those pieces up and tossed them out, leaving her once again feeling like a tumbleweed in the wind. Heart in her throat, she walked away.

“Does he know you’re crazy?” he called after her. “’Cuz I can tell him for you if you’d like…”