It's in His Kiss by Jill Shalvis Read Free Book Online

the look on Becca’s face as she bent to clean up the mess. Grabbing her elbow, he gave her a little shake, and before Sam gave it a second thought, he was on his feet and at Becca’s back.
    “You’re the worst waitress I’ve ever seen,” the guy was yelling. “You are nowhere near good enough for this job.”
    The barb hit. Sam could tell by the way Becca took a step back as if slapped, bumping right into him.
    “You’re going to pay for the dry cleaning of this shirt, do you hear me?” the guy went on.
    “Hard not to,” Sam said, steadying Becca. “Since you’re braying like a jackass.”
    Becca slid Sam a look that said she could handle this. When he didn’t budge, she made a sound of annoyance and turned back to the pissed-off customer. “I’m sorry,” she said. “And of course I’ll pay for your dry cleaning.” Then she bent again to clean up.
    Sam crouched down to help her scoop the fallen plates onto the tray, but she pushed at him. “I’ve got this,” she whispered. But she was trembling, and her breath hitched. “Stop, Sam. I don’t need you to help,” she insisted when he kept doing just that.
    He’d disagree with her, but that would only back her into a corner. So he continued on in silence, and then when she vanished into the kitchen, he went back to his table.
    Tanner and Cole were grinning at him.
    “What?”
    “You tell us what,” Cole said.
    “I was just helping.”
    “No, helping would be going into the kitchen and wrangling us up some burgers,” Tanner said, rubbing his belly. “I’m starving.”
    Sam shook his head and turned on his iPad again. “Where were we?”
    “You were playing hero,” Tanner said.
    Sam ignored this. “Our boat fund will hit its projected mark this year,” he said.
    Both Cole and Tanner blinked at him.
    “You’re serious,” Tanner finally said. “You really did manage to pay us and save a mint while you were at it.”
    “Do I ever joke about money?” Sam asked.
    “Holy shit,” Cole said. “Just how much are we making anyway?”
    Sam thumbed through the iPad, brought up their receivables, and shoved the screen across the table.
    They all stared at the numbers and Tanner let out a low whistle.
    “Why the hell are you so surprised?” Sam asked, starting to get insulted. “I send you both weekly updates. Between all the chartering and the profits from the boats I’ve been building, we’re doing good.”
    Both Cole and Tanner still just stared at him, and Sam shook his head in disgust. “I could be ripping you guys off, you ever think of that?”
    “Yeah,” Cole said. “Except you’re a terrible liar and you’re not nearly greedy enough.”
    Needing the beer Becca had taken away, Sam went tothe bar for a pitcher. The bar was crazier than usual, and Sam realized he saw only a hungry crowd and no sign of Becca at all. He took the pitcher back to his table and poured.
    “To Gil,” Cole said, and as they always did, they drank to Gil’s memory.
    A few minutes later, wondering if maybe Becca had gotten her sweet ass fired, Sam stepped into the hall and found her standing there with her back to him, hugging herself with one arm, the other hand holding her cell phone to her ear.
    “No, I can’t come play at your concert,” she was saying. “I’m— They’re paying
how
much?” She paused. “Wow, but no. I can’t— Yeah, I’m fine. In fact, I’ve got my toes in the sand right this very minute, so you just concentrate on you, okay?” She paused. “The noise? Uh . . . it’s the waves. It’s high tide.”
    This was when she turned and caught sight of Sam standing there. Flushing a deep red, she held his gaze. “Gotta go, Jase. The whitecaps are kicking up and it’s making my muse kick into gear.” She lowered her voice and covered her mouth and the phone, but Sam heard her whisper, “And
don’t
come out here. Okay? I’m good. Really, really good. So just stay where you are.” She disconnected and made herself busy