Meet Me at the Beach (Seashell Bay) by V. K. Sykes Read Free Book Online Page A

said.
    Lily thought she’d done a fairly respectable job preventing Darts Night from deteriorating into full-blown war. Not that Bram would ever lay a hand on a woman, much less one almost three times his age, but Granny had lots of supporters in the Pot. Any one of them would have been more than willing to throw a punch on her behalf.
    Aiden had done his bit to keep the situation under control too. He’d reacted calmly and decisively, keeping his stupid brother locked down and treating Granny with a sweet, old-fashioned respect.
    And she had to admit that his understated confidence turned her on a little too.
    Okay, he was pretty much melting her panties.
    Once a high school hunk, Aiden had now matured into an incredibly sexy man with a laid-back assurance and masculinity that vacuumed up the attention of every woman in the bar but Granny. Every cell in Lily’s overheated body was telling her that he felt the pull betweenthem too, and that he was more than willing to act on it. Should she use that attraction to get closer to him and probe for info? She hated the idea of using such sleazy tactics, no matter how just the cause, and the idea of getting involved with Aiden was even more anxiety provoking. She felt pretty certain that would be a one-way boat ride to a whole lot of heartache.
    But Gramps had made her mission crystal clear—find out where
the boy
stood on Seashell Bay’s future. Would he honor his mother’s inheritance, or would he side with his jerkwad of a father? From the few clues Aiden had dropped, she sensed that he had yet to make up his mind. Aiden wasn’t the kind of guy to let his father—or anyone else—force him to make a decision before he was ready.
    So there was time to push back, especially if he hung around for a while. And if he did, Aiden just might be a temporary fix for the other problem that was keeping her awake at nights.
    If she could get him to agree to it, and that was a very big if.
    She flashed him a bright smile when he hit the double ring to score another twenty-six points with the third dart of his turn. “Very nice.”
    Lily didn’t need to fake her compliment—he was damn good. Now it would come down to the first person to hit the double needed in order to check out.
    He casually rested his hand on the base of her spine as she took up her position. His hand, big enough to nearly span her lower back, sent heat through to her skin. The sensation forced her to lock her knees to hold her stance.
    “Feeling the pressure yet?” His deep voice made herwant to press her thighs together. “You must really hate the thought of losing in front of the home crowd.”
    “Lose? In your dreams.” She mentally winced at the squeaky note to her voice.
    He was teasing, but his words contained an element of truth. Lily hated losing, and there were a few people watching who would find pleasure in rubbing it in. Folks in Seashell Bay took their darts seriously, and she’d been whipping their asses for years. Still, she’d developed a game plan, and she had to stick to it.
    Think big picture and get over yourself, girl.
    “Put him away, Lily,” Morgan shouted, her face lit up with loyal enthusiasm.
    “She’s gonna bust,” Bram retorted.
    Lily shut everything out and threw three straight darts just outside the double nine, scoring zero for her turn. Perspiration prickled along her spine where Aiden’s hand had rested only moments ago. It took skill to throw a game and not look suspicious.
    “Ah, so close,” Aiden said with a mock sigh as he moved up to the line.
    “Let’s see you do better, pal,” Lily shot back, secretly hoping he’d put his first dart straight into the double seven to check out.
    Deputy Micah moved in close, just off to her right beside Morgan’s table. He scowled at the board like he wanted to pull out his gun and blast it. Given Micah’s long-standing antipathy to the Flynns, she knew he was going to be pissed when Aiden won the match. Lily and Micah