“Hmm, maybe this place isn’t so cute… It looks like something from a Shrek movie,” Vera whispered as she came around the front of my Jeep to where I stood.
“But it’s called Fisherman’s Brew—maybe this is where you’ll meet your hot fisherman fling.” I wiggled my eyebrows and locked my arm with hers. “Come on, I’m starved. Let’s just see what this place is all about.”
“I’m starved too. I don’t think I’ve ever done so much manual labor in my life. And you’re right…maybe this is where we’ll meet our hot fisherman flings, because I’m not letting you off the hook just yet. You’re going to find yourself a sexy rebound guy in this little town to get you back on track before I leave.” She winked.
I stifled a grin. “I don’t know about that.”
“Oh, you’ll see. It’s in the air. I can taste it!” She grinned wickedly.
For a Thursday night, Fisherman’s Brew was slammed. There were only two seats left at the bar in the entire cramped diner.
“I don’t feel right settin’ you young ladies there, seeing as how you’re not of age and all,” the elderly woman with skin the color of night said. She placed a hand on her hip as her eyes grazed us over.
I hadn’t been given a once-over like that in a long time, never by someone so old, and never had I been made to feel so uncomfortable by it before. This woman held some serious power in her stare.
“Oh, don’t worry. We know we aren’t of age to drink,” Vera chimed in, using her sugary-sweet tone she always reserved for getting her way.
“Sweetheart, that’s not what I’m worried ’bout. It’s the way you two are dressed that’s got me all concerned.” The woman looked at us with distaste as she sucked something from between her front teeth. “I don’t need these drunken goobers slurpin’ up their chowder while they’re eyeballin’ you two. Or worse, them tryin’ to get all frisky on ya. That’s just the type of drama I don’t need today.”
“We won’t be any drama, promise. We’re just hungry,” Vera said, still not dropping the sweet tone, even though it clearly wasn’t getting her anywhere.
I tugged on Vera’s elbow. “We can just eat someplace else. It’s not that big of a deal. Let’s go,” I whispered.
“Uh, no.” Vera glared at me and then flicked her eyes from me to someplace behind the old woman repeatedly. “We can’t. I’m starved.”
I followed her gaze to the bar. Sitting between the only two empty seats was a guy who appeared to be close to our age with skin the same color as the woman before us. His back was to me, but even then I could make out his broad shoulders and lean muscles. This was most definitely Vera’s motivation to stay.
“All right, fine. Follow me.” The woman picked up two crumpled paper menus and started walking in the direction of Vera’s newly spotted hot fisherman fling conquest. “But I’m tellin’ you two right now, if I feel like this place is gettin’ out of hand, you’re out. Ya hear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered when Vera didn’t. She glanced back at me and mouthed the word “ma’am” with wide, questioning eyes. I shrugged my shoulders. The lady just seemed like the type you’d say ma’am to. She oozed authority for some reason.
“Theo, you scooch on down and let these two ladies have seats beside one another,” the old woman ordered the eye candy with the broad shoulders.
Theo turned and flashed the old woman a dazzling white smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
“See,” I whispered and elbowed Vera in the ribs. “I’m not the only one who thinks she should be called ma’am.”
“Uh-huh” was all I got. Vera was lost in Theo’s good looks.
Once I aimed my gaze his way, so was I. At least six foot tall and powerfully built, Theo nearly buckled the toothpick-legged stool beneath him. He was attractive, yes, but not in the pretty boy way I was used to with Ryan. No, Theo had something else going for him. He had the type of face that could freeze someone solid or turn a girl’s bones to liquid depending on his expression. Long, dark lashes framed his caramel-colored eyes. His facial features were broad, but chiseled all at the same time. And those lips…those sensual, plump lips that were twisted at such a delicate curve while he eyed the old woman and stood to scoot over…they were blissful.
“Here, today’s special is shrimp cabob with scalloped potatoes,” the old lady said as she passed out a menu to both Vera and me.
“Sounds good,” I said distractedly. My fingers fumbled against hers as I reached for my menu, and I attempted to gather my thoughts quickly before I made a fool of myself.
The old woman inhaled sharply. “No,” she whispered as she clutched her chest suddenly.
I gripped onto her arm. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, jerking her arm free from my grasp roughly. Her honey-colored eyes locked with mine and darkened. “I’m fine, but I’m tellin’ you right now, you won’t be if you don’t figure out what ya want from this place and then get the hell out.”
I drew back, shocked by her words and the hiss of her tone. “I’m sorry?”
“I’ll send someone to take your order in just a bit,” she said, ignoring my question and walking away, acting as though she hadn’t just threatened me.
I swallowed hard and remained where I stood for a moment, gripping the paper menu to my chest. Had she just threatened me? What the hell had that been about?
“Sit, Addison,” Vera beckoned. “People are staring,” she whispered under her breath.
I sat in the seat beside Vera, noticing she’d taken the one beside Theo, completely aware that I was the only one who’d witnessed our host’s odd behavior. I looked at the menu in my hands with interest, positive I didn’t want to find out what the old lady was capable of. I planned on ordering, eating, and then getting the hell out of here as fast as I could.
“This is Theo Van Rooyen, Twila’s grandson,” Vera informed me by way of introduction to Theo. “And this is my best friend, Addison. She just inherited this amazing house on, what was it called street?”
“Aduro,” I answered, still studying the menu.
“Right, Aduro Street,” Vera said, sounding bubbly. This was her I’m-cute-don’t-you-want-me tone. We’d been friends for forever and I knew it well. She was completely into Theo. “I’m here for two weeks, but Addison is here for the summer.”
“Who’s Twila?” I asked without looking up from the menu.
“The hostess who showed us to our seats, duh.” Vera scoffed.
“Aduro Street, huh?” Theo’s voice was seductively smooth, even though there was a slight unsettling edge to it.
I raised my eyes to glance at him. He was staring directly at me as Vera continued rambling away about things of little interest to him. Theo’s eyes darkened just like his grandmother’s had once they locked with mine. A foreboding feeling slithered along my spine, and I suddenly felt the crushing sensation I wasn’t wanted in this place overcome me. Was that what Twila had meant, that I had better figure out what I wanted from this town and not this restaurant? Surely not.
“So, is there any place fun to hang out here?” Vera asked, oblivious to the death stare I was getting from Theo.
He blinked and his features softened as he turned his attention back to Vera. “The beach, of course.”
“The beach, right.” Vera smiled. It was embarrassing how stupid she made herself appear sometimes and all for the sake of a guy. “You think you could maybe show us around after we eat?”
“You ready to order?” a round woman with dark skin and tired wrinkles around her eyes asked me from behind the bar.
Wow, Southern hospitality had not graced this place with its presence. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to move here after all. “Umm, yeah. I’ll take the special, please, with a sweet tea.”
The woman wrote down my order and then turned her wary eyes away from me and to Vera. “What about you, blondie?”
“Well.” Vera leaned forward, glaring at the lady’s name tag. “Stina, I’ll take the crab cake p
latter with a sweet tea as well.”
Stina added Vera’s order to our shared ticket. When she was finished writing, she looked up and glared at Theo. “You watch yourself, boy. Don’t you be messin’ with these two. Especially that one.” She pointed to me with the tip of her pen and then walked away, her dark eyes nearly black as they met mine.
I raised my eyebrows. “Wow, this place just oozes Southern charm.”
“Seriously, that lady was a real piece of work.” Vera scoffed.
“That piece of work was my mother,” Theo said, and I thought Vera was going to have heart failure as she tried to take back what she’d said.
I smiled and glanced her way, waiting to see what she would say next to smooth over that statement, but it was Theo’s glare directed toward me that captured my attention. His obvious dislike of me flared in his caramel-colored eyes. I shifted in my seat and glanced around the bar, taking in the array of glass bottles and fishing nets with seashells hanging from the ceiling. The place was nice, but the people weren’t. I hoped the entire town wouldn’t be the same.
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About the Author
Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina where she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
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Moon Kissed (Mirror Lake Wolves Book 1) Page 20