With a shrug, Cait filled their glasses. Jess and Griffin brought a couple of beers with them and sat back in their chairs, looking at the night sky. Griff put his arm around Jess and whispered, “You cold, baby?”
She wiggled into his chest. “A little.”
Kel and Cait exchanged glances at their younger sister’s interactions with the man who was all about the bet and not all about their baby sister. When Kel noticed Griff was moving in to kiss Jess, she said, “So, how’d your date go, Jess?”
Jess’s eyes had been glued on Griffin’s, and she had to drag them away to look at her oldest sister. “Fine. Well, not just fine. Great. Awesome. Beyond anything I ever could’ve imagined.”
Kel looked at Ethan with a smile. “Not better than ours went, I guarantee.”
Ethan took her hand and held it against his cheek as he said, “Ours was pretty spectacular, wasn’t it, love?”
Kel nodded then looked at Cait. “And yours? How was it, Cait?”
“Kind of dreamy. Kind of out of this world,” she said, then leaned over and kissed Phoenix on the cheek. “We’re going out for drinks after dinner tonight.”
Ethan’s frown was noticed by Cait and Jess as he looked at Phoenix. “Is that so? Kel, would you like to go out for drinks too, my love?”
“No, thank you,” Kel answered, making Ethan’s frown grow.
“What? Why not?” he asked her.
“An early morning is why.” She cupped his face in her hands. “Why? Are you going to miss me, Ethan?”
“Yes,” he said then leaned in close. “Maybe you and I could go to bed early. In our own hotel room.”
She patted his leg as she shook her head. “I don’t think so, Ethan.” Then she took the big sisterly approach with her errant middle sister. “Cait, you too have classes early in the morning. Perhaps you should think about canceling the drinks tonight. Dinner will be over around nine or so, and that’s plenty late enough. You’ve spent the entire day together as it is.”
Cait wanted to spend more time with Phoenix, but she saw how Jess was with Griffin, and it made her feel that big sister responsibility that coursed through her too. “I think you’re right. Sorry, Phoenix, maybe another time.”
Phoenix was crushed, in more ways than one. Sure, he’d thought he was about to win the bet, but he’d also really wanted to spend more time with Cait. “Aww, Caity-cat, come on. Just one drink, please.”
With a sigh, Cait said, “No, sorry.”
Jess got up and led Griffin into the house without saying a word to anyone. Kel and Cait were more than a bit worried about her and followed quickly. “Dinner’s most likely ready; come on,” Kel said as she got up and pulled Ethan to go with her.
Ethan and Phoenix exchanged worried glances as they went inside the house. It was their third night there, and it looked as if none of them would be scoring that night, either.
They found Jess and Griffin in the kitchen getting themselves two more beers and going to the dining room. Kel and Cait grew more worried about Jess and grabbed another bottle of wine, taking it to the dining room. There they found their parents and younger brother, Alex, sitting at the table.
“Finally,” their father said. “We’ve been waitin’ on you all.”
“You could’ve called us,” Kel said. “We were all in the backyard.”
“You were told when dinner would be served,” their father said. “Are ya thinkin’ me and your mother are your servants? Just because these men spoiled your arses today doesn’t mean we’ll be continuing to do that tonight. And I do hope all of you girls remember that you have school early in the morning and we expect you to get to your classes. We don’t spend almost all the money we make on your education for you to skip classes.”
“You pay for them to go to college, Mr. Flannigan?” Griffin asked as he eyed the nasty blob of gray that was sitting on top of a mountain of mashed potatoes.
“I do,” their father said. “I’m in debt up to my eyeballs with all three of the girls in college. Alex is going next year, and that debt will only mount.”
Griffin looked at Jess as she watched her plate and her cheeks were a shade of pink that told him she was embarrassed. He nudged her with his knee under the table as he smiled and said, “What a noble father you have there, Jess. You must be proud to call him your dad.”
Jess was feeling anything but proud at that moment.
Why did her father have to air their financial burdens to everyone?
“Of course I’m proud of him. If it weren’t for his hard work then we’d have nothing,” Jess said.
Kel, Cait, and Alex all mumbled agreements, but all felt embarrassed by what he’d said in front of the men too. Mrs. Flannigan gestured to the haggis that sat on the platter in the middle of the large table. “Don’t be shy. Get to making your plates.”
Phoenix stared at the unappetizing ball of yuck that sat on an orange platter which did absolutely nothing to make it appear any tastier. The mashed potatoes were about all he’d eat, so he took the spoon that was standing up in them and put some on his plate.
Cait gave him a nod. “Can you put some on mine too?”
Ethan took the knife that was stuck in the haggis and cut it open. The smell that was released had Phoenix holding back a gag. Griffin was trying to psych himself up to eat the food. He’d had mountain oysters on many occasions.
Ethan cut a wedge out and nudged Kel as he said, “Can you grab your father’s plate so I can serve this to him, love?”
Kel smiled as she reached over to get her father’s plate. Her dad was sitting back without a smile on his face. Once Ethan had filled the plate with the haggis and mashed potatoes, Kel placed it in front of her father, who said, “Thank you.” He then took his wife’s plate and handed it to Kel. “Now for your mom’s.”
Kel wasn’t surprised that Ethan had such good manners. If he hadn’t been a damn liar, she’d have been proud to call him hers. But he was a liar. A gambling liar, who only wanted her for one thing.
Griff took the hint that Ethan was giving and filled Jess’s plate, then his. Phoenix was next to place some of the haggis on Cait’s plate and then a sliver of it on his own. “Is there any ketchup?” he asked as he searched the table.
“Why?” Mrs. Flannigan asked.
Phoenix couldn’t say what he wanted it for, as it was to drown the horrible smelling and looking haggis in it. But Cait took pity on him and got up to go get some from the kitchen. “I’ll get some, Phoenix.”
He grabbed her hand and gave her a grateful expression. “I think I love you.”
She laughed and went to go get the ketchup and shook her head as she went. Phoenix was incredible. If he hadn’t just been using her, things would have been so different. A great different.
Griff and Jess ate in silence as he kept one hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze now and then. Jess had wanted to see the movie he’d taken her to pretty damn badly. But she had no idea how it turned out as she and Griff had made out the entire time, instead of watching it.
Jess was falling for him. His hand on her knee had her insides going wild. All she could think about was getting physically closer to the man. Even the smell of haggis on his breath when he leaned in close and whispered, “I’ll take you to see the movie when it comes out, since I ruined it this time” didn’t bother her one bit.
She sighed as she looked at him. Sinking into his hazel eyes, she was feeling like a drowning victim as she whispered, “You didn’t ruin a thing, Griff.”
It was beginning not to matter to her at all that he had a bet with his friends about who would get laid first. She knew he couldn’t be faking everything with her.
There was just no way he could!
He looked at her with more feeling than anyone ever had. Jess knew she was young and inexperienced. But she wasn’t without any experience at all. She could tell when someone was being genuine. And Griffin Houser was being genuine and sincere.
When Cait came back with the ketc
hup, her mother gave her the stink eye. “That’ll take away the unique flavor,” she said as she looked at Phoenix. “But go ahead and ruin it. If you must.”
Phoenix looked pitiful, and it had Cait’s ire bubbling. “Mother, people use ketchup all the time. Don’t give Phoenix a hard time about it.”
When Phoenix smiled at Cait, it took her breath away. And he found himself feeling more for Cait then he had before. She’d stand up for him! It wasn’t a thing anyone had done for him before.
Phoenix hadn’t had it easy growing up. Tall from the start, he was made fun of plenty in his school days. Being poor was also a thing that had made him stand out as a loser. When his mother was sent to prison for selling drugs, he was labeled a bad person by the only people he’d known his entire life.
Cait took the chair next to him again, handing the ketchup to him. “Thank you,” he said as he took the bottle from her.
“Not a problem,” she said with a smile. “As a matter of fact, put some on mine too, please.”
As he poured the ketchup on her plate, he began to feel the slightest twinge of something.
Was that guilt he felt?
Chapter 21
The smell of over-ripened fruit hit Kel’s nostrils as she entered the old grocery store on the edge of town. For most things, she’d go to the new supermarkets, but for steaks, she always went to the tried and true, Old Buck’s Pantry. Her family trusted the butcher, who’d been there forever and a day.
“Hi, Kel,” her Aunt Stella called out to her as she came around the corner with a basketful of white wrapped meat.
“Whoa,” Kel said as she looked at the basket. “Did you leave any meat for anyone else, Aunt Stella?”
The old woman laughed. “I have men to feed, and I thought some fresh breakfast sausages and steaks to go with the fried eggs they love so much would get them to stick around a bit longer. And you’re welcome for that, my dear niece.”
“And what does that mean, Aunt Stella?” Kel asked with a clueless expression.
“Your men are staying at our bed and breakfast, of course. Didn’t they tell you girls that?” Stella looked confused and put her hand on her hip as Kel shook her head. “Well, I wonder why that is.”
“Did the guys ask you things about us?” Kel asked her aunt. “Because they all took us on exceptional dates yesterday, and we all thought they were a bit on the psychic side.”
“Oh, yes!” Stella said with a grin. “They asked your uncle and me about things you girls like. So they made good impressions, then?”
“Great ones, actually,” Kel said. “But it’s kind of not that great now that I know you told them what we like.”
Stella threw her arms up as she said, “That doesn’t matter one bit. They took the time to ask questions and find things out. Now, that’s what’s important. They made the plans, and they made the effort. Not many men do that nowadays. I hope you consider yourselves lucky that they want to know that much about you so they can make you happy!”
Kel didn’t want to tell her elderly aunt why the men would go to all that trouble, so she nodded. “And how long did they say they’d be staying at your inn?”
“They didn’t. I’m not sure how long we’ll have them there. All I know is that they were going to go have lunch at Peterson’s Grill. They said they’d be out for the night. I supposed they’d made plans with you and your sisters.”
Kel shook her head. “No, they haven’t. But I expect a call soon. They can’t seem to leave us alone.”
“And how lucky you should feel about that!” Stella said. “Those men are some handsome devils, I tell you what!”
“That they are,” Kel agreed. “Thanks for the intel, Aunt Stella. I need to pick up steaks for dinner.”
Leaving her aunt’s company, Kel suddenly didn’t want to cook steaks anymore. She opted to leave the store and call her sisters. If the men were all out eating, then maybe they could show up and surprise them.
She made the call that had her sisters heading to the little café where Stella said the men were. And with any luck, they’d catch them in the middle of talking shop about their bet.
Chapter 22
Nestled in a corner booth, Kel spotted the three men who’d made a bet on her and her sisters. The waitress who greeted them was an old friend of hers. “Peggy, my sisters and I are going to do a bit of eavesdropping on those men in that booth over there. Do you mind leaving us to that?”
With a wink, Peggy nodded. “Sure thing, Kel. You just wave at me if you need anything.”
Kel, Cait, and Jess slipped around the edge of the dining room, staying out of the men’s sights. They took the booth just behind them and settled in to listen to what the scoundrels were up to.
Ethan was boasting about something, and when Kel heard the name Julia Loveless, she froze as he said, “That Julia Loveless could really show a man a good time.”
“Tell me, Ethan,” Phoenix said. “Did you ever get her special kiss?”
When all three men laughed, all three sister’s faces went red with anger. Kel and her sisters exchanged looks as they gritted their teeth to keep quiet.
Griffin added, “I never had anyone give me a rim job before. And I haven’t since her, either.”
Jess mouthed, ‘Gross!’
Phoenix chuckled. “Can you imagine asking one of our girls for something like that?”
When they all laughed a hearty laugh, the girls were livid. Kel made the sign of slitting her throat as a reference as to what she was going to do to Ethan.
Ethan said, “Kel is much too classy to do something like that. No, I think I would never even ask her to do such a thing. She’s a good girl. A very good girl.”
“Jess is too,” Griffin said. “How about Cait?”
“Oh, she’s good too,” Phoenix said. “But to tell the truth, I think if it weren’t for her sisters being involved, she’d have given in to me.”
Cait smiled and nodded, prompting Kel to punch her in the arm and mouth, “Tramp!”
Cait shrugged as Phoenix went on, “Want to know the truth?”
“Sure,” Ethan said.
“Julia was sexy, hot, damn great in the sack, but I think Cait will make me forget I ever knew Julia and her erotic ways,” Phoenix said, making Cait’s heart speed up.
“You think so?” Griffin asked. “I mean, Julia knew her way around a man’s cock, that’s for sure. Jess is young. Inexperienced. I’m not sure she’d make me forget all that Julia could do.”
“You could teach her, Griff,” Ethan joked. “Not that we’ll be around long enough for you to teach her too much.”
“Yeah, we have to get this bet over with,” Griff said, making Jess frown.
“You need to get back to work, Griff?” Phoenix asked.
When all three of the men laughed again, the women were puzzled. But they knew then that they were only going to be notches on the guy’s bedposts and nothing more than that.
They’d all been lied to.
“I’m not going to lie,” Ethan said. “I’ll miss Kel. But I’ll have at least one night of pure pleasure to remember her by.”
“The hell he will!” Kel mouthed to her sisters, who nodded in agreement.
“I’ll miss Jess too,” Griffin said.
Phoenix echoed him, “Yeah, I’m gonna miss Cait.”
The women sat and waited for the guys to say anything else, but all that came was silence followed by the sound of heavy mugs being sat down.
“We could keep in touch with them, I suppose,” Griff said.
“The explaining would be too hard,” Ethan said. “Can you imagine if one of us accidentally told our girl about the bet and she told the others? Well, it’d end up with the others being dumped. Left with broken hearts. And none of us need that mess in our lives.”
“I think Ethan’s right,” Phoenix agreed. “Cait would put my balls in a vise. I can almost feel it now.”
The men laughed again, then Ethan said, “Those ladies are marryin
g material.”
“I know,” Griffin agreed.
“I’m sure they’re already talking amongst themselves about how to get us all into holy matrimony with them,” Phoenix said.
“I wonder if Kel is coaching them on it,” Ethan said. “It’s not beyond her to do such a thing. You know, telling them to hold out until they get a ring on it.”
“Oh, hell!” Phoenix gasped. “What if that’s true? What if they plan on holding out until that happens? Do women really wait until the wedding night?”
“Some do,” Griffin said. “But I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. I mean, our girls don’t seem to be that religious or that manipulating.”
“How much longer are we going to give them?” Phoenix asked.
“We have nothing but time,” Ethan reminded him. “But we should put a limit on it, shouldn’t we?”
“Hey, what if we made them jealous with other chicks?” Griff asked.
Jess smacked her fist in her hand as she thought about Griff’s hands on another woman. Cait looked at her and put her finger to her lips.
“That might work,” Phoenix agreed.
“Or it might backfire, and they might shut us out for good,” Ethan said. “I do believe that if Kel saw me with another woman she’d cut me out without a second thought.”
More silence followed, then there was the sound of glasses being sat back down, letting the girls know the men were stumped by what to do to win their bet and get the girls into their beds.
So Kel decided it was time to make themselves known, but not entirely. She leaned up and whispered, “Just go along with me, sisters. I think I have an idea.”
With their nods of agreement, Kel got up, and the others followed her. She went to the waitress and got her to seat them at the same table, but this time she wanted the men to notice them. But they’d act like they didn’t see them.
It was time to make a little deal of their own.
Chapter 23
“How about three beers and some cheesesteak sandwiches, Peggy?” Kel said after the waitress had seated them.
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