Chapter Three

Ethan blinked. Other than that slight eye twitch, he didn’t move a muscle as he took a moment to let Lauren’s words sink in.

I kind of had a thing for you.

He sat back and took her in. Lauren appeared completely unaffected. She sipped her gin and tonic and played with a strand of her hair.

Lauren Wallace had a thing for him in high school? Un-freaking-believable. Sure, they’d hung out almost every single day, thanks to their mutual relationships with Robbie. But they’d also fought every single day. They’d annoyed each other every single day. They’d provoked, irritated, riled up, and aggravated each other every single day.

To hear this now was shocking.

Almost as shocking as the fact that he’d had a thing for her, too.

“You…” Ethan straightened. “You were into me?”

She snorted. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

He grinned as he leaned toward her. “What level of lust are we talking about here? Were you scribbling my name in your notebook, or were you having naughty dreams about me?”

She closed the gap between them, so they were practically nose to nose. “First of all, I just had a harmless little crush on you at some point. No big deal. Secondly…” She broke off and took her time giving him a long, sexy once-over.

“Secondly?” he prompted, his pulse picking up in anticipation of what she might say next.

“You didn’t have that body in high school.” She bit her lip as she finished ogling him. “You look good, McAllister.”

He swallowed. Hard. “Thanks, Wallace. You look okay, too.”

She tilted her head, and a piece of her hair fell over her eye, making her look even more sexy. “Just okay?” she asked primly.

Way more than okay. She was smokin’ hot. But beyond that luscious dark hair and those penetrating blue eyes, the bangin’ body and the gorgeous face, Lauren was funny and witty, and he liked being around her.

Joe showed up with the fries she’d ordered, and Ethan was saved from having to voice any of those incriminating thoughts.

“Think you two can sit any closer?” Joe asked as he placed the plate of hot fries in front of Lauren.

“Huh?” Ethan asked before realizing that Lauren was practically in his lap. When had that happened?

They scooted apart, and Lauren’s face broke out into a light red blush.

“We haven’t seen each other since graduation,” he said.

“We’re just catching up,” Lauren added.

Joe gave them a look that clearly said he didn’t buy any of that. “Is that what we’re calling it now? Well, don’t forget that we’re in Seaside Cove, Land of the Gossips.” He gestured to the other side of the bar, where all eyes were trained on the two of them.

“You’re going to be the hot topic of conversation tomorrow,” Joe said.

Ethan shrugged. “Looks like we already are.”

Lauren popped out of her seat and leaned over him to grab a bottle of ketchup. As she did, he couldn’t ignore her breast brushing against his arm, no matter how gentlemanly he reacted to her on the outside. The rest of his body noticed, too, a rush of awakening washing over him.

“Excuse me,” she said in a breathy voice before returning to her fries.

Ethan’s mind went blank, and his throat went dry, unable to speak. All he could do was stare at her. God, she was really stunning. He remembered that she’d been pretty in high school. Maybe the prettiest girl in their class. She’d had long dark hair that fell in loose curls down her back. Her hair was a lot shorter now, but the way the layers fell over her eyes was damn sexy. And those eyes… They were the lightest shade of blue that popped against all that dark hair and long lashes.

“What are you doing?” Lauren asked, pulling Ethan out of his own head. She jabbed a fry in his general direction. “You’re staring at me, weirdo.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not a weirdo. I am a business-owning, law-abiding, responsible—”

“Responsible?” She interrupted with a noise that was a mix between a huff and a laugh. “How can you say anything about responsibility, when you used to run around doing whatever you pleased, whenever you wanted? You didn’t take anything seriously. What did you know about responsibility? What do you know about it now?”

She wasn’t wrong. Ethan had been irresponsible, careless, unreliable, unpredictable—you name the appropriate synonym. That innate recklessness had taken him around the world. He’d met Veronica, another American, in Budapest and found out the real consequences of flying by the seat of his pants.

“It so happens that I have become a very dependable citizen of Seaside Cove.”

“Doubtful.”

He defensively gestured around the room. “I own this bar.”

“I know.” She popped a fry in her mouth.

Once again, she caught him off guard. “How?”

She ate a few more fries, taking her time about it, then said, “Grams sends me newspaper clippings about anyone I’ve ever met. Marriage announcements, obituaries, any mention of a classmate. She’s made it impossible for me to forget my past. Sometimes I think she’s secretly trying to get me to move back here.”

“You wouldn’t want to live in Seaside Cove again?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind Seaside Cove. But it would make Grams too happy.”

“We can’t have that.” Ethan held his chuckle in.

“Besides, I would probably just become her personal torture object.”

“Oh.” Honestly, Ethan didn’t quite know what to think about Rose Josephs. The older woman looked at him as if she knew every single one of his secrets, and that was unsettling as hell.

“Sometimes I get the feeling your grandmother is spitting in my latte,” he said.

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Lauren replied casually.

Fantastic.

She downed the rest of her drink, then held it up to Joe to signal a refill.

“You might want to go a little easy. How about you switch to water now. Or maybe coffee,” he suggested.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“As the owner of this establishment, I have a responsibility—”

“There’s that word again. Does it feel weird coming out of your mouth? Unfamiliar? Alien?”

He shook his head. “You’re really on a roll tonight. Anyway, you’re messing up the whole equilibrium of our relationship. You’re supposed to be the responsible one. I’m the carefree goofball. When did I ever have to warn you about drinking too much? Never.”

“Maybe I need a night off from obligations. Let my hair down a little.” She met his eyes, bit her lip. There was a long pause between the two of them. Long and significant. “A night to be bad,” she finished.

Ethan swallowed hard. He was glad they hadn’t stopped drinking, because his throat became massively dry again. Lauren Wallace wants to be bad?

She may not be acting like her old self right now, but he was still the same person, only with more experience. And he wouldn’t be Ethan McAllister if he didn’t just go with it.

…

Lauren had a nice warmth running through her body, thanks to the multiple gin and tonics.

It had been a long couple of days driving up to New England, with stops to visit various friends along the way. She should be exhausted, yet sitting here, going back and forth with Ethan, was actually giving her a second wind.

She was both thrilled and shocked that Ethan had taken over The Thirsty Lobster. It couldn’t be denied that he’d done wonders to the place. But she couldn’t get her mind around the fact that Ethan was a business owner.

He’d always been laidback, which had mostly annoyed her, since it was completely opposite of how she viewed things. At the same time, she’d also coveted that casualness and been attracted to him.

Actually, it had been more than a harmless crush. She’d had some major feelings for him. But Ethan had ended that.

Lauren had been hanging out with both Ethan and Robbie a lot. They were both cute guys, and she’d enjoyed spending time with them. And, okay, she’d enjoyed flirting with the two of them as well. But she’d been leaning toward Ethan, which made zero sense. Robbie had been the smart, safe bet. Robbie had a plan.

Ethan, on the other hand, had no plan, no ideas of what he wanted to do with his life. He didn’t even know if he was going to go to college. He was a “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of guy, which was against everything Lauren believed in.

Then came the Sadie Hawkins dance in the tenth grade. She remembered approaching him to feel out his interest. But he’d been aloof. He’d suggested she ask Robbie instead. Lauren had been really embarrassed.

After that, she’d had to pretend that she’d never asked him to the dance, never wanted to go with him, never been interested at all. Maybe that was when the antagonistic side of their relationship started. Her pride had taken a pretty big hit.

She watched his throat bob as he swallowed hard. Lauren knew she was flirting with him tonight, and she was enjoying his reaction. There was no harm in a little innocent flirting with an old friend. Especially one who’d turned her down all those years ago, she thought with a silent laugh.

Of course, her thoughts weren’t exactly innocent, and Ethan was more of a frenemy.

“You want to be bad tonight?” he asked, gulping.

She smiled slowly. “Maybe.”

“You want to knock off a liquor store or something?”

She laughed. “That might be a little too bad.”

“You could always go skinny dipping in the harbor,” he suggested.

“You want me to jump into that water? Naked?” Was she yelling? Her teeth were becoming a little numb. But quite a few heads turned in her direction when she said “naked.”

Lauren cleared her throat. “I should probably keep it down.”

Ethan glanced over his shoulder and sighed. “I knew I should have kept this place closed on Sundays.” He took a big swallow from his beer. “No bar, no gossips.”

“No bar, no reconnecting with me,” she said.

His smiled faded. “That would have been awful.”

“Yeah?”

His face softened. “It’s been really good to see you, Lauren.”

It was a simple statement but a powerful one. Lauren felt warm again, and this time it had nothing to do with the alcohol.

“I see a lot of people from high school around here,” Ethan continued. “It’s nice. But you and I hung out almost every day. Even though you were a total pain in the ass—”

“Thanks,” she interrupted with a wink.

“With all of your rules and your lists.”

She glanced at her phone, knowing he would make fun of the amount of organization and lists she kept in there. “Better than you with that whole ‘it’ll work itself out’ attitude you had.”

He let out a half laugh, half snort. “God, you’re so structured. I bet you still follow every single rule. I bet you make lists about the rules you have to follow, and rules about how to make your lists.”

Once again, she snuck a glance at her phone, pushed it farther away on the bar top. “And I bet you still breeze through life, paying your bills late and living without a five-year plan.”

He laughed. “You’re such a Goody Two-Shoes.” He leaned toward her, daring her to contradict him.

She met him halfway, moving closer so she could really see into his light brown eyes. Eyes that she was pretty sure she’d labeled as “dreamy” when she was a teenager.

“You think you’re insulting me? I take pride in my Goody Two-Shoes–ness, which is a hell of a lot better than being a flaky slacker with no plan.”

He placed a hand on her thigh, and every nerve ending in her body woke up. “Now you’re playing dirty, Wallace.”

She slapped a hand on his chest, pausing to feel the muscles underneath. Damn, Ethan was built. “You always were a little instigator.”

He leaned in even closer. “And you…”

“Yeah?” she asked with an edge to her voice.

“You were always my favorite person to fight with.”

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the pure exhaustion. Lauren had no idea. But she was suddenly feeling very sentimental…if not other things toward Ethan.

Somewhere, in the far recesses of her mind, she was aware that they were in a public place. A good portion of the town was sitting on the other end of the bar, surely watching their every move.

She knew all of this.

Yet, she didn’t seem to care.

Lauren closed the gap between them by pressing her lips to Ethan’s. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. Instead, his hand came up to the back of her head, holding her close to him as he took over the kiss. And all Lauren could focus on were Ethan’s lips on hers.

His hands moved from framing her face into her hair, where they held her head in place so he could do wonderful and magical things to her mouth.

Damn, the guy could kiss.

She could taste the beer on his mouth. As she pressed herself even closer to him, she picked up his scent. He smelled of soap, like he’d just come from the shower. And there was a hint of some kind of aftershave. Very subtle, yet very potent.

He slid his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss, and she actually moaned. Or maybe that was him. She had no idea.

The way his lips felt against hers was mind-blowing. But then she heard some whistling catcalls in the background. Uh-oh. She pulled back a little. “Please tell me they’re watching some sporting event and something extraordinary just happened,” she said, keeping her eyes trained on Ethan.

His gaze flicked over her head to take in the customers at the bar. Then he met her eyes again.

“We probably shouldn’t have done that here.” He ran a hand over his jawline.

She hadn’t meant to flirt with him. She hadn’t meant to kiss him. And she certainly hadn’t meant to do it in public, in front of enough townies that by tomorrow morning her name would be on all of Seaside Cove’s residents’ tongues.

Hell, that was going to happen anyway, just by her showing up here. But there was a difference between “you’ll never guess who I saw at the bar last night” and “you’ll never guess who I saw kissing at the bar last night.”

She definitely didn’t mean to suggest they get outta there. But she had suggested it. Even more unbelievable, he agreed. He threw some bills onto the bar top, waved goodbye to Joe, and took her hand in his. Pulling her toward the door, he ignored all the questions and comments thrown at him.

Lauren tried to block out what people were saying, but she heard someone mention Grams. She paused for a moment, hesitant. Grams was going to hear about this.

“You okay?” Ethan asked.

She faced him. Damn, he was handsome. Tall, with broad shoulders and tanned skin. He had light brown hair that was slightly in need of a trim, and his brown eyes were big and sexy and focused directly on her.

The truth was she knew exactly what she was doing, and Grams didn’t have a say in it. When it came to her life, her career, Lauren ran a tight ship. She’d been planning for weeks just to come up to Maine and help her sister. So, maybe for just one night, she could do whatever the hell she wanted—and right now, she really wanted this. For once in her life, she could take a risk. Couldn’t she?

“Yep,” she answered.

With a grin, Ethan pulled her out the door. As soon as it closed behind them, he grabbed her face and kissed her long and hard. Good thing he was holding her so tight, because her knees went weak.

“I live nearby,” he said as their kiss ended. His voice was gruff, and those brown eyes were emanating lust.

She nodded and allowed him to lead the way.

Ethan lived in a small Cape Cod house only a block away from the bar. Once they crossed that threshold, clothes started flying off. Their hands became increasingly more frenzied.

There were no words exchanged between them. Only contented sighs and satisfied moans.

For someone who prided herself on being a planner, Lauren wasn’t doing a great job sticking to the plan. She’d come to town to take care of her sister and check on her grandmother. Instead, she ended up in bed with her frenemy from high school.

What was that expression about best-laid plans? She’d have to figure that out later, because right now she was too busy enjoying the thrill of this to care.