“I’ve been telling you for months to move into town,” Gabby replies and leans her elbows on the counter.

“I don’t want you out there by yourself either,” I reply. “You and Sam alone in the Bayou makes us all nervous.”

“I’m not alone. I run a very successful bed and breakfast, thank you very much. There are always people around.”

“People we don’t know,” Charly replies, and Mama nods in agreement.

“We love you, babe,” Mama adds and cups Gabby’s face in her hand. “Beau’s keeping you safe.”

“Beau needs to get himself a woman and leave me alone,” Gabby replies, glaring at Beau, who just shakes his head and laughs.

“Tell me about the bed and breakfast,” Kate says and fishes a carrot out of the salad bowl. God, I love her appetite. She looks amazing today in a soft, flowy black skirt and a green button-down top with a black belt cinched around her slim waist. She left her hair down and applied minimal makeup, leaving her gorgeous freckles uncovered, and has clear gloss on her lips.

Fuck, I want to kiss those lips.

“I turned the family plantation house into an inn,” Gabby replies proudly. We’re all fucking proud of her. Inn Boudreaux is thriving and booked solid for months.

“Oh, that’s awesome,” Kate says. “I bet it’s amazing. Is it right on the river?”

“Yes. You can’t see the river because of the levy, but yes. Guests love the old oak trees, and we’ve restored some of the slave quarters and stuff so they can also wander around and learn about the plantation.”

“I’d love to see it,” Kate says, and I immediately decide to take her out there next weekend. She’ll love it. “Maybe I can get my parents to come visit and stay out there. It would be right up their alley.”

“Are they still in Ireland?” Savannah asks.

“Yes, and they love it there. But I miss them.”

“What about Rhys?” Charly asks, as Gabby and I set the table and Mama sets bowls and platters full of way too much food on the table as well. I still at Charly’s question and watch Kate.

“He’s great. Busy. I haven’t seen him in a couple months.”

“He’s adorable,” Charly says with a grin. “In a sexy, delicious kind of way. Is he available?”

“This is Rhys we’re talking about,” Kate says with a laugh. “Who knows? But I was able to FaceTime with him last night, and he looks as great as ever, and still stubborn as heck.”

So, she was FaceTiming with this Rhys guy.

None of my business.

“Boys!” Mama calls out the back door. “Dinner’s ready! Come eat these groceries!”

Kate sits next to me at the table and smiles up at me sweetly, and I find myself returning it, despite this perpetual frustration I can’t shake.

“You okay?” she asks softly.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You haven’t said two words to me since I got here.”

“Hello, Kate.” She narrows her eyes and tilts her head, but before she can ask any further questions, Sam and Declan join us and we all dig in. I glance up to find Charly watching Kate and me with a raised brow, but I shake my head, giving her the silent message to leave it be, and eat silently.

Kate laughs, asking more questions about Gabby’s inn, Charly’s shop, and how Sam likes the second grade, charming my whole family. How has she been friends with Dec and Van for so long and I’d never met her before?

Because you’ve been too busy keeping the business the way Dad wanted you to.

“Eli, you’re more quiet than normal,” Mama says softly, watching me with shrewd eyes. “What’s going on with you?”

I shake my head and wipe my mouth with a napkin. “Just the same old thing, Mama.”

“Hmph,” she replies and glances around the table. “Why do I feel like I’m out of the loop here?”

“You’re not,” I reply with a smile. “Work as usual.”

“You work too much.”

“Not you too,” I reply, and rub my forehead with the tips of my fingers. “I get this lecture from Savannah at least once a week.”

“Well, you’ll be gettin’ it from me too. You’re my baby boy.”

Oh, God.

Kate smirks next to me and hides her smile behind a tall glass of lemonade.

“I’m fine, I promise.”

“He even took the day off yesterday,” Kate adds nonchalantly. Mama’s eyes widen as she looks between Kate and me.

“He did?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How do you know?”

Don’t say it. I lay my hand on Kate’s thigh, but she ignores me and says it anyway.

“Because he was with me. He showed me around the French Quarter all day. It’s his fault that I’m now addicted to beignets from Café du Monde.”

The table is silent for a few beats, then Mama clears her throat.

“You went to Café du Monde on Saturday mornin’?”

I meet her bright eyes with my own and nod. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ve always wanted to see the French Quarter. It was amazing,” Kate continues, oblivious to the tension between us siblings. They’re all staring at me like I’ve grown a second head.

Finally, in the innocent way that only a seven-year-old can, Sam speaks up.

“Pawpaw used to take us there on Saturdays,” he says, and takes a bite of the corn on the cob, missing some pieces, thanks to the gap in his front teeth. “It was fun.”

“That’s right,” Gabby says and runs her hand over her son’s hair.

Suddenly, Kate lays her hand on my thigh and I glance down into understanding eyes, and it’s all I can take.

“I’m sorry, Mama, but I just remembered that I have some work to catch up on.” I stand quickly and take care of my own dishes, then kiss her cheek. “Thank you for dinner. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Eli—”

But I don’t stop to hear what she has to say. I walk quickly to my car and peel out of the driveway. My heart is beating quickly, and for the first time in more than two years, I’m consumed with emotion.

What in the hell is wrong with me?

And who the fuck is Rhys?

This is all Kate’s fault. Before she showed up with her gorgeous green eyes and touchable red hair, I was fine, consumed by work. I had a routine that worked well for me, with no interruptions.

Certainly no Saturdays spent in the Quarter and evenings listening to Dec’s gigs.

I just need to get laid. That’s all there is to it. It’s been more than a minute since I last enjoyed the company of a warm, willing woman.

Yes, that’s it.

Before long, I’m back at my house, pacing through the silent, empty rooms, my phone in my hand, paging through my contacts list. I’m going to scratch this itch and get over it. Erase Kate from my mind completely.

I pour myself three fingers of brandy, sit behind my desk, and thumb through my electronic black book.

Ah, yes, I could call Amanda. She’s always fun. Tall, leggy. But she has strawberry blonde hair, and that’ll just remind me too much of Kate.

I skip to the next name.

Collette! I met Collette three years ago at a charity function. She’s smart as a whip and likes to be blindfolded. I grin, but then I remember that Collette has freckles on her shoulders, and that won’t do.

Fuck.

Fredericka. I haven’t seen her in a while. She’s curvy in all the right places with the best tits I’ve ever seen.

Scratch that. Kate has the best tits I’ve ever seen.

And I’ve never actually seen them.

I sigh loudly and swallow the rest of the brandy, then smile when I see Stephanie’s name.

Steph and I have had a mutually satisfying arrangement for the better part of five years. She’s long and lean with a runner’s body and an enthusiasm in bed that can’t be matched. She has jet-black hair and chocolate brown eyes with the whitest, smoothest skin I’ve ever seen. She’s not afraid to make noise, and she can suck a cock like no one else.

Yes, I do believe I’ll call Steph.

My thumb hovers over her name, but suddenly I see laughing green eyes smiling up at me as she gets her palm read, her face set in rapture when she first tasted the beignets. God, my dick throbs at the thought of what those eyes will look like when I’m buried so deep inside her I can’t tell where she ends and I begin.