“They offered her money.”
“They didn’t just offer her money. They got pretty specific about what they expected her to do for the money. Christ, some people. You know how to get beer out of the tap?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then go back there and get us a couple. We’ll go out on the patio for a bit.”
Rory didn’t make eye contact with Noah as he came behind the bar. She kept her back turned, unloading dishes as he poured out two pints.
Fiona returned just before closing, eyes still red but her mood buoyant. “He made the guy apologize to me.”
“Noah?”
“No, Mr. Hyland. Told them he’d call the police about an assault if he didn’t. I feel kind of bad for the other guys. They actually looked embarrassed when the guy said what he said, but fuck them.” She spotted the two Hylands out on the patio. “Mr. Hyland thought I was you. He thought I was the one Noah’s been carrying on with.”
“I know.” Rory rubbed her eyes with a groan. “I’m glad I won’t be here when Francie hears about this.”
“Oooh, that’s another part of it. When Mr. Hyland was questioning me, he wanted to know why I let it go on for so long. When I told him it’s because Francie says it’s part out our jobs to flirt--”
“You didn’t!”
“I did. First he heard of it. Said something about this place not being the Playboy Mansion.” Fiona grinned from ear to ear. “I kind of want to see her head explode.”
“The silver lining is that she won’t talk to me for a month because I was here. She’ll probably think it was me who talked to Hyland.”
“I hope you’re going to make it up to Noah for yelling at him.” Fiona wiggled her eyebrows. “If he was mine, my panties would be so soaked from that he-man display. If you don’t want to thank him, I could …”
“In your dreams,” Rory said on the heels of a giggle. “I have a feeling he won’t be allowed back in the bar for a while.”
“He looked miserable anyway. Probably thought he was going to be able to feel you up while you made margaritas and you made him
work
.”
They dropped their conversation as Noah and his father returned to the dining room. Noah shot her a quick look as he walked into the lobby, and Mr. Hyland sidled up next to Fiona.
“I thought I told you to go home.”
“I have to pick up my brother after midnight. I’ll stay and help Rory and Tom close down.”
Rory spoke up. “Just go. You can wait for your brother at the restaurant.”
After some convincing, Fiona took off, but Mr. Hyland lingered. He resumed the seat he had vacated and folded his hands in front of him. “Another Red Cliff, please.”
“Can I bring it to you on the patio, sir?”
“No, here is fine.”
Rory’s nerves were shot, but she was all smiles as she poured her boss a drink.
He turned the glass around so that the logo faced him, and Rory bit the tip of her tongue to keep from smiling as she thought of how Noah did the exact same thing: always the label or logo facing him.
“He doesn’t listen to me, either.” he said.
“Sorry?”
“Noah. Fiona said you tried to keep him from going over to the table. He takes after my brother. You might as well have been talking to a wall.” He took a sip. “I’ve been trying to figure out which one of you he’s been seeing for almost two weeks now. When he insisted on working the bar tonight, I figured it was one of the waitresses.”
“Oh, that little liar,” she exclaimed before she could stop herself, then clapped her hand over her face. “He said you were the one who told him he had to do this.”
“The bar has always been his idea. I see now he was conning me so he could hang out in here.” Mr. Hyland chuckled and peered at her name tag. “What’s your last name, Rory?”
“Mitchell.” She nodded when he raised his brows. “Francine Mitchell is my sister.”
He said nothing, and Rory experienced her customary urge to apologize for the relation.
“I knew your grandfather when he worked here, and your mother, for a time.”
Rory was startled at the mention of her mother. “You remember her?”
“Of course I do. She was here for five years before she got sick. Seems as though this place is a family tradition for you.”
“Not for much longer. This is my last summer here.”
“Oh?”
“I’m leaving to go to school at the end of summer.”
“Halifax?”
She shook her head. “Moncton.”
“Ah.” She caught a hint of concern in his voice, and knew what he was thinking: that this was just a summer fling for his son.
But then he went on. “I’d like it if you came up to the house one day for lunch. My wife has been asking Noah, but he says you’re always working.”
“I do. I mean, I am. I work mornings at Garden View, except for Tuesday.” She tried to talk herself out of what she was about to say next, but it was no good. It was coming out whether she liked it or not. “I could come by before I start work here.”
“Tuesday it is, then,” he said decisively, and slid his drink towards her. He’d barely drank a third of it. “I’ll give you some fair warning, I’m going to have a meeting with Francie tomorrow. This bullshit about smiling pretty when someone is putting his hands where they don’t belong doesn’t fly with me. Your sister is an efficient worker, but sometimes I think she forgets what decade we’re in. I know there are only a few more weeks in the summer, but if anything like this happens again I want security called immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
He went into his pocket and pulled out a twenty, then held it up. “None of this goes into the till. This is for you.”
“I can’t--”
“If you don’t take it, I’ll have it added to your pay.” He slapped the money on the bar and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Do me a favor and let him chauffeur you to and from work when he asks. I’m tired of hearing about how you could get attacked by coyotes on the way home.”
She bit her lip to keep in her laughter as Mr. Hyland headed into the lobby.
Tom appeared out of nowhere. “Thank God everyone is finally gone. I’ve been dying to know what exactly happened here tonight.”
“I’ll let Noah tell you at the beach tonight,” she told him, and glanced at the clock. “Twenty minutes to go. Is that it?”
“Once I put their card through.”
“Good. I think we can cash out and lock up a few minutes early without getting nailed for it.”
When they’d cashed out and tidied up, she and Tom exited through the kitchen and met the usual crowd outside, including Noah and Fiona. In the week since he’d tracked her down at Mermaid, he’d been a regular participant in their nightly swims. If it had been the previous summer, the four year age gap between them would have been felt much more, but now they all felt as though they were in the same sphere with the uncertain future in front of them. Noah fit right in, and the previous Saturday had hosted a barbecue and camp-out at his property for those who could make it.
“I thought you were going home,” Rory said to Fiona.
“Like I’m going to sit for three hours by myself and talk to my brother.”
Rory latched onto Noah’s arm. “You okay?”
“Good. I need to cool off a little more, but I’ve calmed down a bit.”
“Then we won’t talk about it again.” She wrapped her arm around his waist as they headed to the shore. “Just so there are no surprises, I’m having lunch with your parents on Tuesday. I should have checked with you first, but I didn’t feel like I could say no.”
He laughed and wrapped his other arm around her, squeezing her as they walked. “He tends to have that effect on people. So do I.”
“Don’t I know it?”
*****
What remained of July crept into August so sneakily that Rory wanted to tear the calendar off the wall in the kitchen. Just a month earlier she had been looking forward to packing her things in her grandfather’s car and riding with him to the mainland, but now she just wanted to forget there was a plan to leave.
She didn’t want to talk about September. The first month of summer had been wonderful, and now the weight of the few weeks--days, really--that were left here with Noah were starting to crush down on her.
Rory could see it in him, too, beginning not long after her first dinner at his folks’ vacation house down by the harbor. He tried to keep it hidden, but she could see the change in his eyes. It was like a light going out, and he didn’t quite smile like he used to.
She imagined she wore the same expression on her face most of the time, and looking at him was a little like looking in a mirror.
Rory was determined to get the most out of him while she had him. September would never come unless she let it. Summer would go on and on and on if she didn’t think of September.
She hadn’t put up a fight when he asked her to take just one full day-and-a-half off from both jobs so they could have a night on the town. To his credit, he’d been tricky about it and taken advantage of the fact that she’d invited him for her Sunday lunch with her grandfather. The second she started to say she couldn’t afford to take the time off, her grandfather fussed and Dawna swooped in and offered to juggle the schedule so she could take off the same day she had off at The White Tip. By the time lunch was finished, Noah was laughing and Rory was giving him hell as she counted out the money her grandfather had given her to blow on the excursion.
“This is
such a waste
,” she moaned once they had checked into their waterfront hotel. “Your cottage is twenty minutes away. Mine is twenty-five.”
“And I don’t want to have to stay sober to drive us both back. God, do you never spend money for fun?”
“You have to have money to have fun with it.”
“Don’t give me that, not after your grandfather moaned about how you wouldn’t take any of his money.”
Rory grumped around the suite and had to admit that it was pretty sweet. A soaker tub and chocolates on the pillows. A view of the harbor. She had a minor meltdown when she came out of the shower to find him munching on expensive chocolate from the mini bar, but he quickly put an end to it by pulling off her towel and testing out just how soundproofed the room was.
“The mall closes at nine,” he reminded her, gorgeous and rumpled with a crisp white sheet draped over his midsection.
“It’s ridiculous.”
“Either you go out and buy me something special, or else we can get in the car and drive home.”
The threat irked her as she rode the elevator to the ground floor. He was turning her into a sex maniac. He’d followed up the lime green vibrator with a variety pack of flavored lube they’d gone through within a week. Now it was her turn to up the ante with a trip to the nearby mall and drop a hundred dollars’ worth of her twenties at the lingerie shop.
She got her revenge upon her return by jerking the bag out of his reach when he went for it, and told him he could see what was inside when they got back from dinner. She did, however, show off the fire-engine red bra and panties set she had picked up. As his hot gaze traveled over her, she was glad she had risen to his challenge.
Dinner was intimidating even for a girl who had worked in a place like The White Tip. While the dining room where she worked could be described as swanky, they didn’t skimp on comfort food like fish and chips or hamburgers. Prince Albert served up tiny portions on misshapen dishes, and dessert was a crème brûlée that was caramelized right at their table.
Their walk along the waterfront was her favorite part of the evening. She felt light on her feet as they strolled arm in arm, with Noah pulling her into a kiss whenever the whim struck him.
“I know this is supposed to be romantic, but thinking about what you have hidden in the closet has me so horny right now.” he murmured as they headed back along the boardwalk.
He dragged her back, hands firm on her hips, and wiggled behind her so she could feel his cock poking through his dress pants.
She glanced around as pushed back against him and, certain they were relatively secluded on the little pathway, and lifted the hem of her sun dress. “You’re not the only one.”
He tucked his hand between her legs and rubbed her damp crotch. “Have you ever screwed in a hotel before?”
“The only time I’ve ever been in a hotel was a seventh grade trip to Montreal.”
He brushed his mouth across her bare shoulder. “I can’t wait to show you what you’ve been missing.”
“Show me.” Rory tipped her head back and welcomed his kiss.
He didn’t hold her hand as they headed back. His fist firmly clamped on her wrist. It was such a blatant exhibition of ownership that by the time they reached the hotel and stepped on the elevator that he could have taken her right there and she wouldn’t have pushed him away.
Once they spilled into the suite, Rory shoved him away and darted to the closet for her little black and pink bag.
She slipped into the bathroom while Noah was already stripped down.
“I hope you don’t plan to start without me,” she teased as she nudged the door.
“Don’t take too long. My imagination might run a little wild and I might not be able to help myself.”
Rory stood before the expansive vanity and held up the babydoll gown she’d bought. She wondered if it was too risqué. Then she wondered if it was too tame. It certainly was pretty, pale blue with black lace trimming. As she slipped it on, she almost felt a change come over her.
Backing up as far as she could, she twisted and turned to admire herself. The babydoll boasted a full bra barely held together by a strip of black ribbon. The open front revealed a peek of belly before flaring outward, leaving the matching panties on display.
She felt more womanly. She looked more womanly.
She hoped Noah liked it.
Stepping into the bedroom, she faltered at first sight of him. He had sprawled out on the bed, naked as the day he was born, head propped up on the pillows.
“Jesus,” he said.
Shyness pinched her. She chased it away and moved closer to the bed. As Noah’s gaze slid over her and with the sprig of arousal she twirled around.
“Better than my bikini?”
“What?” He seemed startled by the question. He shook his head and moved up onto his knees. “Yeah--no--I mean, I like the bikini, but this is …
naughty
.”