Braxton hurried inside the house. Damon wasn’t exactly Mr. Personality, and most women found him downright intimidating.
He braced himself as he rounded the corner in the living room, ready to apologize to Kate for Damon scaring off her customers. She needed those customers if she were going to have a chance at saving her home.
All the ladies were in the living room, with Damon standing in the middle, looking uncomfortable. Instead of keeping their distance, they were all eyeing him like a lion looking at a steak.
“What’s your name?” The younger girl who’d been bitching about the Bella Luna being too isolated leaned closer to Damon.
“That’s Damon.” Braxton narrowed his eyes in warning at his friend. “Damon’s my favorite name. I’m Felicity.” Felicity stepped closer to Damon and smiled.
Another woman tugged on Damon’s arm. “Damon, how long are you staying here?”
Damon glared and pulled out of the woman’s grip. “I was just leaving.”
“You can’t leave. We just got here.” An older woman with a pageboy haircut pressed her lips together.
“Hi, everyone.” They all turned at Kate’s voice.
Damon eased himself out of the circle and moved to stand by Braxton.
“I’m Kate. I’m the owner of the Bella Luna.” She gave everyone a warm smile. “Are you ladies interested in booking a couple of nights with us?”
“Well, we were, but…” One of the older ladies’ gaze zeroed in on Braxton.
“Are you a guest here, too?” Felicity gave Braxton a feline smile as she stroked her own throat.
Kate reached for his hand. “Actually, he’s more than a guest.”
All the ladies’ eyebrows shot up in understanding. Braxton bit his lip to keep from smiling. So Kate was claiming him, was she? Two could play at that game.
Braxton reached for her, pulling her into his arms, and kissed her.
He expected her to hesitate, to pull away at the public display of affection, but she didn’t. Instead, she laced her fingers around his neck and kissed him back.
Damon cleared his throat. Braxton finally pulled away. Kate’s heavy eyes made him want to throw her over his shoulder and lock themselves in her room for a week. Hell, for eternity.
“Awwww. That’s so sweet,” one woman whimpered.
“Sweet, my ass. That was hot. Like fuck-me-up-against-the-wall hot.”
Braxton and Kate turned their shocked gaze upon the women. Damon snorted.
“So, if he’s yours, what about him?” Felicity pointed at Damon.
Damon’s eyes grew wide and he held up his hands. “Sorry. I’m taken, too.”
“Well, shit. Don’t that figure. All the hot ones always are.” An older lady crossed her arms and cocked her head at Damon. “So, I’m guessing you’re faithful to your woman?”
Damon looked offended. “Of course. I’d never cheat on Ava.”
That garnered another round of awwwws from the ladies.
Kate cleared her throat and glanced at Braxton. “Are you ladies looking to have a girls’ weekend?”
“We’re here on business.”
A blonde-haired lady wearing a blue twinset frowned. “I thought we were here to get drunk and write smut.”
“We are, Jackie. But I’m writing this off on my taxes, so we’re officially here on business.”
Felicity snorted.
“So you’re all writers? What kind of books do you write?” Kate asked.
“We write everything, hon. I’m Felicity and I write romantic suspense. This is Jackie; she and Myrtis write paranormal romance. Leslie writes contemporary romance. Danielle and Barbara write historical romance. That’s Lynn over there. Don’t let the shy act fool you. She writes erotica.”
Braxton felt Damon edge closer to him. He didn’t blame the guy. The way these women were openly staring at them pushed the boundaries of lewd.
“Wow. All of you ladies write romance? How exciting. Are any of you published?”
“Lynn’s the only one published right now. As for the rest of us, we were hoping to spend our time here writing during the day and drinking at night. Who knows? It might result in a best seller. Do you have internet?”
Kate’s face fell. “I do, but the snowstorm knocked it out. I’m not sure when it will be back up. I could call and…”
“No!” All the women answered in unison.
Felicity shook her head and grinned. “It’s better if there’s no internet. That way we’ll spend the entire weekend writing and not looking at the internet or checking email. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
They all nodded.
“Do you have enough room for all of us? The last B&B we stopped at only had three rooms open.”
“She has four rooms open,” Braxton spoke up. “You girls don’t mind sharing a bed, do you?”
“Of course not. In fact, it would be better on my wallet if we did.” Myrtis smiled. “And since Lynn is the published writer in the group, she can have a room to herself.”
“So how much is it a night?” Felicity looked at Kate.
“Well, the rate is two hundred dollars plus tax. It includes a full breakfast and cookies and wine at five in the afternoon.”