“What rule?” Sara asked.
“No luuuv between coworkers.” Gentry winked at Alec. “Maybe I ought to rethink this job.”
“Maybe,” Alec joked, playing along with her flirtation. Or maybe he wasn’t playing. Maybe he liked the attention. Colby felt a frown form.
“Good rule.” Hunter nodded at Colby.
“Shocking that you agree with her.” Gentry zipped up the camera case and then sank onto a chair. She crossed those long legs, letting the one with the Taurus ankle tattoo casually swing. “Sultry” would be the right word to describe Gentry’s poses. No doubt most were done for effect, although this one might have been accidental. Colby buried a pathetic sigh, having never been sultry a day in her life.
“You never told me that,” Alec announced, tipping his head to the left. His quizzical gaze effectively snapped Colby from her depressing self-assessment. “When did you decide it?”
“The second I told her I thought you looked hot.” Gentry swallowed some wine, shameless as ever. Smiling, even.
Colby checked the ground for the pools of blood that she actually felt draining from her body. My God, her sister had no boundaries. She risked a glance at Alec, who sported the same expression she’d seen him wearing whenever embroiled in solving a difficult puzzle.
“Okay, stop.” Hunter waved his hand. “I know you love to shock people for attention, but let’s not be ridiculous, Gentry. Besides, you’re making Alec uncomfortable.”
“Are you uncomfortable, Alec?” Gentry asked, lips playfully pursed.
Everything about her teased and provoked. It must be exciting to be a woman like that . . . to draw notice and attention like nectar does bees.
“Not really,” he chuckled. Yes, he was enjoying Gentry’s games.
Great. Another frown seized Colby’s forehead.
“Don’t panic, Hunter. Gentry lives on her phone, while Alec’s is always missing or dead.” Sara snorted. “They’ll never be able to make plans.”
“There are other ways to communicate.” Alec wiggled his brows.
“Alec.” Hunter shot his friend a warning look. It seemed he didn’t like the idea of his friend flirting with his baby sister. Good. An ally.
“Oh, come on.” Alec waved his hand. “We all know Gentry’s joking.”
Gentry shrugged. “Like I told Sara, I’m just out for some fun. And speaking of, I’ve got to roll. Jake asked me to hang with him tonight at the cart.”
“Wait a sec.” Hunter leaned forward. “You’re going to spend the night standing on a city street corner?”
“We’ll be in front of the Tunnel.”
“I didn’t know that club was still open,” Sara remarked.
“It is. Jake’s hoping to do great business once everyone pours out of its doors looking for a late-night snack. He says I’ll help attract the guys, so he’s going to give me a share of the night’s take.”
“Just what I wanted to hear. My sister being pimped out in the city by her boyfriend for money.” Hunter shook his head. “You’d better not let Dad find out.”
“God forbid people find out his daughter sold hot dogs. We wouldn’t want his pride to take a hit.” Gentry’s bubbly demeanor had swiftly shifted to irritation.
“Just be safe,” Colby pleaded.
Gentry turned, apparently surprised by the sincerity. “I will.”
Alec watched Colby and Gentry, wishing he could have overheard the conversation that triggered Colby’s workplace ban on relationships.
“Catch you later.” Gentry gathered her things and left, her barely there outfit lifting in the breeze with each step she took.
Alec liked that Colby always wore tasteful but feminine skirts that didn’t risk a crotch shot, and dresses that didn’t reveal her bra straps. Her sophistication made her stand out compared with the Gentrys of the world.
Gentry was a handful. He wasn’t interested in a handful. He wanted compassionate. Calm. Steady. Smart. He wanted Colby. Her new rule was just one more thing on the list of reasons why he could never have her, and that just sucked.
Alec stared at the fire, only half-aware of the conversation going on around him. His thoughts jumped and crackled like the mesmerizing flames. He shouldn’t allow schoolboy yearnings to distract him from his priorities. A CertainTea’s soft opening had to be as perfect as possible in such a short time frame. His dad might be ignorant enough to write off one James Beard Award as a fluke. But if Alec could make A CertainTea earn one, too, perhaps his father would finally look at him like he’d always looked at Joe—with pride.
“Alec?” Sara asked.
“Hmm?” Dammit. He had no idea what she’d asked.
“Where’d you go?” Hunter asked.
“Nowhere important.” He swigged his beer, but not before he caught Colby staring at him as if she didn’t believe him. As if she cared. Of course, she cast her gaze the other way when she realized he’d noticed her watching him. Ever since she’d caught him scolding the staff, she’d acted funny around him. To say he found that shocking would be an understatement. As far as he knew, she’d never shied away from assertive men before.
“Colby, your workplace rule is genius,” Hunter said. “Not only because Gentry could cause all kinds of trouble, but remember Colette, Alec? That didn’t work out so well for you in Mougins.”
“Stop.” Alec waved him off to shut him up, but not before his thoughts veered to Colette, the sexy brunette with the fullest lips he’d ever seen.
“That’s some grin.” Colby cocked a brow.
“She was some girl!” Hunter joked. “And that was some visit.”
“I didn’t get the appeal.” Sara shrugged. “I mean, she was attractive but kind of bitchy. Anti-American, which didn’t make much sense given that she seemed so into you.”
“She admired my potentiel incroyable.” Alec winked. Of course, at twenty-six, broke, and not often the object of a hot woman’s attention, he couldn’t have cared less about her bitchy personality. She had worked his hours and pulled him away for quickies on their breaks whenever possible.
“I remember seeing Sara’s photos from that trip. Colette looked . . . confident,” Colby ventured. “So what happened?”
“I came home.”
“No, I mean, what’s Hunter referring to that made the trip, and her, so memorable?” She stared at him, waiting.
Oh, that. “I was first commis to the poissonnier, whom she also flirted with. When he found us together, he made my life even more of a living hell for months.” He nodded toward Hunter and Sara. “These two were there when he caught Colette and me getting friendly.”
“Exactly why you shouldn’t shit where you eat.” Hunter swigged his beer and fended off a light punch from Sara.
“Hunter, that’s gross.” She frowned.
“Sorry, babe.” Hunter leaned over and kissed his wife with the kind of carefree intimacy Alec had never really known. “So, how’s it going with the restaurant?”