Page 37 of Visions of You

Ben raised a hand. “Sorry. I didn’t know she was with you, all right?”

“What you don’t know could fill up a swimming pool.”

Ben’s eyes flashed. I removed my arm from April’s shoulders, balancing on the balls of my feet and preparing to move quickly if I needed to.

Then the anger left his eyes and a small smile appeared. “Relax, man. I was just leaving. I don’t think we need a repeat performance, do we?”

I relaxed slightly, relieved he wasn’t picking a fight. “No, we don’t. Goodbye, Ben.”

He nodded to April. “Nice to meet you. See you around.”

She stood at my side, stiff as a board now. “Thanks. Uh, you, too.”

Then Ben trotted down the stairs, headed toward his truck I hadn’t noticed before.

I placed my hand between her shoulder blades, feeling them relax as I rubbed. “Sorry about that. Are you all right?”

“Fine. He wasn’t bothering me or anything.” She shot me a curious glance, but Ben Coleridge was the last person I wanted to talk about.

“Let’s go inside.” Shaking off the encounter, I opened the door for her. We stopped before the hostess’s podium.

She recognized me and smiled, inclining her head. “Good evening. Your table is all ready. Please follow me.”

Since the place didn’t take reservations, I’d called Henry Rousseau yesterday to ensure a quiet table. The hostess led us through the small dining room and onto a screened, covered porch. She seated us at an end table for two with a view over the mangroves, the ocean visible beyond.

I pulled out April’s chair for her and smiled at the hostess. “Thanks very much.”

We ordered a bottle of white wine and our glasses clinked softlyover the crickets chirping. But April’s forehead still had some lines on it that weren’t usually there.

She swirled the wine in her glass, then looked at me from under her lashes. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Was that guy at the entrance the one you got in the fight with?”

Dammit.

I smiled. Reassuringly, I hope. “You know about that, huh?”

She stared evenly at me. “Maia told me.”

“Yeah, that was Ben Coleridge.” I shifted in my seat and sighed. But I understood why she needed to clear the air about this. “I’m not a violent guy, April. I don’t normally go around getting in bar fights, and I’ve never been in jail before. I have no intention of it happening again. That night wasn’t one of my finer moments.”

The side of her mouth twitched, amusement glinting in her eye. “I’m glad to hear that. I was a bit alarmed when Maia mentioned it.”

My pulse sped up.

There it was again. That desire for her to have a positive opinion, even when I was an idiot. “Yet you’re still here with me.”

“I’m capable of making up my own mind. Though I was relieved when Maia said jail was out of character for you.”

I sat back in my chair and took a drink of wine. “Very, though that wasn’t the first time I’ve thrown a punch at a guy. The Markhams and Coleridges go way back. And it’s not a friendly relationship.”

“The Keys version of the Hatfields and McCoys?”

I grinned. “Something like that. They have a resort on the western side of Dove Key called Sunset Siesta. It’s more of a… lower budget option than Calypso Key, so there’s always been a rivalry between us. And the bad blood goes back longer than that. I’m sorry if I upset you. When I came out of the men’s room, you looked stiff and uncomfortable. I don’t want anyone making you feel like that. And when I saw Ben, I wasn’t about to stand by.”

“He came out the door and saw me, then came over to say hello. Iwas only uncomfortable because I didn’t want some rando talking to me when I was out with you.”

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