Page 17 of Acadia Falls

The taller man—Trey—finally looked up and gave Jack a nasty smile. One of his eyes was bruised and swollen shut. He gave Jack double middle fingers again as they drove away.

“Who is that, and what happened to his eye?” I asked. “And why were they checking out your boat? Why does he keep giving you the finger?”

Jack glanced at me, his brow furrowed in annoyance. “That’s a lot of questions, Counselor.”

I crossed my arms against my chest. “So?”

He shrugged a massive shoulder. I tried not to look at his enormous biceps and failed.

“That’s Trey and his crew, Chris Cuddy. They cut some of my lines, so I had to pound him in the face. And drown him.”

My jaw might’ve dropped open a little. “You drowned him?”

Jack shrugged again. Now he had a glimmer in his eye. “Not long enough. Fucker’s still standing.”

“Do you know that you could be charged with assault and battery for something like that?”

“Now you sound like Tommy.” He arched an eyebrow. “But you don’t look like him, lucky for you.”

“Ha.” But the way Jack was eyeing me made my cheeks burn. “You shouldn’t risk your business by fighting with some asshole. If he cuts your lines again, maybe call your cousin? Doesn’t he work for the fish and wildlife department?”

“Kyle works for himself.” He frowned out at the water. “And if I were you, I would stop trying to solve my problems, which you know nothing about.”

I straightened my shoulders. “Excuse me, but I am a lawyer. I just graduated from one of the best law schools in the country. I know about assault and battery and about utilizing the proper channels when someone illegally interferes with your fishing rights, which in a remote area like Mount Desert Island, are typically grandfathered in. So don’t tell me that I don’t know anything!”

“Easy, Blondie.” Jack’s frown subsided. “You don’t want to pull a muscle from all your fancy arguing.”

I put my hands on my hips. “I really wish you were just a groomsman.”

“No, you don’t.” He gave me a lazy, self-assured smile. “Because then you’d just be pining for me instead of wondering when we would sleep together again.”

“Um, I’m not wondering that. As if.” I snorted, but my cheeks were still hot.

“Well, that’s a shame,” he said, still grinning, “’cause I’ve been wondering about it a lot since the other night.”

I swallowed hard. “Huh.”

“Huh?” He cocked his head and took a step closer. “You were a little more articulate on that picnic table⁠—”

“Jack!” Tommy came around the corner. Like his brother, he was handsome. But Tommy was shorter, and he seemed to sigh a lot. “Come on, man. Mom called because she wants us home for a family meeting in an hour. I need that beer first.”

“We’ll be right there.”

I turned to him as Tommy disappeared back toward the house. “We’ll?”

Jack raised his eyebrows at me. “I happen to know for a fact that the Vejas never lock their boathouse. Want to check out the inside?”

“No.” But my insides were suddenly all hot and squirmy.

“Aw, that’s too bad. I’ve been thinking about you all damn day.”

“Y-you have?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re real book-smart, huh? And maybe not so bright otherwise.”

I put my hand on my hip again, ready to scold him, but he laughed.

“Come on, now—I’m just teasing. Just give me a few minutes, huh? I promise you won’t regret it.”