Rogue Beast (The Rourkes #12) - Kylie Gilmore Page 0,58

could she trust a master carpenter with a small job?”

Garrett puffs his chest out. “Takes a skilled construction worker to fix the back gate latch.”

Sydney grins.

“I put my foot down when she wanted him to fill a hole a woodchuck dug under her fence,” I say. “Of course she still warned me to be careful. She thinks all men have an agenda.”

Sydney purses her lips, thinking that over. “You know, I can’t say she’s wrong. Some are better at hiding it than others. Look at my dad, a decent guy. Nobody knew he ran this place into the ground before he died.”

I shoot her a sympathetic look. She was close to her dad. Her mom died when we were twelve. After her dad died, Sydney’s oldest brother took over the restaurant. Last year he said it was a lost cause and wanted to sell it. Sydney moved home, determined to continue the town’s legacy and her father’s.

Sydney continues. “I’ve got a marketing background, so I figured all it takes is some good word of mouth and advertising. Welp, it also takes money. I’m having no luck with the banks with the debt we’re in.”

“How much?” I ask.

She holds up a palm. “Nope, not going to ask my uber-successful friend for a handout.”

“You could pay me back.”

“This is a hometown deal. Local investment for the locals. You keep giving to Best Friends Care. Your reach is global now, lady.”

We chat for a bit, catching up on old times.

She waves over my shoulder. “She’s here, and she brought her secret prince!”

Garrett turns, smiling at my friends. “Just Garrett.”

I stand to greet Jenna and Audrey. “It’s been too long.”

Jenna is long and lean, surprising for someone who loves to bake. You’d think she’d have love handles. She’s wearing a black turtleneck with jeans and black boots. Audrey is more understated in a beige tunic over beige yoga pants. Her black hair stands out in stark contrast. She runs the local library.

I hug them both.

Audrey glances over at the bar area and quickly faces front again. I hadn’t noticed him when we first came in, since Sydney distracted me with all her enthusiasm and big hugs. Her oldest brother, Drew, is sitting in the corner, nursing a beer, his gaze on the game. He’s as dark as Sydney is light. Hard to blame him after serving as an Army Ranger on multiple deployments. Not that he was ever Mr. Sunny. He’s five years older than us, and rarely acknowledged his little sister’s friends. Audrey has had a secret crush on him for as long as I can remember. She even wrote him regularly when he was deployed, but, apparently, none of her emails ever let him know how she feels about him.

After we’re all seated at a larger round table with ice water and a bowl of pretzels, Sydney announces, “Garrett is much nicer than Nick.” That’s my ex from a few years back. She met him when she visited me in LA.

Jenna checks Garrett out. “It doesn’t hold true that the more gorgeous they are, the more of an asshole they are, huh?”

“Uh, thanks?” Garrett says.

“We could tell you’re not an a-hole right away,” Sydney says, leaning around me to speak directly to Garrett. “First off, you took Harper to her benefit when she was suddenly single.”

“That sounds like a sitcom right there,” I say. “Suddenly Single.”

“Speaking of, we love Living Gold,” Audrey says. “We had a watch party when it aired for the first time here at the bar.”

“Aww, thanks, guys.” They say they love everything I’m in.

Garrett puts his arm around the back of my chair, resting his hand on my shoulder. It warms at the spot. “We had a watch party at my parents’ house too since my sister-in-law Josie Abbott is in it.”

“Oh my God, I love her!” Sydney exclaims.

“What’s she like?” Jenna asks.

They all turn to Garrett, excited to hear about Josie.

I wave in front of their faces. “Uh, guys, I’ve only worked with her for the past seven weeks.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sydney says, looking at Garrett expectantly.

Garrett smiles. “She’s great. Really bubbly and outgoing.”

“I could see that about her,” Sydney says. “Unlike our Harp, who only comes out of her shell onstage.” She elbows me.

“Sydney used to be my costar in our school’s drama club,” I tell Garrett.

“That’s right,” Sydney says. “But Harp was always the star.”

“Sydney can sing and she’s funny,” I say.

She pulls her hair band out and shakes out her long auburn hair dramatically. “And