Tropical Holiday Tails - Zoe Chant Page 0,9

that he’d been holding into one of the folding chairs along the wall. “Look,” he said, drawing Lars a little further away from the nearest people. “My sister says you’re mates.”

Mates. Hearing it out loud made the word settle into sense. Lars’s moose sighed at the rightness of it.

“Yes,” Lars said earnestly. “Yes.”

“Listen,” Tom said, equally serious. “My sister had a boyfriend. He said he loved her, convinced her she was the only one in the world for him. She even thought they might be mates. And he took her to the cleaners. He skipped out of the state with her car, everything she had of value, and left her with tens of thousands in credit card debt. She got kicked out of her apartment and lost her scholarship trying to pay off his debt with a second job.”

Lars clenched his hands into fists. “He hurt her,” he snarled. “He broke her trust.”

“It was my fault,” Tom said grimly. “She wasn’t that interested in him at first, but I wanted her…I wanted her to be happy. I convinced her to date him, to go out and live a little.”

Lars wrestled back his desire to dismantle something with his bare hands. “He hurt her,” he repeated. The words he wanted to say didn’t translate directly.

Tom continued, scowling. “When you started watching her, I could only think that I needed to protect her. I’m the only family she has. And I wasn’t going to let you take advantage of her because she looked like an easy target.”

“Easy target?”

“Damn,” Tom said in exasperation. “She’s as naive as you are, man.”

Naive was the same in almost all languages. “I would never hurt her,” Lars said fiercely.

“I get that now,” Tom said, looking conflicted. “But I…I told you she didn’t want you.”

Lars felt his heart plummet in his chest at the reminder.

“We’re being honest now,” Tom said. “And I wasn’t being honest earlier.”

Lars felt his eyebrows knit in confusion. “You aren’t a caribou?” he guessed, feeling dense.

“About Julie,” Tom elaborated with exasperation. “She likes you. She likes you a lot. I only told you she didn’t so that you’d leave her alone. I didn’t tell her you were a moose.”

A bubble of hope expanded inside of Lars. “She likes me?” he said hopefully. Without meaning to, he turned to search her out among the dancers. She was laughing at something the bartender was saying to her, stumbling a little as he turned her through the steps.

“Man, you are hopeless,” Tom said in exaggerated disgust. “Go get her. And if you break her heart...” He left the threat hanging.

Lars had to stare a moment longer, not quite able to accept his luck, drinking in the sight of Julie’s perfect legs under the swishy black dress, and the bounce of her glossy brown hair. Then he was closing the distance between them.

Julie had heard other guests speculate that Scarlet chose her male staff for their good looks; though none of them seemed anything less than competent, they were without exception stunningly handsome and well-built. She recognized the lifeguard among the guests at the dance, and a waiter from the restaurant who had flirted outrageously with her. They were dutifully circulating among the guests, inviting anyone looking bored to dance.

She privately thought it was a good move; it was flattering to have Tex draw her out onto the dance floor, even though she knew it was doubtlessly something he had been paid to do.

He was a perfect gentleman, his touch absolutely professional, his conversation kind. He was a good dancer, too, compensating for the fact that Julie had only learned most of the steps the previous day.

“You’re enjoying your stay, I hope?” he asked, when the music slowed enough to allow conversation.

“I have,” Julie said automatically, but she knew she said it sadly.

“You’re not thinking about a certain Swedish hockey player, now, are you?” Tex teased her unexpectedly.

Julie met his gaze in appalled surprise. Had everyone seen what a goose she’d made of herself over him?

“Aw, honey, don’t look like that,” Tex said coaxingly. “I know he’s a little rough around the edges, but it’s clear he’s over the moon for you.”

Julie shook her head. “No. It’s not like that. He’s not interested in me.” Even the mention of him left her feeling tingling and too aware of her body. Memories of how deliberately he’d been avoiding her the past few days crowded into her head and she miserably stumbled over her steps before Tex could guide her