wasn’t out to set societal standards for all womankind. He just wanted a certain type of woman, preferably one who wouldn’t pretend to be one thing, turn into something else, then leave him for his brother.
“Turn left up here, where those cars are parked.” Sid had been giving him directions since they’d left the restaurant. He hadn’t bothered to argue with her statement about them having sex. He’d made his stance clear that morning and would not be swayed.
At least not from the neck up. From the neck down was a different story.
Once he’d parked the car and cut the engine, Lucas recognized the building before him. “This is Arthur Berkowitz’s law office. What are we doing here?”
“Wrong again, Dempsey. This
He leaned forward and looked up. Sure enough, those four words flashed on a gaudy red and blue neon sign hanging from the roof peak. “You have got to be kidding me.” Artie had said there were no takers for the practice, but a movie theater?
“I need a bathroom stop and time to get popcorn so hurry up.” Sid dashed out of the car and jogged through the drizzle to stand under the rusty awning covering the front door.
She might be the least pretentious woman he’d ever met. Whatever tactics she planned to use to lure him into bed, sophistication and charm would not be among them.
Lucas hurried through the rain, locking the car on his way, then shuffled Sid through the door. A bell rang over their heads, causing him to look up. That same bell had been there during the summers he worked for Artie.
Further proof nothing ever changed on this island.
The reception window—still in the same place—slid open as they approached. “Well if it isn’t Lucas Dempsey, prodigal lawyer. Come to check out the old digs?”
“Something like that.” Movie posters lined walls that once held Artie’s framed college degrees—one from Georgetown, the other from Duke. Spending the majority of his career on Anchor Island had been a waste of both in Lucas’s opinion.
“Good to see you getting out and enjoying the island a bit. I remember you were always griping as a teen that there was nothing to do. Plenty to do around here these days.” Artie beamed through the window opening, as if he’d heard the conversation they’d had at the restaurant.
“What’s playing tonight, Artie?” Sid asked, pulling cash from her front pocket.
“I’ll get the tickets,” Lucas said.
“You paid for dinner. I’ll get the tickets.” She laid ten dollars on the counter.
“Tonight we’re showing one of my favorites.
Sid tried to argue, but Artie disappeared from the window and reappeared through the doorway to their left. “Come get yourself some popcorn and then take your seats. Show starts in five minutes.” He pulled the door wide, showing them into a large room full of couches of varying shapes and sizes. “Maybe we’ll get some other stragglers before then.”
Sid shot Lucas a challenging look as she spoke to Artie. “We don’t mind watching the movie alone.”
Sitting in a darkened room, on a couch, alone with Sid. His brain said not a good idea, but other parts of his anatomy were all for it.
“What kind of theater has couches instead of chairs?” Lucas asked. Theaters had seats. Individual, hard, uncomfortable seats. With protective and immovable arms between them.
“The welcoming kind,” Artie said, an innocent grin splitting his chubby face.
“You go grab our … uh … couch, Sid. I want to talk to Artie for a second.” Time to discuss the Ledbetter fiasco and nip this legal advice crap in the bud.
“Extra butter on your popcorn?” she asked, walking backward toward a large red popcorn machine.
“Yeah, thanks.” Turning to Artie he said, “I don’t appreciate you sending the Ledbetters to see me this morning.” Had it really only been this morning? From his inadvisable encounter with Sid on the beach to now felt more like a week had gone by.
“Aw,” Artie said, waving Lucas’s words away. “They just needed a mediator to help ’em work out that tree issue. I’m out of the business now, but I knew you could handle it.”
“Artie.” Lucas ran a hand through his hair, struggling to remain patient with his former boss. “I am on this island for one reason: to run my family’s restaurant while my dad recovers. I am not here to practice law, mediate tree issues, or take over your practice. And don’t think I don’t know that’s what you’re up to.”
The lawyer cum theater owner looked wounded, revealing acting skills that would have been priceless when applied in a courtroom. “I object to your accusation.”
Clearly you could take the man out of the lawyering but not the lawyering out of the man.
“Object all you like, but I’m on to you, Arthur Berkowitz.” Lucas pointed a finger at the opposing counselor’s chest. “Don’t send anyone else to see me about a legal matter. I practice in Richmond, not here.”
“But your license to practice in Virginia is good here too,” Artie pointed out, unfazed by Lucas’s stern tone. The man was being obtuse on purpose.
“Irrelevant. Let it go, Artie. I’m not moving back here.”
That disturbing thought took him by such surprise, Lucas actually stepped back, bumping into the fake fern behind him. Where in the hell did his brain get off throwing that kind of bullshit into the ether? And no he could not have Sid. He didn’t even want Sid. The woman would have him jumping off a pier into shark-infested waters within hours.
“You all right there, Lucas? You look like you’re having a stroke.”
Lucas wasn’t sure what the symptoms of a stroke might be, but if sudden loss of sanity was one, he could definitely be in trouble.
Shaking his head as if to eject the crazy thoughts out his ears, Lucas stepped forward again. “I’m fine. Sugar rush from the cheesecake I had at the marina.”
Right. Sugar was doing this to his system. He looked to his left and spotted Sid leaning over the back of a cushy, red leather sofa, watching him with a look that made him feel like
“Just remember what I said, Artie.” He walked into the theater, tempted to claim a couch of his own. But that would reveal a weakness that Sid would no doubt pounce on until she had him moaning against that hot little body of hers.
When Lucas finally joined her on the red sofa, Sid had no idea what to do next. She’d been talking big all night. Talking big had been her specialty for years. And in most cases, she could back it up with action. But in this moment, she was totally out of her element.
Sid had never seduced anyone. In fact, she could count her sexual encounters on one hand and still have three fingers left over. The dating pool wasn’t deep on Anchor. Most of the males on the island saw Sid as one of the guys, which never bothered her. Much. Unless they made some joke about her liking other women. She’d punched men for lesser transgressions.
As for the tourists, they hit on her often enough, but a fling with a stranger didn’t appeal. Which she supposed made Lucas and Will correct on the casual thing. So Sid didn’t change bed partners like changing her socks. She didn’t have sex just for the sake of having it. So what?
A fling with Lucas would be different. For one thing, he wasn’t a stranger. And though he’d never again live on the island, he had ties here. He’d be back. Seeing him once or a twice a year would suck, but that had always sucked. She’d survived this long. She’d survive again.
And as Will put it, he’d be out of her system. She could get on with her life without this unrequited thing hanging over her head.
“Where do we get the drinks?” Lucas asked, setting his bag of popcorn on the table in front of the couch.
