Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
F rankie held Lucas’s phone as he prepared for his live feed.
“Is this all right?” he asked. “Or should I move back more?”
“I think this is good. I like you in front of the wall. It’s a nice backdrop, especially with the vines on it.” Bleached to a pale terracotta by the sun, the crumbling brick and green foliage was a perfect backdrop for Lucas’s dark good looks. He’d put his T-shirt back on and the pale turquoise was a great color on him. She took a few candid pictures of him, just because she thought they’d come out nice.
“I trust your aesthetic eye,” he said. “Hair’s good?”
“Hair’s great,” she answered. “Do you want your sunglasses on, though? It’s kind of impersonal not to be able to see your eyes.” And what gorgeous eyes they were.
“Good point.” He pushed them onto his head.
Archie and Scout, off their leashes, were sniffing around out of view of the camera.
Lucas nodded at her. “I’m ready. Just give me a countdown and then hit the button to start.”
“All right, here goes. Three…two…one…” She switched to the right screen for the live feed, tapped the button on the screen, and gave him a thumbs-up.
He smiled his megawatt smile. “Hey, Lucas Prime here. Where is here? A little river island known as Thieves’ Island. I have it on good authority that during Prohibition, this island was home to a productive moonshine distillery.”
His brows shot up. “Have you ever tried moonshine? Confession time, I haven’t. Honestly, I think it’s probably a little too strong for me. Drop a comment if you’ve tried it and tell me what that experience was like.”
He put a hand on the wall behind him. “Here you can see some of the ruins of that distillery. We’re about to do a little exploring. Who knows what we’ll find.”
Scout and Archie trotted into view. Scout went right up to Lucas for pets. He obliged her with a smile and some head rubs. “Scout and her friend, Archie, have already done some exploring. Not sure they found anything we’d think was interesting, though.”
He gestured toward Frankie. “Behind the camera today is the creative genius who designed my new logo, the one and only Frankie Vaughn. That logo is now available on T-shirts in the merch shop, so check it out. And if you need a logo or an illustration, check out Frankie’s site. You can’t do better when it comes to creativity.” He rattled off her website.
She kept filming, mouth open in surprise.
His grin went ear to ear. “All right, gang, we’re off to explore these ruins and see if we can find a jar of that moonshine. Wish us luck!” He winked at the camera and waved. “See you in the kitchen!”
She knew that was his signoff. She tapped the button to end the filming, then put the phone down. “I didn’t know you were going to mention me.”
He shrugged as he walked over to her. “You earned it. And it just came naturally. You’re not mad, are you?”
“Mad? No, not even close. I’m really grateful.” She handed him the phone.
“I hope it brings you more business. You’re too good not to be turning people away.”
“Wouldn’t that be something.” She could dream.
He put his arm around Frankie and held the phone out. “Let’s get a picture, just for us.”
“Okay.” She liked his arm around her, even if she dreaded seeing herself in a photo.
He hit the button and took the pic, then showed it to her. “Nice.”
She thought it was just all right, but he looked great. “Yep.”
He looked at her. “You don’t like it? Want to take another one?”
She shook her head. “Won’t make any difference.”
He tucked his phone away. “Frankie, I don’t know what you see when you look at yourself, but I see a beautiful woman.”
“Did you already find some of that moonshine?”
He made a face at her. “I’m serious. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.”
“I don’t know how to do that, but I’ll take your word. I’m not great at accepting compliments, either. Mostly, I guess, because I’m not used to getting them.”
“This can’t be about your sister, because she seems so supportive.”
“She is. And you’re right, it’s not about her. It’s about…” She sighed, not totally wanting to put into words the truth of her past.
“Your ex?” Lucas guessed.
She nodded.
“You’re not really going to give that much weight to one idiot’s opinion, are you?”
She smiled. “Hard not to after so many years.”
He leaned in and kissed her again. “Why don’t you pay attention to my opinion then? Because I think you’re amazing. Sexy and creative and funny. You’re the whole package.”
“Lucas, you’re the whole package. The fact that you want to be with me is…I don’t know how that’s possible.”
The dogs circled them like sharks, eager for attention.
“I guess I’ll just have to show you. Tell me if I’m not, okay?”
She nodded. He was actually doing a pretty decent job.
He grabbed her hand. “Ready to have a closer look at these ruins?”
“You bet.” She would have gone anywhere with him.
Rustling leaves and soft laughter behind them made them pause. Harper and Mitch walked into the clearing. Suddenly self-conscious, Frankie let go of Lucas’s hand.
Harper nodded at them. “Did you do your live already?"
“I did,” Lucas answered. He tipped his head toward the ruins. “What else do you know about this place, Mitch?”
“Not much, other than the remains of the building you see there was used as a storage facility for the moonshine after it was bottled. The distribution was done mainly at night, when they had the cover of darkness. Some people will tell you that rum brought in from the Bahamas was stored here, too, until it could also be bottled and distributed. Don’t know how much of that is true, though.”
Frankie put her hands on her hips. “It’s kind of romantic, isn’t it? Have you been here a lot, Mitch?”
“Not a lot. Maybe four or five times. Kyle used to love coming here when he was younger. He always seemed to think bootleggers and pirates were the same.” Mitch smiled. “I guess they kind of are.”
Lucas picked up a shard of brick, turning it over in his hand. “Ever find any treasure?”
Mitch laughed. “Nope. But Jeanie found an old bottle here once. It’s on a shelf in my office now.”
“That’s cool,” Harper said. “Was it a moonshine bottle?”
Mitch shook his head. “We were never sure what it was.” He looked at Frankie and Lucas again. “Don’t let us keep you if you were going to explore.”
“Come with us,” Frankie said. “You’re the expert.”
Harper nudged Mitch with her elbow. “See? I told you the tour guide thing could work.”
Mitch just shook his head good-naturedly. “Except I’ve now exhausted my supply of information.”
Lucas grinned as Harper and Mitch joined them. “You’re a writer. Make stuff up. We won’t know the difference.”
“In that case…” Mitch cleared his throat, put his hands on his hips, and began speaking in an authoritative voice. “Legend has it there’s a quarter of a million dollars in gold coins and diamonds stashed somewhere on the island.”
“Get out,” Frankie said. “A quarter of a million?”
Lucas snorted. “Frankie, I’m pretty sure he’s making that up.”
She looked at him. “What? Oh.” She pursed her lips and frowned at her own gullibility. “Never mind.”
Mitch laughed softly. The dogs raced past on the dirt path, headed for the opposite end of the ruins and leaving little puffs of dust in their wake.
“We should probably round them up before they get lost or decide to go swimming on their own,” Harper said.
“Good idea,” Frankie said. “You get Archie, I’ll get Scout.” She pointed at Mitch and Lucas as she took a few steps backwards toward the dogs. “Meanwhile, you two better find us some gold and diamonds.”
The men laughed.
As soon as Frankie and her sister were out of earshot of the guys, Harper gave her sister a look. “You and Lucas seem chummier than usual.”
Frankie couldn’t keep from smiling. “He kissed me. Twice, actually.”
Harper sucked in a breath. “Does that mean you guys are serious? Or just having fun? Or what?”
Frankie shrugged, her smile going nowhere, then let out a dreamy sigh. “I think…we’re headed toward serious. Whatever it is, it’s definitely fun.”