Always You: A Lilac Bay Novel (Friends with Benefits) by Lucy Riot, Rachel Schurig Page B

as if explaining something very obvious to a child. “You came home smelling like chocolate every night. If you think your job had nothing to do with my initial attraction, you’re very mistaken.”
    “Helps that his butt is so cute,” Libby offered, and Edward blew her a kiss.
    “Okay, that’s my cue,” Andrew said, standing. “When we start talking about my brother’s butt, I’m out.”
    “Yours is very nice too!” Libby called after him, making the rest of us cackle as Andrew walked away, a middle finger held up over his shoulder.
    “Okay, what about interests?” Cora asked, returning her attention to her list.
    “Um, interest in sports would be good, I guess.” I was looking over at the hotel pitcher again. He had turned back to his companions so I could stare at his profile without feeling embarrassed. Definitely good looking. He had one of those long, aristocratic looking noses and an angular jaw. I did like a guy with a well-defined jaw. One of his friends said something and he laughed. It looked like a nice laugh.
    “What about Martin, from the furniture store?” Libby asked, once again pulling my attention back to the table.
    Posey made a face. “Martin is way too old for her.”
    “He’s cute,” Libby argued.
    “He’s like fifty-five!” Posey shot back. When Libby merely shrugged Posey crossed her arms. “He’s at least twenty years older than her, Libs.”
    “And he owns the only furniture store on the island where they get to fleece us excessively on shipping fees from the mainland.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. “He’s a total sugar daddy.”
    Everyone laughed.
    “You’re a menace, Libby, you know that, right?” I asked her.
    She waved away my objections. “I’m just looking out for your financial interests.”
    “Ooh,” Jenny cried, sitting up straight. “I have the best idea!”
    “Who?” Libby asked eagerly.
    “Andrew!”
    Everyone at the table stared at her, silent.
    “Andrew?” I finally asked. “As in—Andrew Powell?”
    “Yes!” She looked inordinately pleased with herself. “You guys are always hanging out! You have so much in common! You should totally date!”
    It was quiet for another moment before everyone burst into laughter.
    “That’s a good one, Jenny,” Posey said, shaking her head. “I thought you were serious for a minute.”
    Jenny looked bewildered. “But I am serious.”
    “Jenny.” I tried to keep my tone gentle, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “Thank you for trying to help, seriously. But that’s just about the worst idea I ever heard.”
    “Why?” She looked around the table at seven incredulous expressions. “I don’t understand why that would be such a bad idea.”
    “Because they’ve been friends since first grade,” Posey told her. “Like, best friends.”
    “So?”
    “So—” I suppressed a shudder. “It would be almost—incestuous.”
    “Yeah,” Posey agreed. “They’re basically brother and sister at this point.”
    “And they fight all the time,” Edward added.
    “Just like brothers and sisters,” Zane agreed.
    “Plus, Andrew is totally a little man-whore,” Libby said. “Which makes him very nice to look at, but not exactly the person you’d want to start a relationship with.”
    My eyes darted across the bar to where Andrew stood, inches away from a blond in skintight jeans and platform heels. I had never seen her before, which meant she was either a tourist or over from the mainland. Regardless, she was clearly well on her way to becoming familiar to Andrew. Her hand was resting on one of his arms and every time he spoke she would lean in just a bit closer, laughing. As I watched he whispered something in her ear and she nodded. They both pushed off from the bar—a moment later they were lost in the crowd, probably on their way to a more private location.
    Man-whore indeed.
    “He’s a good guy,” Libby told Jenny. “It just wouldn’t work between them. They would only end up screwing