Sultry with a Twist Read Online Free PDF Page A

cat down and they all headed to the kitchen. The air was hot and thick with steam and the walloping scents of fine, fine country cooking. Luke’s stomach rumbled in response.
    While June washed her hands, Pru gathered Trey into one of those motherly smother-hugs, then turned on Luke. She shook her head and tugged a lock of his hair.
    “Get a cut, Lucas.” Pru patted his cheek. “You could be such a handsome boy.”
    “There’ll be plenty of time for that when I get the Hallover property on the market.”
    Something clattered from inside the white porcelain sink, and Luke turned to see June staring at them, her mouth forming a perfect red oval. It must’ve been a shock to see him and Pru on such good terms, but what did she expect? He wasn’t a rebellious teenager anymore. Now the roles were reversed. June was the outsider, and Pru favored him . Half a grin curved his lips before he could stop it.
    While Luke stood there gloating like an asshole, Trey held June’s chair out for her, and she smiled up at him like he’d just pulled her from a burning building. Luke hurried and did the same for Pru, and they all held hands for grace. After “amen,” Luke noticed Trey was half a second too slow in releasing June’s fingers, and she bit her lip and blushed before laying the napkin in her lap. What the hell was up with that?
    An invisible fist tightened around Luke’s windpipe as he slid a glance at his best friend, appraising him for the first time as a man instead of a buddy. Trey was probably an okay-looking guy, if you were into blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. Was that June’s type? He didn’t know anymore.
    “So,” Trey said to June with his mouth half full. “What brings you back to Sultry Springs?”
    June froze, holding a forkful of mashed potatoes in midair. “Uh, a little legal misunderstanding.” She started to say something else, but shoved a bite into her mouth instead and closed her eyes, chewing slowly like she’d just tasted nectar from heaven. “Mmm.” Then she leaned back in her seat and placed a hand over her heart. “Oh, God, that’s so good.”
    “Hey,” Pru snapped. “No blasphemin’ in my house!”
    “Sorry.” June scooped a forkful of butter beans. “It’s just I can’t remember the last time I ate something that wasn’t off the Dollar Menu.”
    While chewing, June kept making these low throaty moans, and Luke had to adjust himself. He needed to get her to stop, or he’d never be able to stand from the table. “What do you do for a living in Austin?” he asked.
    June hesitated and her eyes darted to Pru. Then she set down her fork, took a slow drink of iced tea, and sat ramrod straight. She looked at Pru, not him, when she finally answered. “I own a bar downtown. On Sixth Street.” June said bar with emphasis, as if challenging Pru to denounce her sinful occupation. Lifting a buttered biscuit to her lips, June continued staring down her grandma, waiting for a reaction like a game of emotional chicken.
    Pru’s mouth tightened in obvious disapproval, but she held her tongue. Which didn’t happen very damn often, especially when it came to the subject of fire water. A lifelong teetotaler, Pru still wrote her congressman each year, clamoring for the repeal of the twenty-first amendment.
    “Sweet.” Trey wiped a sleeve across his mouth, oblivious to the tension between the two women. “Which bar? I’ve probably been there.”
    “No, you haven’t.” June rested her chin in her palm and smiled with a faraway look in her eyes. “We don’t open for another six weeks. But it’s called Luquos, and it’ll be like nothing you’ve ever seen. Totally upscale, romantic, sexy.” She glanced again at Pru. “I’ve been selling drink recipes and tending bar for years. It took a long time to save enough money for my own place.”
    Pru patted her bun and grumbled to herself. It was as close as June would get if she wanted approval.
    “Sounds great,” Trey said.