Sultry with a Twist Read Online Free PDF

“Do I get a personal invitation to the opening?” He leaned toward June and flashed his dimples—the ones that made panties drop like lead.
    Luke knew his buddy would rather roll naked in a bed of pine cones than spend an hour in a stuffy bar like that. For no reason at all, he kicked Trey’s chair.
    “What?” Trey lowered his brows.
    Luke shrugged, pretending like nothing had happened, and lifted his glass to June. “Congrats, Junebug. Makes me wish Sultry wasn’t a dry county.”
    “Ugh,” she groaned. “Still dry, huh?” She bit that pouty lower lip and glanced at him through her lashes. “And thanks.”
    The phone’s shrill ring carried through the hallway into the kitchen, and June pushed away from the table like it was on fire. “I’ll get it!” she cried, scrambling out of the room.
    Luke glanced at Pru for some kind of explanation, but she sat silently and leaned her ear toward the hall. He quirked an eyebrow at Trey, and then all three of them shamelessly eavesdropped on June’s end of the conversation.
    “Listen, the good news is I talked to Barty Perneras, and our license is going through right on time. But the bad news is pretty bad.”
    Luke heard the boards creak beneath June’s bare feet as she paced the hardwood floor. “I’m stuck here for a month.”
    Luke coughed and sputtered a mouthful of tea into his hand. Sweet Jesus, a month? She’d half-scrambled his brain after being in town less than a day—how would he survive a month of this? June’s voice pleaded in the hall, but he couldn’t understand her words over the ringing in his ears. It took a solid minute before he could concentrate again. He thought he heard a man shouting—in Spanish?—from the receiver.
    “…and I’m telling you it wouldn’t’ve made any difference! He had it all planned out!”
    June spoke with a firm voice now, no longer pleading. Luke didn’t know who was on the other end of that line, but she didn’t take any shit from him.
    “We can waste our time arguing, or figure out how to make this work.” She heaved a sigh. “Come on, Este. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this? How many design journals I’ve read or how long I’ve prepared? It kills me not to be there.”
    June’s mystery man must have apologized, because she took a softer tone.
    “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry. Look, I don’t get cell service here, and it’s long distance to Austin, so if you call me at this number every morning…say, at eight?…we’ll go over every detail together. And I’ll make this up to you. I promise.”
    Luke could just imagine all the things Mystery Man had in mind.
    “You’re so bad,” she said with a smile in her low voice.
    Yep, exactly.
    “So I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning. Bye.”
    Trey crammed half a biscuit into his mouth, Pru speared a bite of chicken, Luke refilled his glass with tea, and they all scrambled to look innocent when June walked in. She smoothed her tight black skirt, adjusted her silky blouse, and sat down, flashing an apologetic grin.
    “I wouldn’t take a call at dinner, but it was important,” she said.
    God love her, Pru asked what they were probably all thinking. “Your boyfriend?”
    “No.” June drizzled honey over her biscuit. “Business partner. He’s got a dozen clubs and restaurants in Austin, but he’s more a financial backer than a planner. Not used to day-to-day stuff, so this’ll be hard on him. But enough about my problems.” She gestured at Trey with her biscuit. “I can tell by your accent you’re from up North. How’d you and Luke meet?”
    “I grew up in Chicago.” Trey rested his forearms on the table and shot a nervous glance at Luke. “We met in the army.”
    “Were you in Germany together?”
    “Yeah, and basic training before that.”
    June took a long drink and studied Luke over the top of her glass. Then she glanced down and used her fork to make swirls in her mashed potatoes. “The army was your dream, Luke.