Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [46]
It can't be worth that much. A couple thousand dollars? You could leave tomorrow, earning the same amount of money for absolutely no work. It's a good offer; you should take it."
He smiled as he gazed into her blue eyes. Innocent eyes, he realized. Eyes that expressed pain and hurt and a discomfort with the whole situation. "And you should realize," he said deliberately, "that offering a bribe to a reporter raises the curiosity level. You obviously have something to hide." He reached out and let his finger drift down the side of her face. "What on earth are you trying so hard to protect? Or maybe it's not a what. Maybe it's a who. What happened during that race, Kate? What are you so afraid I'm going to find out?"
Chapter Eight
He was impossible, Kate fumed, as she strode briskly away from the restaurant. She didn't bother with her car. She needed to walk off the anger and frustration building inside her. She should never have agreed to have dinner with Tyler or thought she could handle him by telling him just a little. A little would never be enough for a man like him. He was ambitious and ruthless, determined to get what he wanted.
Why couldn't she just accept that she had absolutely no way of making stubborn, strong-willed men in her life do what she wanted them to do? Her father had certainly never caved in to her demands. Why should Tyler be any different?
Kate stopped abruptly as three people spilled out of a local bar, stumbling across the sidewalk, obviously having tossed back a few drinks. She recognized one of them, a young man who worked in the marina office.
"Hi, Kate," he said with a cheerful slur. "Your sister is one hell of a good singer."
"What?" she asked, not sure she'd heard him right. He tipped his head toward the bar he'd just left. "Check it out."
Kate stepped inside the doorway of Jake's. The room was smoky, the tables packed with tourists, and the music loud enough to demand attention. Or maybe it was the singer.
Kate's jaw dropped at the sight of Caroline holding a microphone in her hand. Her sister was dressed in a micro-mini denim skirt, knee-high stiletto boots, and a spaghetti-strap top that barely covered her breasts. But it wasn't her looks that took Kate by surprise, it was her voice. Her sister was belting out a pop song as if she'd been doing it all her life. And she wasn't bad. In fact, she was pretty good. Apparently the crowd thought so, too, jumping into brisk applause when the song ended.
"Thank you," Caroline said, her face aglow with excitement. "That was fun. And now more of Deke and the Devils." She waved her hand toward the band behind her, which broke into a fast beat.
Kate watched her sister step down from the stage and move slowly through the crowd, chatting with friends and strangers alike. She seemed to laugh every other minute, as if she'd never had such a good time before. It struck her then how much her sister and her father liked the spotlight. Being the center of attention was their favorite place to be.
Kate frowned as she saw a man approach Caroline. It was Mike Stanaway, and he was forty if he was a day, a rough, bearded man with dark eyes and a grim expression. Ashley had mentioned something about Caroline and Mike, but she'd dismissed it as a rumor. Now she wasn't so sure.
Caroline didn't appear happy to see him. They exchanged a few words. He waved a hand toward the door, but she shook her head. After a moment, he shrugged and walked away. Caroline sat down on a bar stool, then lit up a cigarette. As she took her first puff, she saw Kate. Her smile faded, and a defensive expression swept across her face. For a moment it looked like she was going to hide the cigarette, but then she took another defiant puff, got up, and walked across the room.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I heard you singing."
"That was just a spur of the moment thing. Deke thought it might be fun."
"You were good."
"I was?" Caroline asked, that familiar little sister insecurity