A Not-So-Innocent Seduction

Dylan lifted an eyebrow, his smile innocent. “I don’t know what you mean, Mom. But you might want to keep an eye on your eldest son. If he starts hitting on sexy hotel guests, we might have problems with jealous husbands.”

“Zoe’s not married.” Liam ground his teeth together, incredulous that his brother’s taunts were getting to him. It was an old game they played. But Liam was on a short fuse tonight. “Tell me what you know about her. Please.”

Dylan wiped his mouth with his napkin and shrugged. “Not much. But she caught me off guard this afternoon.”

“How so?”

“She asked if I would let her play and sing down at the bar.”

The table fell silent. Even Maeve seemed perplexed. “Why?”

Dylan shrugged. “Who knows? She claimed it was because she was going to be here for a while and she wasn’t used to twiddling her thumbs.”

“Did she talk about payment?”

“Offered to play for free.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I made an excuse. Said I had to look at the calendar. You know I wouldn’t do anything like that without running it by you. Don’t want to create a sticky situation. It occurred to me that she might be awful. And that could be damned awkward if she’s dropped several grand to stay at the Lodge.”

Maeve pursed her lips. “I don’t see what it could hurt. She’s an unusual woman. Call it my Irish ancestral intuition, but I think she’s had a hard life.”

Liam and Dylan stared at her in sync. Dylan pointed out the obvious. “She’s booked a multiweek stay here at the Lodge. It’s not like the woman has lived on the streets and played music so people would toss coins in a tin cup.”