Free Up to Me (Shore Secrets) by Christi Barth Page A

pain. He settled for a self-conscious tug at the bottom of his long-sleeved blue polo. “Hopefully hot enough to pass inspection.”
    “You definitely get my vote.” Piper, too, helped herself to a mug and filled it. “Ella, now that I’ve seen him, you’re definitely in trouble for not calling to fill me in last night.”
    “She couldn’t.” Casey took a giant bite of a buttermilk donut. “Ella’s mouth was otherwise occupied last night...on Gray’s.” She snickered and inhaled, almost choking. A coughing fit ensued.
    Gray leaned over to thwack her between the shoulder blades. He didn’t have any female friends or sisters, so he couldn’t tell if this blatant oversharing was normal, or indigenous to the Finger Lakes. Might as well give in and get a T-shirt made that announced I Kissed Ella in big letters across the front.
    Ella bustled forward with plates, napkins and the platter of baked goods. She plunked everything on the table and beckoned for Gray to sit down next to her. Yet she still wouldn’t look him in the eye. Maybe she felt bad about springing the group date on him. Admittedly, Gray was surprised, but he could roll with it.
    “You said you wanted to learn about me.” Ella passed around napkins to everyone, including an empty seat that must indicate a yet-to-appear member of the peanut gallery. “Meeting my friends should tell you a lot.”
    So far, it told him only that the women were beautiful, had a good sense of humor, and were way too wrapped up in each other’s lives. Whereas Gray had simply wanted to find out if Ella liked U2 or Coldplay? Horror flicks or action thrillers? Tacos or pasta? Wanting to get back to the actual date part of breakfast, Gray grabbed Ella’s hand under the table and laced his fingers with hers.
    “We’ve been a tight group since high school. Saturday breakfast here is a sacred tradition for us.” Casey drilled her index finger into Piper’s arm. “All of us. No matter what.”
    Piper’s long-suffering sigh paired with an eye roll told Gray there was an interesting backstory here. Of course, anything that pushed him—and his debatable level of hotness—off the conversation plate would be interesting.
    “I know. I’ll behave. Stop poking me.” That professional mask settled back across her face as she turned to Gray. “Nice to meet you. I’m sorry I can’t stay very long, but there’s a big tour group due in this morning at my winery.”
    Now he really was intrigued. Cool jobs evidently abounded in this section of the state. “You own a winery? Funny, I met a guy last night who owns a distillery.”
    Her blue eyes frosted over. “Did you? Seneca Lake only has one of those. Unfortunately, he’s my neighbor.”
    Unfortunately? Gray and Ward had hung out the rest of the night. Seemed to be a stand-up guy. Low key, but with a dry wit and good taste in beer. Add in the fact that he was a Knicks fan, and Gray liked him. So he wondered what Ward had done to piss off Piper. Had to be business or sex. Every problem in life boiled down to that. Well, or family. Gray knew that to be true better than anyone.
    The front door slammed again. “Speak of the devil,” she hissed, without even looking. In fact, Piper got up and topped off the coffee she had yet to taste, turning her back to the new arrival.
    Heavy boots thudded towards them. Ward looked much the same as last night, in a fresh flannel shirt over a tee and jeans, but with a fat lip and a bloom of purple bruising around his eye. “Sorry I’m late. Had a hard time rolling out of bed this morning.” He threw one leg over a stool. Ella squeezed Gray’s hand, then got up wordlessly to fill a mug for Ward.
    “You look like you got rolled,” commented Casey, with a worried pat to his cheek.
    Piper sauntered back to the table, a slight flare of her eyelids the only betrayal of her alarm at his appearance. “Classy as ever, Cantrell. Did you get in a bar fight?”
    “Yeah,