Page 86 of The Hunter’s Affection

“Not very reliable, college students?”

Toni sighed, looking over to where Lawrence sat in the middle of his trainees. The former chief of Clan Karyn was now commanding a group of snot-nosed teens. Funny, that.

“Not so much.” She lifted the glass. “To surviving opening week and every other shitty thing life has in store for us.”

The end of his relationship with Charlotte.

She didn’t say anything, but something told him Toni knew the latest.

Clinking glasses, they downed the tequila at the same time.

Then, to his surprise, Toni turned to walk away. No lecture. No questions.

Interesting.

“Hey, Toni,” he stopped her.

She turned. “What’s up?”

He probably shouldn’t ask . . . it was a pretty personal question.

“You said Lawrence was going to change you . . . so why hasn’t he done it yet?”

Toni didn’t seem to take offense, but the corners of her lips turned down, making him regret the question.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“I’m scared.”

He almost dropped the bottle of tequila, which he’d reached up to put away.

“I know there’s no reason to be. And saying so certainly won’t help Charlotte’s cause. But there it is. Lawrence told me to take as much time as I need to adjust to the idea. Which is ironic since I want this as much, if not more so, than he does. But I’ve always been a bit of a chicken, and this is no small thing.”

“Exactly what I tried to tell Charlotte.”

He did put the bottle back then. Why the hell had he chosen tequila anyway?

To punish yourself.

“Well, all I can say is that I hope the two of you can work it out.” Toni’s smile reached her eyes. “You’re good for each other.”

Before he could comment, he spotted Garrett Fiore out of the corner of his eye.

“I forgot to tell Charlotte about Alessandra’s brother,” he realized. With the topic of their crumbling relationship on the forefront of his mind, he hadn’t even filled her in on the latest in the Fiore family saga.

“I’ll talk to her later,” Toni said as Garrett walked up to them.

Alessandra’s brother, brown haired and quite attractive, like his sister, had a rare ability, and one that made him plenty leery. Garrett could discern if someone was being truthful.

“The place is looking good,” Garrett said.

Torr agreed.

He and his siblings had once spent a fair amount of time in Le Meurice, an elegant 5-star hotel in Paris, and even though Toni had been the driving force behind the bar’s decor, he could tell from the start his brother had been inspired by Le Meurice’s iconic Bar 228. Looking at it now, nearly finished, there was no doubt.

Decorated with shades of brown, deep green, and muted gold, it had a warm but undoubtedly sophisticated air, elevated by the low lighting. The large circular bar in the center of the room with vaulted ceilings was a nod to the building’s banking heritage. The Vault was a singularly unique taphouse that he knew would be a hit.

If Lawrence stayed in Stone Haven long enough to enjoy it.