The thought of Ari never taking time to enjoy life bothered me, which was ironic since I didn’t do it often either.

“You have to do something to blow off steam or keep you entertained when you take a break from work.”

A guilty look flashed over her face, and an image of her masturbating behind a big desk slammed into my mind. In my fantasy, her head was thrown back as she came, and my name was on her lips. Fuck, now my dick was rock hard. Thankful for the table blocking her view, I pushed the image out of my head. Or at least I tried.

“What was that thought?” I asked, my voice coming out with a husky edge I couldn’t control.

“Nothing.”

Ari snatched up the whiskey menu and scanned it. I tugged it out of her grip, taking possession of her hand and squeezing until her gaze locked with mine.

“Tell me.”

She attempted an innocent, confused expression, but she wasn’t good enough at it. She swallowed, but didn’t break our stare. “Sometimes I play around on the computer.”

It made sense because she was the ultimate computer nerd, but why would that send guilty signals?

“Wait, you watch porn?”

Her mouth dropped open. “No! I mean, yes, but I was talking about hacking.”

Hacking? “What the hell?”

Her gaze darted from side to side and she leaned closer to me. “You can’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to go to jail. Or you know, federal prison. It’s not like I do anything bad. It’s more to make sure my skills stay up to par. It’s like a foreign language—if you don’t use it, you lose it. And, obviously, I like to make sure my conspiracy theories aren’t crazy, but in fact are reality. If people only knew . . .”

“You’ve gotta be joking.”

Her brow furrowed. “No joke. I’ve been doing it for years. Just ask Kim Leander. She’s been on the enhanced screening list since I learned to get into the TSA.”

“Are you frigging serious?”

“That Kim Leander gets a more-than-friendly pat-down and bag search every month when she travels for work? Yes. Yes, I am.”

A mental picture of what Ari described filtered into my mind and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re ruthless.”

She shrugged. “Long memory. No one screws with the people I care about and gets away with it. I can make someone’s life a nightmare. She shouldn’t have lied.”

“I’m not sure whether to be scared or impressed.”

Another shrug from Ari. “It’s not like it’s hard. Any amateur could do it.”

I was sure that wasn’t really the case, but before I could respond, our server arrived at the table.

“Welcome to Seven Sinners, we’re so happy to have you join us. Can I get you a complimentary taste of any of our whiskeys this evening? We have some fabulous ones available for you.”

Clearly wanting to change the subject after her confession, Ari asked, “What would you recommend?”

“Are you a whiskey drinker, ma’am?” When Ari shook her head, our server smiled. “Then I’d recommend a glass of the Spirit of New Orleans. It’s smooth and warm with a nice kick, but not too hot. You’ll enjoy it, even if you’re not normally a fan of whiskey. It’s my favorite of everything we offer.”

“I’ll try that.”

“Excellent.” The server looked to me. “And for you, sir?”

“I’ll try the single malt.”

“Perfect. I’ll bring those to you along with today’s menu and water.”

When our server disappeared again, my attention was one hundred percent focused on Ari. “Tell me more about the hacking.”

She shook her head. “I’d rather not. It’s not a big deal. Just something I do when I feel like entertaining myself. The only useful aspect is when I find ways to keep other people out because I’m better than they are.”

One thing Ari was never shy about was how smart she was. “Like the hackers the Feds arrest and then later hire to make their systems impenetrable?”

“In theory. But nothing is truly hack-proof. There’s always someone out there who can beat it, at least so far.”

It was as good a moment as any to find out exactly how much time I had with her. “When are you going back to the land of sun and surf and hacking?”

My question must have surprised her. She didn’t answer right away; instead, her expression fell and she looked out the window.

“What’s wrong?”

“Dad. I don’t know what to do to get him to agree to go in for testing so we can figure out the next steps.”

Heath had talked about it at breakfast. Mr. Sampson was worse off than either of them had realized.

“Keep trying, I guess. It seems like that’s all you can do. Assess the situation and make decisions based on what you learn.”

Her gaze cut back to me. “I spent so many years away and I missed him being himself, and now he’s . . . not. I feel like I should’ve been here the whole time. I can’t leave again. It’s like I’d be abandoning my family, which I guess I already did.”

Her expression was so crestfallen that I wanted to wrap her in a hug. Instead, I reached out and twined my fingers with hers.

“If anyone at this table should feel guilty about abandoning family, it’s me. I walked when it came out that my dad was a dirty cop. I didn’t answer the phone when he called for an entire fucking year. That was being a shitty son. You were out living your life and making your mark. You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

I kept the but I sure as fuck do to myself. It went without saying that I’d fucked up in a big way, and that was something I’d have to live with for the rest of my life.

Ari threaded her fingers through mine. “You were dealing the best way you knew how. I couldn’t imagine how it felt to find out that everything you thought was . . . wrong. He betrayed you, Rhett. Betrayed everything he taught you to hold sacred. You reacted. I understand wanting a chance to go back, but you can’t crucify yourself for what you did for the rest of your life. I know your dad wouldn’t want that.”

I heard the logic in her words, but that didn’t mean I believed it. I flipped it back on her anyway. “And your dad wouldn’t want you to feel guilty for living. He’s always been so damn proud of you. I feel like I haven’t missed out on many of your accomplishments because your dad was always bragging to Heath and me about how you were kicking ass.”