Page 86 of Clearly Charmed

Screw Aster’s statement about his color. I needed this guy out of my life.

‘You play one game with me.’ He sank his teeth into his full lower lip, and I forced myself to ignore the memory of the way that mouth had been all over my body only a week ago. Brought me to a dizzying bliss that would take decades to forget. ‘If you win, I’ll sit down and show you everything in my files and on my laptop.’

That got my attention.

‘But if I’m victorious, you go on one date with me, and we don’t discuss anything about the article. Just you and me, a five-star meal and a great bottle of wine.’

Bree let out a brittle laugh. ‘Yeah, you’d have to drive to Breckenridge, which is like an hour drive away, to make that happen.’

Bryce’s stare turned soft. ‘Exactly.’

Jessa let out a squeal behind me. Bree leaned on her cue. The mischief in her eyes urged me to take the deal, because she knew I’d been playing pool for years and could easily crush Bryce. At lunch one day right after she’d started at the clinic, we’d swapped stories about our families, and I told her about the special bond I had with Grandpa Beau. How we’d come to this tavern every Sunday to have the fried chicken special and play pool. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was his own sneaky way of teaching me math and physics. As he sauntered around the table, he’d explained how playing pool was all about simple geometry. Lining up your shots with the right angles. How striking the ball with a measured force made all the difference.

Beating Bryce would be easy, but I still hesitated. I’d let my guard down with him once, and it bit me in the behind. There was no saying it wouldn’t happen again if I opened the door for him.

‘You don’t trust me to keep my word.’

I set my hip against the table. Gave him a fiery stare. ‘You’ve lied to me how many times now?’

The room grew hushed. It would be great if I didn’t live in a place where my life felt like a constant spectacle.

‘Hey!’ Bree shouted at the patrons. ‘Mind your business. Go back to your drinks and your meals.’

Jessa wobbled off her stool and went to the jukebox. An old Bon Jovi song filtered through the speakers, and the town was distracted again.

‘How about this, I’ll also throw in final review of the article before it goes to my editor. You can make any changes or deletions you want.’

I narrowed my eyes, sensing a trap. ‘Why would you do that?’

‘Because I have nothing to hide from you.’

His meaning was clear. I was the one who still had the journal. Who was still keeping secrets.

When I stayed quiet, he added, ‘Your friends can be a witness to the offer. Make sure that I don’t go back on my word.’

Bree shrugged. ‘Your choice, but it sounds like a decent deal to me.’

‘I agree,’ Jessa shouted a little too loudly from the table.

This ridiculous scene was one of the many reasons why I liked my quiet life. ‘One game. Winner takes all,’ I conceded.

That gorgeous smile of his lit up the damn room. ‘Let’s go.’

Even as the warning bells went off in my head, I pointed at the table and said, ‘We need to finish this game first.’

With ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ blasting through the room, it took me less than five minutes to sink the rest of my balls. The crowd let out an appreciative shout as I walked back to the table and took a long pull on my beer.

Bree swung out her mug in Bryce’s direction, taunting him. ‘Good luck. You’re gonna need it.’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

You Better Grovel

By the grave look on his face, Bryce realized his miscalculation. To his credit, he stepped forward, pulled all the balls out of the pockets and racked them.

‘You break,’ he said like he was being generous.

‘No, you go first. It might be the last shot you get.’