Page 16 of The Bluffing Game

Get your mind out of the gutter, Sage.

“Come with me to find out.”

He grins, and I am once again reminded that Dalton is a handsome man. Not that it matters. I’ve known handsome men before in my life, and that didn’t stop many of them from being douchebags.

“I don’t like secrets.”

“Sage, why don’t you go with Dalton? I’ll take Rosie to the wine cellar, as she says she would like to be a sommelier one day, and we have an amazing cellar.” Lucia gestures toward the back of the restaurant, and Rosie perks up.

“She’s not lying.” Gracie grabs her bag. Her loose white skirt sways against her ankles as she makes her way toward the kitchen. “If either of you girls wants to learn how to cook, y’all just come back to the kitchen. And, Lucia, just let me know when you’re ready to go over the menus for the week. They had some amazing gourds at the farmers market, and I was thinking of making a butternut squash agnolotti with goat cheese and crispy basil as one of the main courses.”

“That sounds delicious.” I lick my lips. “I would love to know how to make that.”

“You like cooking?” Dalton looks over at me in surprise, which irritates me.

I want to tell him that just because I’m pretty, it doesn’t mean I don’t have any skills. It’s an issue both Rosie and I have had to deal with all our lives—men thinking we’re only good for looking pretty on their arm and taking care of them. We are both intelligent and creative, and we have many other skills, in and out of the bedroom. I want to be appreciated for both.

“I am a good cook actually. What about you?”

“Do you like burned grilled cheese sandwiches and cans of tomato soup?” He grins, cocking his head to the side and shrugging. “Cooking is not one of my skills.”

“What made you want to own a restaurant?” I ask him as we make our way out of the main room and down a small hallway.

We step out onto an oversized patio overlooking the water. Several tables are set with crisp white tablecloths, small vases of hyacinth flowers, and delicate unlit candles. I stroll over to the side and gaze out at the water. Across the other side of the lake is a hill, filled with the most gorgeous mansions, and it takes everything in me to not ooh and aah at how beautiful it is here. I breathe in the light, fragrant smell of jasmine, which runs up a trellis next to the stone wall of the building.

“I never wanted to own a restaurant.” Dalton appears next to me, holding on to the wooden banister. “It was Gracie’s dream, and I wanted to make her dream come true.”

“You bought the restaurant for her?” I ask in surprise, gazing into his steely-blue eyes.

He nods, seemingly thinking about what he’s going to say next. If I could read minds, I would check to see if he was trying to come up with a lie. Which doesn’t make sense. Why would someone want to come up with a lie for a good deed they’d done?

“Just because she wanted one?”

“Among other reasons. What, like that’s a big deal?”

“It is where I come from.”

“And where is that, Sage?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I take a step away from him because his woodsy cologne is drifting up my nose again, and it smells far too familiar. Just like how his eyes radiate far too much warmth, which lands in my stomach.

I don’t even know this man, and he’s already doing something to me. And while he’s good-looking, he’s not the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. And his personality doesn’t seem to be A-plus either.

“What’s on your mind?” His eyes narrow. “Your lips just curled up, like you were thinking about something funny.”

“I don’t think you want to know what I was thinking.”

“You were undressing me in your mind, huh?”

“No! What? Of course not.” I blush a deep red as a ripple of shame, excitement, and denial surfs through my stomach.

“No need to be coy.” He smirks. “I can do the same to you if you want.”

“I do not want, thank you very much.”

“You’re so polite when you’re picturing me naked, Sage.”

“I was not picturing you naked. And if I were, why would I be smiling?” I roll my eyes at him. “I’d be laughing, trust me.”