Page 57 of A Ballad of Betrayal and Beauty

“Is that okay?” I ask over the noise.

She nods. “I’m used to loud.”

“What size are your feet?” I ask.

She looks down and back up. “What? Why?”

“Because I was hoping I could try on those heels.”

She blinks, but then I smirk and she playfully pushes my shoulder. “Ha-ha, very funny.”

“When you bowl, you have to wear special shoes. No fancy heels on the lanes, I’m afraid,” I say, jerking my head toward the other patrons.

Her lips part. “Oh. Umm . . . well, I usually wear a size nine.”

I hold up a finger to signal the bored teenager behind the counter. “Ladies size nine and men’s size twelve.”

After paying for the shoes and the lane, I tuck my wallet back into my back pocket to find her staring at me with a smile. “What?” I ask.

“Size twelve, huh?”

I grin widely and grab the shoes off the counter. “It bodes well for me that that impresses you.”

“Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet.”

“Big bowling shoes?” I ask.

She chuckles. “Something like that.”

“They may not be stylish,” she says after she’s slipped her feet in, “but at least I’m less likely to have a wipe-out in these.”

“If you were allowed to wear them, I’m sure you’d crush in heels.”

I pull up the screen for score keeping and make a sudden discovery.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, sensing the change on my face.

“Moment of truth,” I say with mock seriousness. “I’m going to need to know your name.”

She tucks her chin to her shoulder. “I thought you were going to guess it.”

She wants to play, huh? I can do that. “All right then, Red,” I say, punching in the three letters as a placeholder. “Ten questions to guess your name.”

Her mouth twists. “And what do I get if you guess wrong?”

“What do you want?”

After tipping her head back and forth for a few seconds, she says, “Pizza.”

“And what do I get?” I ask.

“You get to know my name.”

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” I counter.

“Okay,” she says, leaning over the console between us. “I’ll sweeten the deal. You guess my name right after ten questions and . . .” She turns to make sure no one’s listening in and curls her finger to pull me in closer. “I’ll give you a preview of what I do at my job.”

I swallow hard as her breathy voice tickles my ear and causes shivers to race down my spine, hitting me right in the groin. Fuck, she’s sexy. I can see why guys would pay to listen to her on the phone for hours at a time. Unbelievable.

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