Page 9 of It Happened in Vegas

He choked on a laugh and rolled his eyes. “You made it too easy. Obviously number one.”

“You don’t think I could be an heiress in hiding?” Interesting.

“If you were, then Holly Creek would be a great place to stay for a while.” He finished his main dish, and I had to agree with him. Holly Creek was a great town to hide away from my past. He continued, “Five years of dating disappointment? Now that I can believe. Dating isn’t easy?—”

“Says the man who tried a dating reality show,” I quipped.

“And failed,” he was quick to remind me with a snicker. “As for board games… I can understand that. In this day and age of games on our phones, it’s hard to go back to checkers orMonopoly. Although I happen to be a board game collector. So, I’m going with the hiding heiress as the lie.”

The truth was… each statement held a little of my truth in them. But I wasn’t about to confess how much. I went with his guess. “You’re right. Someday, you get to show me another one of the five wonders of Holly Creek.”

“I love winning.” He winked, as I finished my salad.

“Must have really hurt like hell the night you lost Brewed for Love?” I recalled how the cameras focused on the tears in his eyes back then during the interview in the car ride after he lost.

Telling by the way his jaw clenched, I struck a nerve.

“Yeah, but honestly, I was more pissed at Starla,” he admitted.

I couldn’t agree more; he had every right to be with the way she caused so much drama on that show. “You should have been with Cassandra in the end, not Starla. Many people online said how you got cheated out of the win. I couldn’t believe the comments on social media the night you lost.”

“That’s all in the past and, sadly, available to rehash online any time. But enough about me.” He shrugged, like it mattered little anymore or else he didn’t want to talk about it. “Let’s talk about how five years is a long time to not have a decent date. Tell me aboutthat.” He leaned his hands back on the boulder, his face tilted toward the sky, tempting the giddy fan inside of me to take in every inch of his profile.

I’d rather not admit to him that eating dinner at a scenic overlook beside him in this small town was better thanallthe dates in my past combined.

I laughed him off instead. “I think we can save dating horror stories for another time.”

“Okay. Noted and I’ll hold you to that. So, what’s your favorite so far? Of my beers, I mean.”

“Honestly? The floral IPA. It’s light, crisp, just the right amount of surprising. I think it’d be an excellent candidate for renaming it to Hoppy Field of Dreams.”

“Are you always this poetic about alcohol?”

“About anything. Especially when it’s reallygood.“

“That being the case, later this week I’ll have you try a new pumpkin spice I’m working on.”

“Perfect. How did you know I’m a fan of pumpkin spice latte and anything fall-related?”

“Lucky guess.” His smile smoldered on me while the sun was on its final descent, the colors in the sky picture-worthy. I shifted my gaze to the horizon before my butterflies jumped out of my stomach and flew away. We sat in silence for a few minutes, the kind that doesn’t press or prod, butfeelslike something. I took some photos of the sunset until it was nothing but a sliver.

“Any regrets about doing Brewed for Love?” I asked.

“None. The money I made and the exposure have helped build my business. I may not have come away with love, but I ended with so much more.” His confidence so appealed, and my stomach flipped again.

Maybe a few months from now, I’d take him and anything he said to me in stride, unaffected by his charm, his scent, his subtle smiles under the whiskers, hell, his entire aura. But being around him, for now, drove my heart wild.

We reached for the pie at the same time. Our hands brushed. The electricity sparking between us shocked me. I gasped.

“Sorry,” I said, pulling back.

“No worries.” He handed me the pie with that same ureadable grin. “We’ll call it a tie.”

I took it, heart thundering. If he was any other man, any other night, this might be a perfect first date. And I’d even let him lean over right now and kiss me, then take me home and doanything to me he wanted. Or I wouldn’t be beyond making the move on him myself.

I’d finally break my five-year record of dating disasters.

But this wasn’t a date. We weren’t taking this thing any further than the mild flirtation it initially was.

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