Page 35 of Bourbon and Lies

“Gentlemen, thank you for the game.” She looks back at me, not breaking eye contact, and,fuck, do I feel it everywhere. Like a current that’s just been flipped on, and it’s rearing for more. “And your company. It means more to me than you know to have some fun for a little while.” Del pays out her winnings as Marcus gathers the chips and organizes them back in his case. “Excuse me for a moment.”

A few minutes later, Laney returns from the ladies’ room. “Marla,” Del calls out in the almost empty restaurant. “Can we settle up the bill?”

She shouts back, “All set. It’s been covered.”

We all zero in on Laney. None of us expected it. And in one small, selfless move, the little liar may have just made friends for life with these guys. Getting their asses handed to them by anunsuspecting womanandgetting their dinner and drinks paid for, she’s going to be all they talk about for weeks.

“Mind giving me a ride?”

“You walked?” It’s at least a three-mile hike from our house to the center of town.

“I like walking. Helps clear my head and explore Fiasco at the same time.” She moves to pick up her bag, but I beat her to it.

“Feels like you bought out the whole store.” Dropping the bags in the bed of my truck, I move around to open her door.

“I got paid today.” She smiles proudly. “Even before I took all your money.” As she hops in the cab of the truck, my eyes follow her ass hitting the seat. I clear my throat and shut her door, telling myself to calm the fuck down.

The rest of the quick ride is silent. Between the flirting and unanswered questions, I’m all over the place with how I should be around her. It felt wrong to try to romance the truth out of her, but I want to know what the hell she’s doing in Fiasco. “Stay right there for me,” I say, hopping out of my side.

I open her door and she gives me a questioning look. “You wanted me to stay right there so you could open my door for me? That’s a real thing?”

“Yeah, Laney, that’s a real thing.”

She slides down, and I take an immediate step back. If I stand too close, I’ll do something stupid like close the distance and kiss that pretty fucking mouth of hers.

Looking up at me, those blue eyes meet mine, and I swear they sparkle. “Have a nightcap with me?”

I don’t know why it catches me off guard. It’s one thing to flirt and push, but to step up and take what I want...I don’t know what the right call is here. I haven’t been with anyone in this long for a reason. “I...um...” I stutter out as we grab her bags out of the truck.

“It’s okay if you’d rather not. I won’t hold it against you,” she says playfully, with a smirk.

Fuck, what am I doing?

She’s exactly the kind of woman I’d want if I thought being in a relationship wouldn’t end up in a flaming disaster. We would be fucking fire together; there’s no doubt about that. The skin along her neck flutters with her rapid pulse. Her red lips slightly part and I think about all of the things I’d like to have glide along them. Yeah, she’d probably be the best I would ever have. But I wouldn’t be satisfied with just fucking her. And that’s the problem. I’ve been ignoring the way I can’t stop myself from looking for her in the mornings, then at the distillery, and glancing to see if her light is off before I go to bed. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what brought her here. Or the way I’m going to be pissed off if she’s not okay and in real trouble.

She looks down at her fidgeting fingers before she lifts her chin and steps a little closer. “I know a nightcap could mean a lot of things, so let me make it clear for you, Grant.”

Shuffling closer, the dirt and gravel shifting under her feet makes the move sound as loud as it feels. “I’m starting to like you. But whenever I’m around you, I can’t figure out if you’re trying to catch me in a lie or eye-fucking me.”

I bark out a laugh, squinting one eye. “If it’s both?”

It’s the truth. She pulls in a deep breath, her chest rising slowly. “Alright. I’d like to be friends, then.” But it’s the way she exhales and forces a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes that has me hating the idea offriendseven more. “What do you say?”

I shake my head no and grind down on my teeth. What I really want and the smart move here are wildly different things. “I don’t need any more friends, Laney.” Taking a small step back, I clear my throat. Keeping some distance is the right call. I need to pump the brakes. I rub at the back of my neck, and when Ilook back at her, she’s biting her lip like she’s stopping herself from laughing.

I tilt my head to the side. “That's amusing?”

“Do you know how I beat you at that poker game?” Her grin grows into a full-blown smile as she starts walking back toward her cottage.

I wait for her to say more, but she keeps stepping backwards, that smile never faltering. She’s looking at me like she’s got me all figured out.

“Are you going to tell me?” I shout, since she’s almost to her front porch.

“I can tell when you’re lying, Grant Foxx,” she shouts back.

The distance between us is wider now, yet the pull between us feels like it’s growing stronger.

A smirk tugs at my lips at the way she’s so impressed with herself. “Is that right?”

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