Page 75 of Bourbon and Lies

“Jesus,” Ace mumbles, trying to brush off how much Hadley gets to him lately.

“Your brother really has no sense of humor,” she says as she loops her arm in mine. “Lincoln, I need you to get me a bottle from the bar downstairs.”

I smile at her. Hadley is one of the few people who can make me laugh, no matter what. And it’s usually at Ace’s expense. “You’re an instigator. You know that shit pisses him off.”

She waves her hand in the air. “People only get mad when stuff hits too close to home.” Her eyes widen dramatically. “Do you think your brother is into daddy kink?”

“Hads, I don’t want to think about what my brother is into.”

Poking my chest, she smirks. “But I know what, or rather who, I should say, you’ve been getting into.”

Laney watches as we get closer to the bar, pouring out whatever she was shaking up and twisting a lemon rind as garnish. I leave Hadley’s statement unanswered, so she pats my chest and moves on toward the poker game happening behind me, where I hear her taunt, “Ace, it might be your birthday, but you’re going to lose all your money tonight.”

I get a full look at what Laney’s wearing, and I’ll be honest, it’s easily hitting epic fantasy levels with this woman. She looks like a vintage pin-up girl meets a modern-day goddess. Her top was just the start, the way it teases what she’s working with, but her legs are strong and thick. I regret not leaving my mark somewhere near that too-short seam of her black shorts.

With a smirk, I crook my finger for her to come closer. She smiles and quickly peeks around to see who’s looking.

I’m hoping it’s just about everyone in here.

“What’ll you have, cowboy?” she asks. But instead of my drink order, when she’s close enough, I lean over the bar, tip her chin with my pointer finger, and kiss her lips. Light and sweet. Just enough to tell her I have no problem with who sees it. Pulling back slowly, her eyes find mine right away.

“Bourbon neat, honey.”

She gives me a coy smile, knowing that there was nothing discreet about that. She turns back toward the row of bourbon, and I enjoy taking her in up close. The softness of her touch and the bite of her wit is really the only thing I want to drink in tonight. But bourbon will have to do while I wait.

Hadley comes up to the bar within the next few seconds, her gaze flicking to my brother. “Linc! Where’s that bottle I asked for?”

Laney laughs as she comes back with a bottle of Foxx and gives me a healthy pour. “I’ll grab it, Hadley. I need to run to the ladies’ room anyway.”

“How long?” Linc asks me. If it wasn’t for Hadley shouting his name, I would’ve forgotten he’s right beside me.

Hadley stays in her spot and listens for the answer.

“4th of July.”

Holding out her hand to Lincoln, she says, “Pay up. I told you it was new.”

“You had insider information,” he says, pulling out his wallet.

He pulls out five crisp, one-hundred-dollar bills. “You made a bet?”

“Just about how long we thought it’d take for you to see it. I thought for sure it was right after we went to the river with Lily and Lark. The way you shot daggers at me when I was pushing her on that tire swing...” He laughs. “Fucking priceless.”

I glance around the room for her. The poker table is rowdy as one of the guys decides to put my brother all in as soon as he is dealt. I smile, thinking about how Laney would likely give them a run for their money. It takes three more hands before Lincoln loses his chips, but instead of making a big deal about it, he yells out, “Alright, I’m too old for shots, but Hadley, let's break open that bottle of Pappy you’ve been keeping for me.”

Looking back toward the bar, I realize Laney’s still not back. Maybe she got caught up helping someone downstairs, but it’swhen my gut tells me something might be wrong that I’m talking over my brother and interrupting. “Hads, did Laney come back up yet?”

“No. Can you go find?—”

I’m already through the double doors and heading for the stairs. In the main room, a jazz singer croons something old and romantic over the sound system, and I scan behind the bar to see if I spot her. Nothing. When I come down the stairs and look down past the ladies’ room, that’s when I hear her.

“You lied to me,” she shouts. I walk closer to where she’s standing. A man only slightly taller than me is in front of her.Who the fuck is this guy?He’s leaner, so if I need to, I can easily muscle him out of here.

Her eyes catch mine and the small shake of her head has me slowing down as I take another step. Turning, he looks over his shoulder. “Who the hell is that, Laney?”

Eyebrows furrowing, her nose scrunches. “You have no right asking. We’re not anything to each other, Phillip.”

Fucking Phillip.

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