Page 41 of The Art of Falling in Love with Your Enemy
Brett, who is already up on his feet, flings the door open, scaring Tuck out of his skin. Once the panic washes away from Tuck’s face, the two men shake hands, Brett making sure Tuck has a libation as well before he and Lane turn to the dartboard.
Tuck nods his head in the direction of the dartboard. “We gonna play a game later?”
“Calm down,” I mutter, laughing. “I’m worn out from the retreat. I don’t know if I have any competitive edge in my system.”
Tuck laughs. “You’re gonna need all the competitive edge you can get now that you’ve taken my bet.”
“What bet?” Dubs asks.
Tuck takes a swig of his beer before speaking. “I bet Zac he couldn’t seal the deal with a certain wild child who doesn’t seem to have a good taste in her mouth when it comes to my brother.”
“Actually…” I hold a finger up, wanting to prove him wrong. “We made progress this week. We were stuck at adult camp together overnight and I made the most of it.”
Did that last part come out of my mouth sounding a little gross? If I had to judge it off the look Dubs gives me, it’s more than gross.
“You’d best be careful.” Dubs’s Southern drawl is more pronounced than usual. “She’s one special lady, and if you break her heart, you’re gonna have a few people to answer to, you got that?”
Holding up my hands in surrender, I shake my head apologetically. “Hey, I do not plan on breaking anyone’s heart.”
“You just want to win the baseball card, right?”
As Tuck says the words, Dubs’s right eye twitches. “You made a bet, using Etta, for a baseball card?”
Yeah. It sounds bad. Real bad. I hold my hands out to my sides. “Kind of?”
The disappointment reflected in Dubs’s expression pierces my heart. “You’d better tell me it’s not about just a card.”
“It really isn’t. I mean, with him”—I nod my head toward my brother—“it is, because I want that card from him.”
Dubs crosses his arms in front of him. “How does that make it any better?”
“Well, for me,” I say, my voice a little lower, “I guess it’s motivation so I step up.”
Dubs tilts his head to one side. “Step up?”
“To ask her out. In a weird way it gave me more confidence to ask her on a date.”
Dubs looks at me thoughtfully. “Etta’s been scary lately, it’s okay. You can say it.”
I shrug. “I get the feeling she’s not usually like this. In fact, she’s mentioned it, too.”
“I like that woman. She’s put a lot on the line to move down here to be with her family. The Etta I met through her brother is kind, giving, has an open heart, and would give you the last dollar in her wallet if you needed it.” Dubs shakes his head. “Ever since that lawsuit landed on her front step, she’s been a bit more irritable than usual.”
I nod in agreement. “I met her ex.”
“And?”
“Not impressed.”
“Good.” Dubs sits closer to me, tossing an arm around my shoulders as someone else’s phone goes off in the room. “Glad we understand each other.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Snapping my head to see what the commotion is, I find Lane staring at the phone in his hands, shaking his head. He looks up, his eyes finding mine, and motions for me to come over. I’m across the room and by his side in a few strides, peering over his shoulder at the screen.
It’s an email from the state. The kind of email that is akin to a “Dear John” letter. A government “it’s not you, it’s us” excuse.
“What’s up?” Dubs asks, flanked by an equally confused Tuck and Brett.
