Page 18 of Bourbon Bliss
I took a sip of my tea and nearly spit it out when the door opened and in walked Bowie. But seeing my sister’s boyfriend was not the cause of my sudden inability to swallow. Right behind him was George.
My eyes widened and I choked down the hot liquid, trying to suppress a cough. Bowie came straight for our table, his sights naturally set on Cassidy. George wandered up to the counter and appeared to be looking at the menu.
He was so tall. I didn’t know why his taller-than-average height kept making such a strong impression on me. But it did. And there were those hands. My eyes lingered on them—on his wide palms and thick fingers. He brought one hand up to his chin and slid his thumb along his jaw. I watched, fascinated, as he rubbed his chin, his attention on the menu above the counter.
With a start, my breath caught in my throat, and I tore my gaze away. He hadn’t seen me. I needed to get out of here.
I scooted my chair back and stood, quickly shouldering my handbag. “I have to go.”
“Don’t leave on my account,” Bowie said. He’d pulled up a chair next to Cassidy and had his hand on her thigh. “I just stopped in for a second. I’m meeting the guys to go fishing.”
“No apologies necessary,” I said, trying to keep my voice low. It took a great deal of willpower not to look at George, but I didn’t want Cassidy or Bowie to notice him. “I have a work commitment and need to leave.”
“Do you want to take your tea to go?” Cassidy asked.
“No.” My heart raced and my palms felt clammy. “I’ll see you both later.”
Apparently I was doing an adequate job of hiding my distress. Cassidy didn’t seem to notice. “All right. We’ll see you tomorrow night?”
“Yes.”
Bowie leaned in and whispered something that made Cassidy giggle. I was exceedingly grateful for his distraction. I risked a glance at George. He was ordering. He’d turn any second and…
And what? See me? Say hello? He had always behaved in a normal fashion. He would probably be friendly. What was wrong with that?
Something. Something was wrong with it, and I didn’t know what, and that made me desperate to leave. I didn’t understand why I was so shaky. My hands trembled, my heart beat too fast, and my belly felt like it was doing somersaults.
Moving quickly, and hugging the far side of the shop, I kept my eyes on the floor and made my way to the door. I didn’t look back to see if George had noticed me. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if our eyes met.
I’d never been so flustered in my entire life. The cold air hit me as I walked outside, soothing my warm cheeks. I took slow, deep breaths as I walked to my car, trying to regain control of myself. What was wrong with me? Was something about George Thompson enough to elicit this dramatic physical response? Was it his fame? His status as one of my preferred athletes that had me so agitated? Or was it something else?
I had no idea.
7
George
The cup of coffee I’d picked up at Yee Haw Yarn and Coffee—this town had the best business names—warmed my hands as I walked up the street. The temperature was up a bit today, as if spring might be finding its way to the mountains out here in West Virginia. Even in town, I could hear birds chirping.
I checked the time. Five oh seven. I had some time to kill before I met Shelby for dinner. Wondered what kind of trouble I could get up to on a Thursday afternoon.
Although, what I really wondered was what June Tucker was doing.
I’d only caught glimpses of her since the rocky road encounter. That was by far my new favorite ice cream flavor. Watching June lick ice cream off a cone? I’d take that any day of the week, thank you very much.
It was fascinating how that brain of hers could hold onto so much information. Who just walked around, living life, storing the origins of rocky road ice cream in her head? She knew my entire career forward and backward, and clearly sports weren’t the only thing she could talk about with a tremendous amount of knowledge.
Sexy as hell, that’s what it was. I’d dated women I’d considered intelligent. But they didn’t hold a candle to June Tucker. She was on another level.
My phone rang, so I pulled it out to answer. It was my assistant, Andrea Wilson.
“Hey, Andrea. What’s up?”
“Hi, GT. Sorry to bug you, but I just have a few things.”
“No problem. How’s Mellow?”
“Mellow? Oh, the rabbit. She’s fine.”
