8

  SAWYER

  “Where’s Mom and Dad?” I ask Nick as I go into the kitchen at my parents’ house. It’s 9:30 and Gina texted that she was on her way over here.

  “They’re out in the barn,” Nick says as he pours himself some coffee. “Why? What do you need?”

  “Their pool table. I need to use it for an hour or two.”

  “You’re here to play pool?” He sips his coffee. “On a Saturday morning?”

  “It’s a competition.” I pause. “With Gina.”

  “Gina Slater?” His brows rise. “What’s that about?”

  “I beat her in a canoe race this morning. She thinks it wasn’t fair because I’m bigger than her so she wants us to play pool to prove she can beat me.” I smile and lean back against the counter. “Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t know how much pool I played back in high school.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself. That was 12 years ago. You’re out of practice.”

  “I’m not out of practice. Jason and I played all the time last winter. And Dad and I play sometimes.”

  “What about Gina? Does she play much?”

  “Not sure. All she said is that her grandfather taught her how to play.”

  “What happens if you win?”

  “I’m having her over for dinner.”

  “Dinner,” Nick says, holding back a smile. “That kind of sounds like a date.”

  “It’s not a date. That’s why we’re eating at my apartment. I don’t want people seeing us out together and thinking it’s a date.”

  “Why are you doing this? I thought you didn’t like her.”

  “I like her. I just don’t want her putting me out of business.”

  “And how does having dinner with her help with that?”

  “You know what they say. Keep your enemies close.”

  “You sure that’s all it is?”

  “Why else would I do it?”

  He laughs to himself, then takes another sip of his coffee.

  “Look who I found,” Mom says, coming into the kitchen. Gina is behind her, wearing black jeans and a tight white t-shirt with a long open cardigan over it in a burgundy color that matches her lipstick. She looks gorgeous, but I’m not going to let her looks distract me from beating her at pool. I need to win so she’ll have dinner with me and hopefully let something slip about how she makes her beer taste better than mine.

  “Hey, Gina,” Nick says, smiling at her. “How were the apples?”

  “Great!” She glances at me. “I might have to get some more before I leave.”

  “Gina said you two are playing pool,” Mom says, eyeing me like she knows I’m up to something. She’s always suspicious of me. I was kind of a troublemaker growing up.

  “It was Gina’s idea,” I say, my gaze going to her. “I told her we had a pool table and she insisted we play.”

  “He doesn’t think I can beat him,” Gina says, staring back at me. “I’m about to prove him wrong.”

  Nick chuckles. “I should get back to work.”

  “I’m just here to get some more coffee,” Mom says, going over to the coffee pot. “Would you two like any?”

  “None for me,” Gina says. “I don’t have much time. I need to get to G’s and work on my hard cider.”

  “Let’s go downstairs,” I tell her.

  “You two have fun!” Mom says as I show Gina to the door that goes to the basement.

  It’s a finished basement that used to be nice, but my brothers and I kind of destroyed it. Growing up, our parents would send us down here to play, which to us meant throwing around a football or baseball, which broke stuff and damaged the walls. Dad repaired the walls but he never replaced the carpet, which is worn and stained from years of use.

  “It’s not great,” I say as Gina looks around the basement, “but it’s good enough for a game of pool.” I walk over to the table and get the balls set up in the rack.

  “I like it. It reminds me of home. My grandfather’s house looked like this.” She laughs a little as she takes off her sweater, setting it on the couch that’s next to the pool table. “He was the typical bachelor. The place would be a mess and he wouldn’t even notice.”

  “Your grandma’s not around?”

  “She died when I was four.” Gina takes a pool cue from the stand. “Do you care which one I use?”

  “Take whichever one you want. If you want to do a practice shot, go ahead.”

  “I don’t need a practice shot.” She chalks her cue stick. “Who goes first?”

  “You can,” I say, grabbing a cue stick.

  “You sure?” She smiles at me. “I might clear the table and win.”

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  She moves around the table, right in front of me, and lines up her shot. She’s leaned down, her ass just inches from me. I don’t know if she did it to distract me, but if she did, it worked. Instead of focusing on the game, I’m staring at her ass in those tight jeans.

  “This might be a quick game,” she says, sounding smug.

  I look up at the table and see she’s sunk three of the striped balls. “Holy shit. How’d you do that?”

  “Weren’t you watching?” She glances back at me and smiles.

  “I was checking my phone,” I say, moving to the other side of the table. I thought it’d be less distracting, but from this angle I can see down her shirt, at her tits peeking out from a lacy pink push-up bra. I swear she did this on purpose. Who dresses that sexy to play pool in someone’s basement on a Saturday morning? I guess it’s just jeans and a t-shirt, but on Gina that’s as sexy as lingerie.

  After two more shots, she’s sunk the rest of her balls and the eight ball. She won. I didn’t even get a chance to beat her.

  She stands up straight and gives me a smug grin. “When do you think you could be over to fix the table?”

  “That’s it? You’re not even going to give me a chance to play?”

  “I won. The game’s over.”

  “C’mon.” I walk over to her. “Just one more game?”

  She pauses a moment, then sighs. “Fine, but if I win, you have to hang the mirror above my dresser along with the pictures and fix the table.”

  “I’m good with that.” I quickly gather up the balls and rack them before she changes her mind.

  “I’ll let you go first this time,” she says, smiling, “so you at least have a chance to play.”

  “It’s you who won’t be playing this time.” I make my shot and the balls scatter across the table. I sink a solid-colored ball, then another.

  “Not bad,” Gina says.

  “I’m just getting started.” I go around the table for my next shot. I sink two more balls, impressed with myself. I haven’t played in a few months, and last time I did I wasn’t very good. I almost came down here to practice before she got here but then decided to just wing it, assuming Gina was overstating her pool skills. Turns out she wasn’t, but if I win this game, we’d be tied and I’d have a chance to break the tie and win.

  “When was this taken?”

  I look up and see Gina holding one of the pictures from the wooden ledge that goes around the basement. My dad installed the ledge for my mom to put pictures on and other decorative stuff.

  “Bring it over. I can’t see it from here.”

  Gina walks over to me, close enough that I can smell her perfume. It’s a light flowery scent and reminds me that I didn’t wear cologne today. I didn’t even think about it. But now I wish I had. Gina’s clearly trying to distract me from the game and I should’ve done the same, although I’m not sure it would’ve worked. She doesn’t seem the least bit interested in me.

  “That’s Jason and me,” I say, looking at the picture. “We were playing baseball. I was probably nine or ten.”

  “You guys were adorable.” She stares at the picture. “You almost look like twins in this picture.”

  “No way. I’m better looking than him.” I turn back to the table to figure out my next shot.

  “How old is Jason?” she asks, putting the picture back.

  “Twenty-eight.” I lean down, assessing my shot from a different angle.

  “Does he have a girlfriend?”

  I glance up at Gina. “No. Why?”

  She shrugs. “I just wondered. What’s he do for a job?”

  “He’s a teacher. High school science, and he’s the baseball coach.”

  “Here in town?”

  “Yeah.” I rise to standing. “Why all the questions about Jason?”

  “No reason. I was just asking about your family. What about your other brother?”

  “Nick? You already met him, and I told you about him.”

  “The younger one.”

  “Brody? What about him?”

  “Is he single?”

  “Yeah. Why are you asking?”

  “I’m just curious.” She has this devious smile on her face that makes me wonder if she’s only asking about my brothers to make me jealous, another ploy to distract me from the game. And I hate to say it, but it’s working. She should be interested in me, not my stupid brothers. Gina and I are the same age and we both own breweries. We have a lot more in common than she does with my brothers.

  I make the next shot. The balls scatter and one almost goes in but stops before it does.

  “My turn,” Gina says, her devious smile now a smug grin as she leans down to the table to take her shot. She gets three of her balls in, then continues to her next shot. I watch in awe as she sinks her remaining balls, ending with the eight ball.

  “Nice job,” I say, truly impressed with her skills.

  “Thanks!” She goes to put her cue stick away. “That was fun!”

  “You sure you don’t want to play again?”

  She puts on her sweater. “I think I’ve beat you enough for today.”

  I walk over to her. “I could’ve won if I’d warmed up a little. I haven’t played in months.”

  “I haven’t played in over a year. So when can you come over?”

  “Tomorrow, if that works. I could be there in the morning.”

  “Tomorrow’s perfect. I don’t have many tools so you’ll need to bring your own.”

  “What time?”

  “Nine, or eight if that’s not too early for you.”

  “It’s not too early. I’ll be there at eight.”

  She turns to leave.

  “I’ll walk you out.” I go up the stairs, following behind her, trying not to check out her ass, but of course I do. She’s got a great ass.

  When we get upstairs, we run into Jason and Brody on their way to the kitchen.

  “What are you doing here?” Jason asks me.

  “Playing pool. Why are you two here?”

  “Nick asked us to help get stuff ready for the festival,” Brody says. “Jason’s painting signs and I’m doing the wood cutouts.”

  Every year we switch out the decorations for the fall festival. We make wood cutouts of cartoon characters and paint them, then set them up by the pumpkin patch. The kids love it and the parents like taking pictures of their kids next to the characters.

  “Why didn’t Nick ask me to help?” I ask.

  “He said you’re too busy with the brewery and getting your hard cider ready.” Jason looks over at Gina. “Hi, I’m Jason.”

  “I’m Gina. I’m a friend of Sawyer’s.”

  “We’re friends?” I kid.

  She shrugs. “I didn’t know what else to call you.”

  “Competitors?” I look over at Jason. “She owns G’s.”

  Jason nods. “The new brewery. I heard you’re getting a lot of business.”

  “It’s slowed down a little since the special ended,” Gina says, “but yeah, we’re still doing well. I’ll be planning some events this fall to keep people coming in.”

  “What events?” I ask.

  She smiles at me. “You think I’d tell that to my competitor?”

  “We should go check it out,” Brody says to Jason.

  “Yeah, maybe tonight.”

  I’m annoyed they want to go there, but I’m not going to tell them that in front of Gina. I don’t want her thinking I can’t handle the competition. May the best man, or woman, win. If I’m not the best, that’s my fault, not hers, assuming we both play fair. I just need to make better beer than her, which I will. I’m determined to.

  “First round’s on me,” Gina says to Jason and Brody. “Just find me when you get there and I’ll get you each a beer.”

  “Will do. Thanks!” Jason says, smiling at her like he wants to date her. It’s not going to happen. If anyone’s going to date her, it’ll be me, but I can’t. She’s my competition. It’s a conflict of interest.

  “We should get going,” I say.

  “It was nice meeting you guys,” Gina says as we leave.

  “You too.” Jason gives her that flirty smile again while Brody heads to the kitchen.

  “Your brothers are nice,” Gina says as we go outside.

  “Not always, but they’re okay.” I notice her black pickup parked next to my car. “Nice truck. Is it new?”

  “It’s a couple years old. It’s my dad’s, but he’s overseas. He lets me have it while he’s gone.”

  “How long is he gone for?”

  “Not sure. He’s in the Army and doesn’t get home much.” She stops at her truck. “So tomorrow morning at eight.”

  “Yeah. Just text me if you need to change the time.” I go around to my car, noticing how tiny it looks next to Gina’s truck. My car is a black BMW convertible. I got it used, but it still cost more than I wanted to spend. I love it, but sometimes I wish I had a truck like Gina’s that I could use when I need to pick up supplies for the brewery. I’m always having to borrow my dad’s truck, which is okay, but not very convenient.

  “Sawyer!” Gina says, rolling her window down.

  “Yeah?”

  “What are you making for dinner?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  “If I’m coming over, I want to know what to expect.”

  “Why would you come over? You won.”

  “So I’m not invited?”

  “You are, but I thought you didn’t want to. Wasn’t that the whole point of winning? So you wouldn’t have to eat dinner with me?”

  “I won because I’m good at pool and because I like winning. But I still have to eat, and my fridge is empty and I won’t have time to go to the store.”

  “So this is out of desperation. You either come over or starve.”

  “Basically, yeah.” She smiles.

  I smile back. “Then I guess I could feed you. Any requests?”

  “Anything but seafood. I’m not a big fan of seafood.”

  “I was thinking steaks.”

  “I’m good with that. Should I bring some beer?”

  “Seriously?”

  She laughs. “See you tonight.” She backs up and drives off.

  What’s going on with her? She wins at pool but still wants to have dinner with me? I don’t know what she’s up to, but I’m not sure I trust her. I’m really starting to like her, but I can’t let that cloud my judgment. She’s still my competitor so I need to be careful around her.

  As I’m driving out of the orchard, I pass a line of cars and minivans waiting to get in. The orchard opened at ten and Saturday is our busiest day. I don’t envy Nick for taking the place over. It’s way more work than my brewery. Growing the apples and maintaining the fields is a job in itself, but then you have all the other activities that take place there—the fall festival, the cider competition, school tours, busloads of tourists stopping by, hayrack rides, and soon weddings. My cousin, Nash, is getting married at the orchard in October and Nick plans to do more weddings there next year. It makes running the brewery seem easy when I think of all that Nick has to do.

  My phone rings as I pull out onto the main road. I see Maci’s name on the screen and pick up.

  “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Good,” she says in her sexy voice. “What are you up to tonight?”

  “Gotta work. Why?”

  “I thought I’d come by your place tonight and keep you company after you close.”

  Maci and I have been out a few times. It’s nothing serious and never will be. On our first date she told me she didn’t want to be exclusive with anyone because she wasn’t ready to settle down. I was fine with that. I don’t have time to be in a serious relationship. I’d like to settle down, but not until I’ve got the brewery successful enough that I don’t have to worry about it closing.

  “I can’t tonight,” I say. “But maybe some other night.”

  “What’s wrong with tonight? Did you already make plans?”

  “Tonight just doesn’t work. I’ll call you later this week.”

  “Um, okay. Bye.” She sounds disappointed, but she shouldn’t be. We agreed to keep this casual. It was her idea. And I already made plans with Gina. I’m still shocked she agreed to come over, especially late at night, when things tend to happen. I don’t think anything will, but I’d like it to. When I’m around her I keep getting the urge to kiss her, but I know I can’t.

  I need to keep my relationship with Gina strictly professional. Maybe we could be friends, but only casual friends. I can’t confide in her, and I can’t let my guard down. I need to remember that tonight and not be distracted by those beautiful brown eyes or those huge tits or that round little ass.

  Shit, I’m in trouble.

  9

  GINA

  “What time are you leaving?” Lexi asks as she waits for me to fill a glass from the tap.

  “In a few minutes.” I hand her the glass. She adds it to her tray, then takes off to a table with four guys.

  “You said you were leaving ten minutes ago.” Aria comes up beside me as I wipe down the counter. “Just go. I can finish up here.”