Second Chance at the Orchard Inn, page 28
Devin straightened, pulling away from her so fast, she had to catch herself from falling over.
Apparently, playing the part of the football tonight, Bryce came over holding one measly dish, which he popped—still caked in drying potatoes—straight into the dishwasher. Struggling not to let on how flustered she was by the unwelcome interruption, Zoe plucked it out and set it in the sink, shooting him a glare.
“Thank you, Mr. Horton,” Arthur said delicately as he hauled a crate in and set it on the counter. He caught Zoe’s gaze, and she huffed out a breath.
Bryce’s dad was the mayor. The town gave Harvest Home a bunch of money and support every year. She would do well to remember it.
But wasn’t that just how a jerk like Bryce got so…jerk-y? Everyone giving him a free pass because his father was a powerful guy?
She glanced at Devin. How did he do it? Constantly keeping a lid on himself when the guy kept asking to get punched in the face?
Before she could suss it out, a few more of the Meyer Construction volunteers came in with the last of the supper service cleanup.
Bryce gawked at the towering piles of dishes. “How are we supposed to get all this done? Some of us have places to be tonight.” Winking, he elbowed one of the other guys, who subtly moved to put more distance between them. Not that Bryce noticed. With a leering smirk and a waggle of his phone, he added, “If you know what I mean.”
Devin exhaled roughly. He threw his shoulders back. Instead of answering Bryce, he looked around and held his hands out expansively. “With a crew like this? We all pitch in and we’ll have it done in no time.”
“Uh-huh.” Bryce kept scrolling on his phone.
“What do you say we put a little wager on it?” Devin’s smile rippled with challenge. “We get out of here within the hour, and the first round at the bar is on me.”
Chapter Five
This was going to cost Devin a small fortune.
It was worth it, though. At the hour mark, pretty nearly on the dot, his team had put the last clean pan on its shelf. The fact that Arthur, Sherry, Tania, and Zoe had thrown their backs into it, too, had helped a ton. Heck, even Bryce had cleaned a few tables. Free drinks were some powerful motivation.
Powerful, expensive motivation.
As the last guy put in his order, Clay whistled, punching in the numbers on the register.
“This sure seems like a nightmare for the bookkeeping,” Devin tried in vain. “You should probably just give them to me for free.”
“Nice try.” Clay printed off the bill and handed it to Devin. “You wanna settle up now or start a tab?”
“Settle up now.” Passing over his debit card, Devin eyed Bryce, who was standing by the pool table in the corner. Devin had promised the first round, and he was going to see it through, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for anyone to try to turn it into two.
“Good choice.”
He signed the slip, then joined the rest of his crew. He tried to pay attention to what they were saying, but his gaze kept drifting to the table in the corner where Zoe sat with Arthur, Sherry, and Tania. All four of them had been only too happy to take him up on the free drink offer, too, and he was happy to have them.
Probably too happy.
Working side by side with Zoe tonight had been an eye-opening experience. While her sexy waitress outfit had bowled him over the other day, this afternoon it had been her maturity—the way she’d known how to handle every situation that arose as they’d cooked and served. Even now, while he and his buddies from work stood around, shooting pool and playing darts and talking about yesterday’s game, she was engaged in what looked like a deep conversation with Arthur, Sherry, and Tania. They regarded her with all the respect she deserved. Which he was starting to realize was a heck of a lot.
She’d really rolled up her sleeves tonight. She knew Harvest Home as well as he did, and despite mostly working in the front office, she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Her eyes went all soft when she talked about the place, too. She might be the only person besides him and Arthur who understood it for the miracle it was.
She was funny and smart and beautiful and…
He cut off his train of thought before it could pull any farther out of the station. Jerking his gaze away from her mouth as she laughed at something Tania was saying, he took a big gulp of his beer.
Han wasn’t here tonight, but the two of them had been friends for so long that the guy lived rent-free in his head. If anybody else was staring at Zoe the way Devin had been just now, Han would’ve been ready to deck him. Devin wasn’t some dirtbag trying to get a peek up her skirt, but he needed to do a better job keeping his eyes to himself.
Before too long, Bryce gave one of the other guys a noogie before sauntering Devin’s way. Devin crossed his arms over his chest, but his body language wasn’t enough to keep Bryce from coming over and slapping him on the biceps.
“See you tomorrow, boss.” He said it like an insult, but Devin wasn’t going to take it that way.
“Bright and early.”
The instant Bryce was gone, it was like someone had undone one of the knots in Devin’s back. A few others filtered out not long after, and he thanked them each for coming out and giving a part of their day to volunteer.
Eventually, he and what was left of his crew drifted toward the pool table. They played a couple of rounds, but it was tough to focus. Every time he lined up a shot, he either had to face Zoe or put his back to her, and he had to get this under control. Being this aware of her wasn’t right.
But it did give him a heads-up when she and the others started to gather their things.
Arthur was the one to approach first and clear his throat. Devin turned to find him jacket in hand.
Arthur clapped him firmly on the shoulder. “Good work tonight, Devin.”
“Anytime.” Then he remembered how Arthur had somehow managed to get him to agree to find a crew for this afternoon without his even fully realizing he’d committed until it was too late. “I mean, not any time, but…”
“I know what you mean.”
Devin nodded at Sherry and Tania, who stood behind Arthur, clearly ready to go, too. “Glad you all could come out.”
Tania grinned. “Any time you feel like footing the bill, you let us know.”
They said their goodbyes, and the three of them made for the exit.
Which left Zoe. He scrunched his brows together. She wouldn’t have just snuck out, would she? He would have noticed.
“Boo,” she said from just behind him, poking his shoulder.
He didn’t jump, but it was a near thing.
“Oh, hey.” His voice came out rough. God, she smelled good. She was doing that thing again, getting up in his space, but unlike the other day, it didn’t feel forced or unnatural. It felt like where she was supposed to be. Half hopeful and half ready to be disappointed, he asked, “You taking off, too?”
She had her flannel shirt draped over her arm and her bag slung across one shoulder, but there wasn’t any sign of her keys. She cocked a brow and glanced behind him. “Actually, I was about to call winner.”
Oh.
Oh, okay. This he remembered.
Devin and Han and some of the other guys used to play pool in Arthur’s basement, days they couldn’t mess around outside. Zoe would hang out there, too, and of course they couldn’t tell Arthur’s niece to scram. They only ever let her play if they needed an even number for a team. She was short and she scratched half her shots, and when she called winner, everybody had to pretend not to groan.
Unconsciously, he flicked his gaze over her form. His throat bobbed.
She was still short, but the confidence in her expression told him she’d learned a couple of things since she was twelve.
It was late. He should probably tell her he was just wrapping up here and ready to call it a night. If he was serious about not jeopardizing his friendship with Han, spending more time with his baby sister was not a smart strategy.
But there was something about the challenge in her eyes that was too enticing to resist.
For old times’ sake…
Before he could second-guess himself any further, he lifted a brow to match hers. Without a word, he turned. He surveyed the table. His team was in good shape—just the eight ball left to sink, while stripes had three balls on the table. Sucking in a deep breath, he pointed toward the corner pocket.
He could feel her behind him as he lined up his shot. His skin tingled with awareness, but his vision went sharp. He pulled his cue back and nudged it forward, once, then twice.
The cue ball went spinning off across the felt, straight as an arrow. It rebounded, narrowly missing the ten before smacking straight into the eight. The eight shot toward the corner pocket, where it hovered for half a second on the edge before sinking right in.
He couldn’t have done it better if he’d tried.
His partner held out his hand, and Devin slapped their palms together. He nodded at the guys he’d beaten. They shook their heads, but they took it just fine. He grabbed his beer and swallowed the last of it down.
Then he turned. He met Zoe’s gaze again, and the heat in it went straight to the center of him.
“You want winner?” he asked, throat raw.
Her head bobbed up and down, her pretty pink mouth parted just the tiniest bit.
“Well.” He swallowed deeply. This was a monumentally stupid idea. But he was in it now. “What’re you waiting for?”
Zoe was seriously starting to lose track of who was egging on who. After she’d called winner, the other guys Devin had been playing with decided to head out. At least one of them had shot him a knowing look. Another had patted him on the back and winked at her. She’d rolled her eyes and sent them on their way.
Was the tension between them as obvious to the people around them as it was to her? If so, it was a good thing her brother wasn’t around. She glanced toward the bar. Clay didn’t seem to be paying them any attention. His girlfriend, June, had shown up a little while ago with her friends Caitlin and Bobbi, and between pouring drinks for everyone and chatting with them, he had his hands full.
Zoe still didn’t completely trust him not to rat her out to Han—intentionally or otherwise.
Whatever. All along, she’d said her brother should mind his own business. She was a grown woman, and she could do as she pleased.
And at the moment, what she wanted to do was Devin.
Only it wasn’t quite that simple anymore, was it? Her advances had sort of been a lark at the beginning, but after spending time talking to him while cleaning up tonight, she was starting to wonder if there might be more between them than simple attraction. This wasn’t a schoolgirl crush, and it wasn’t leading to just a single night of fun.
As to what it was leading to?
Little sparklers fired off inside her. She’d love to have the chance to find out.
After she schooled him at pool.
She took a second to select a cue and chalk the tip as he went ahead and racked the balls. The sight of him in those jeans had her sucking her bottom lip between her teeth.
The guy was really just unfairly handsome, with that golden tan skin and clear blue eyes. The short-cropped hair that shone under the hanging lights and the scruff on his deliciously sharp jaw.
He smiled at her and gestured toward the table. “You wanna break?”
“Be my guest.” That had been her plan, right? Getting him to break.
He grabbed his cue from where he’d leaned it. He set the cue ball down just to the right of center, leaned over, and lined up. She let her gaze move over his entire body as his muscles tensed.
With a sudden surge of motion, he fired off his shot. The crack of the cue ball hitting the one dead center rang out through the air. Balls scattered everywhere, while the cue ball spun in the middle of the table before coming to a halt.
“Nice.”
He winked. “I’ve been practicing a bit.”
Oh, she liked him like this. She’d always appreciated his serious side, but seeing him loose and playful and—dare she say flirty? It warmed her insides, even as it ratcheted up nervous anticipation about where this evening was going.
He called a shot and made it with ease. He sank two more before finally missing.
Zoe gripped her cue more tightly as she walked the perimeter of the table. Devin’s gaze on her was distracting as hell, but she kept her focus.
He might have missed, but he’d done a good job setting her up for failure. Nice to know he wasn’t going easy on her. She finally selected her shot and grabbed a bridge off the rack.
“You don’t need that,” Devin told her.
“Speak for yourself, tall person.”
“Seriously.” Then he was there, wrapping his hand around hers. “May I?”
Heat zipped up her arm. His warm scent surrounded her, and she got dizzy for a second, having him so close.
Which was her only explanation for why she let him take the bridge away. He guided her to the other edge of the table. She lined up her shot, and sure, she was closer to the ball now, but she didn’t love the angles.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, ready to stand and go back to her original plan, but he stopped her.
“Let me show you?” he asked.
Her whole body locked down as he stepped up behind her. He was so hot, bracketing her frame. His height swamped her, making it hard for her to breathe, and she was going to die before she even so much as managed to seduce him.
“See?” he asked.
Did he know what he was doing to her? She clenched down inside against a powerful wave of desire.
But he was still talking about pool. He placed his hand over hers on the felt, realigning her shot a few degrees to the left. Her breath caught.
Seriously. She was Going. To. Die.
She hovered there for just a second, soaking in the feeling of his body blanketing her, fluttering her eyes shut to bask in his closeness.
But as good as it felt—and as much as she never wanted to move again, ever in her life—she couldn’t stand there and take a crummy shot just because a hot guy was scrambling her brains.
Carefully, she stood up again. He moved with her. She glanced at him over her shoulder, and his face was inches from hers, his kissable mouth right there.
She stepped away. She got the bridge down from the rack. Her face flushed hot as she set up her original shot again. If she missed, she was going to feel like twice the idiot now, but she knew herself, dammit all. She knew her own mind, and she knew her body and her abilities.
No guy was going to waltz in out of nowhere and try to tell her differently before he’d even seen her play.
She ignored the pressure of his gaze. Then, with a breath and a prayer, she pulled the cue stick back.
The ball careened forward, banking off the far rail before heading straight for the nine. Everything in her tightened as the nine rolled toward the side pocket, slower than she would have liked. It hovered on the edge for an agonizing instant.
And then it tipped right on in.
She wanted to shout and scream—maybe jump and dance. As it was, she restricted herself to a single pump of her fist before locking her gaze with Devin’s.
“Watch out,” she told him, breathless—and not just from the score. “I’ve been practicing, too.”
Chapter Six
Okay, for real, though, where did you learn to play like that?”
Zoe laughed as she braced her elbow against the bar. Devin settled onto the stool beside hers. His knee rested against hers, and she shivered.
They’d been getting closer and closer all evening. She wasn’t complaining, but there was a tension inside her chest. This didn’t seem like it could last. A half dozen games of pool and almost as many drinks between the two of them had them both loose-limbed and happy. After their last match, when someone else had asked them for the table, she’d kind of expected him to call it a night. It was late, after all. But when she’d started making her way over to the bar, figuring she’d check in with Clay before heading out herself, Devin had come on over, too.
Now here they were. Sitting together, fresh drinks in hand.
Zoe shrugged and took a sip of her cosmo. “There was a pool table in the basement of my dorm my first year of college.”
“And a shark there to teach you all?”
“Don’t underestimate bored teenage girls trying to avoid writing term papers.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.”
She stirred her drink, probably a little too forcefully. “Turns out, hustling pool is one of the most useful things I learned at school.”
“Oh?”
“I mean…” Releasing the tiny straw, she gestured around. She couldn’t quite keep the sour note out of her tone. “See how far that degree has gotten me?”
“I don’t know. Doesn’t seem so bad.”
She shook her head. “Try telling that to everyone else.”
“You mean your mom?”
“Among other people. Han and Lian don’t seem super impressed, either.” Sighing, she looked away, to the bottles of liquor on the shelf, the taps, the specials she’d written on the big black board the day before. “I mean, I had a great time at college—don’t get me wrong. But the whole grand compromise of it all—me going so far away, to a school that cost so much…” Even with aid and a bunch of money from her mom, she was going to be paying off loans forever. “Mom let me follow my dream, but she hammered home that if I didn’t pick something practical, I’d end up penniless in a gutter somewhere.”
“And that’s how you ended up going into accounting?” Devin asked, leaning his elbow on the bar.
“Pretty much.” She pinched the little straw from her drink again and stabbed at an ice cube. “I’m good at math, and after the first year, none of the courses were before noon. Seemed like a good deal at the time.”
“What if you could do it all over again? Without your mom hanging over your shoulder. Would you pick something different?”
The question barely computed. Zoe’s parents had always had strong opinions about her life. After her dad had died, her mom had become even more aggressive in trying to control Zoe’s future. She’d clearly been grieving. Zoe had been, too. She’d fought back about some things, but on others, she got worn down and just got used to going along.
