Killian had already secured a pool table on the other side of the room. With an awkward wave of her fingers, Zoey scurried over to the dubious safety of Lana’s cousin and his acquaintances. Lana followed, a knowing look on her face. Slipping an arm through Zoey’s, Lana glanced over her shoulder at Graham.
“Good luck to you in your evening endeavors?” Her eyebrow rose.
“Shut up.” Zoey all but dragged Lana toward their newly acquired table. “I didn’t know what to say.”
“How about ‘the pool table looks nice and sturdy, but let’s check to make sure before my vagina gives up all hope, withers, and dies’?”
“You don’t get to voice my vagina’s opinions,” she hissed.
“Free that speech, love.”
“You’re actually the worst human being I’ve ever met. You know that, right?”
Lana’s laugh pulled the few eyes that weren’t already following them. At least Zoey knew their attention was firmly on her friend and not herself. No one ever managed to stand next to Lana Montgomery and be noticed.
“Who’s that guy?”
Curious, Killian lifted his chin slightly to indicate the table of Graham and his friends.
“He’s a long story.” Zoey picked up a cue stick. “Okay, boys, you might as well get comfortable. It’s my break.”
* * *
“I don’t like that guy.”
Graham didn’t know who the man was who’d accompanied L and the Zo-ster into the pool hall, but he had that look.
The look. The pinched nose, squinty eye, chin to the ceiling, stick rammed super far up the ass look Moose Springs residents got drunk and made fun of every time they were together. Was it too much to ask to have one night, just one single night, without being overrun by the rich and infamous? Wasn’t that why he kicked all his customers out early?
“What’s she doing with them anyway?”
Ash raised a dubious eyebrow. “She looks like she knows them. Why do you care?”
“I don’t.”
She snorted, shaking her head.
“I mean. Just look at him,” Graham continued. “Five bucks he goes in for the ‘Here, baby, let me show you how to shoot’ routine.”
“I don’t care,” Ash reminded him as she missed her shot. “Easton, do you care?”
A grunt of reply was muffled by the beer stein against Easton’s mouth. “Nope.” Draining half the beer in one long swig, Easton set it down, wiped his mouth free of foam with the back of his hand, and grunted again. “But he does.”
The language of Easton was deep, multifaceted, and consisted of varying intonations on the same guttural noise. Being fluent in Easton had saved Graham a lot of trouble having to actually communicate in words. Still…
“There he goes. Lean in, let me help… That’s right, send that jerk packing, Zoey. You don’t need him. Use that stick if you have to. You’re not above a solid groin shot.”
“It’s your turn,” Ash reminded him.
“Yeah, I know.” Grabbing a cue chalk, Graham ran it over the end of his cue more times than necessary, grinding the chalk down with a squeaking noise. “Do you think she actually likes him? Because she looks annoyed to me.”
“Really? You seem like the type to totally miss female annoyance.” A boot kicked him in the back of the calf. “It’s your turn.”
“Oww. What’s with all the violence lately?” Limping over to the far side of the table, Graham haphazardly bent over and missed his shot. “I should go over there.”
“And say what?”
“I don’t know. Hey, Ash, did you know moose can become zombies?”
Ash sighed the sigh of someone on their last nerve. “There are literally no words for what’s wrong with you.”
“Did you see that? He just offered her a drink. What a schmuck. She clearly doesn’t like him, which is to be expected. The Zo has discerning taste.”
“You know this from—?”
“Breakfast. And one accidental encounter where she thought I was going to murder her. What’s this jerk’s problem? I really should go over there.”
As he started to move, Easton reached out a hand and clamped it down on Graham’s shoulder. “Stop picking fights with the tourists,” Easton rumbled. “Jonah said the next time he gets called, he’s going to charge you with assault. No more warnings.”
“It’s fine. I’ll let him have the first swing.”
“Why are the pretty ones so stupid?” With another, more expressive sigh, Ash rounded the table. “What exactly will you accomplish by doing this?”
Graham didn’t know. But as the rich son of a bitch put his hand on her shoulder, he decided Zoey Caldwell might be worth it.
* * *
Zoey wasn’t sure what had caught Killian’s attention, but from the moment she returned to their pool table, he was laser focused on her. At least he wasn’t trying to “teach” her how to play a game she was better at than he was. That would have been beyond annoying. Instead, Killian kept leaning in as if to impart wisdom and murmuring jokes to make her miss her shots. So far, Zoey had indulged his antics, if more for Lana’s sake than anything. After all, this was the second-rated Killian of the family, and by his self-deprecating humor, he knew it. Still, Zoey took her pool seriously. And seriously, if the others around her would drink a little less and focus on their game a little more, she wouldn’t be cleaning the table with them.
In between calls for more shots, Enzo and Haleigh showing far too much of their mutual enjoyment of each other’s company, and Lana’s constant tapping at her phone while standing in other players’ ways, they were making quite the spectacle of themselves.
“So, Zoey.” Killian glanced at her. “Tell me something about you.”
“Oh. Umm. I’m not very interesting.”
Actually, Zoey thought she was at least adequately interesting, but she didn’t want Killian to get the wrong idea. He was nice enough and attractive when he wasn’t staring into space with bored eyes, a thousand miles away, but not her type. Zoey wasn’t sure what her type was—her past was filled with an eclectic hodgepodge of the yawn-inducing, a few solid disappointments, and at least two unsavories. But instinct told her Killian was as much her type as she was his. Like the only blueberry muffin at an empty breakfast buffet, it was either her or a plate of cold, soggy bacon.
“Tell me one thing interesting.”
“I can’t ride a horse for shit.”
Barking out a laugh, Killian nudged her pool cue with his elbow right as she lined up her shot. “That makes two of us. My cousin is a genius with the brutes.”
“No! Why don’t I have any battery left?” Letting out a frustrated thump of her heel on the floor, Lana was oblivious to the irritated look from the player behind her, the one who couldn’t line up for their shot. “Ugh, this is ridiculous.”
“Because you’ve been glued to that thing since I arrived?” Killian rolled his eyes, bending over to take his shot. “She’s addicted.”
“She’s work-ing,” Lana singsonged, obediently sidestepping when Zoey pulled her over, mouthing a silent apology to the table behind Lana’s back.
“On her secret project none of us get to know about, but we’re all expected to show up for and donate to.” Haleigh rolled her eyes.
Lana didn’t even glance at her. “Trust me, no one is expecting much from either of you.”
Enzo snickered, taking his own shot and earning a dirty look from his girlfriend. “What?”
“She insulted you too,” Haleigh reminded him, smacking him with a cue stick. Which turned into a cue stick battle, which was not how these things were meant to be used.
Chuckling, Killian placed his hand on Zoey’s shoulder. “Okay, pool shark, it’s your turn.”
“I’m not a pool shark. Pool sharks pretend they aren’t good. I don’t mind you know
ing.”
The curve on her lips turned to a grimace when Enzo’s cue came dangerously close to whacking them in the knees. “Seriously?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s Zoey’s take-a-hike face.”
Zoey didn’t even notice Graham approaching until he appeared behind her elbow.
“Of course, the lady and I are still getting to know each other, so I could be wrong.” Shooting her a wink, Graham handed her a cube of chalk. “You ready for that game you promised me?”
Maybe it would have worked, but Haleigh dissolved into laughter, and her boyfriend turned to Killian in challenge.
“Are you going to let this guy snake your date?”
“This isn’t a date.” Frowning at Enzo, she chalked the end of her stick so hard the chalk squeaked in protest. “Not a date.”
“I don’t know,” Killian teased her, squeezing her shoulder just to annoy Graham before dropping his hand. “I was hoping it might turn into one.”
Enzo glanced at Zoey. “He did pay for your drink and for the table. Just saying.”
“My ice water was free,” Zoey growled back, but no one was really listening to her, their focus on the two large men with friendly expressions, clearly squaring off.
“So you’re saying if I want to snake your date,” Graham said, eyeing Killian, “then I have to reimburse you?”
“Or just play for her,” Enzo added.
“Uh-oh,” Lana murmured, her eyes flickering up as the table finally became of more interest than her phone. “She’s going to eat you.”
The pool hall went red around the edges. Zoey could feel the hair on the back of her neck bristle with rage. “I’m sorry, but what did you just say?”
“He said—” Haleigh started helpfully, but Zoey held up a hand, shutting her up.
“All of you better not have just insinuated that I can be bought, traded, or won. Because if any of you did, I’m going to kill all of you.”
“Watch the feet, gorgeous,” Graham murmured playfully. “At least last time, you weren’t wearing heels.”
“Of all the ridiculous, sexist, misogynistic, Neanderthal bullshit anyone has ever said to me. You. And you. Oh, and you—” Sputtering in fury, Zoey turned to each man as they all involuntarily stepped back out of self-preservation. Zoey cracked her cue down on the floor. “And if anyone is playing for anyone, I should be playing for Graham. I’m better at pool than any of you.”
“Done.” Pulling a roll of bills out of her purse, Lana slapped the money down on the table. “A thousand for the burger boy.”
“Burger boy?” Graham looked pained. “I have hobbies, you know.”
“Who’s playing for me?” Killian looked back and forth between them hopefully.
“No one,” Lana and Zoey replied simultaneously.
Since Killian was race car Killian and not polo Killian, he must have been used to this sort of treatment. With a chuckle and a murmured “ouch,” he settled down on a stool.
“We’re playing for Graham. Right, Zoey?” Waggling her eyebrows at Zoey, she stuffed her phone in her purse.
“Lana, what are you doing?” Zoey hissed, following her around the end of the table, where the pool triangle was hanging.
“Just having some fun, love.” Eyes twinkling, Lana made quick work of racking the balls. “I think the lovely diner owner’s company is worth at least that much. Your break or mine?”
“Mine. And I don’t have a thousand dollars.” Bending over the table, she shot Lana a look.
“Then you better win. Because trust me, if I win, he’s going to be my new pool boy. Speedo and all.”
Zoey missed her shot.
For some reason, her hand slipped right off the cue and the cue right off the ball, resulting in the worst break Zoey had ever made since she had turned eleven and was tall enough to hold her own stick. “That wasn’t nice.”
Lana took a delicate sip of her drink. “No, but it was funny.”
“I feel like I should be protesting this.” Graham leaned a hip against the table. “But I’ll just sit here and try to look pretty.”
“You’re in my shot.” Scooting him away with a nudge of her foot, Zoey sighted along the cue. Right as she was about to hit, she noticed Graham’s face at eye level with her from the other side of the table.
“Don’t miss, gorgeous. I’m scared of what Lana will do to me.”
Zoey shook her head, murmuring, “You and me both.”
Killian’s phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call, leaving Enzo to eye Graham in a way that made Zoey want to smack him. Clearly, Enzo didn’t think much of Graham, his loyalty to Killian written all over his face.
“How about a real bet?” Enzo tossed a much larger roll of bills onto the table. “Twenty thousand to the winner. Loser gets the loser over there. Don’t worry, man. You’re the conciliation prize.”
Choking at the sight of so much cash, Zoey went still. Twenty thousand dollars was as much as Zoey would make in a year. Sometimes it was more than she made in a year. To Enzo and Haleigh, it was nothing. To Zoey, that amount of cash could make serious changes for the better in her life. But one look at the expression on Graham’s face, his jaw tensed because he knew as well as she did why Enzo had done it, was all it took for Zoey to know she’d never touch it in a million years.
Not when Enzo just wanted to put Graham in his place.
“I don’t want your money, Enzo,” she said softly.
“Everyone wants my money, sweetheart,” Enzo promised. “Some just play hard to get first.”
“I may end up punching it out in the parking lot after all,” Graham joked. Despite his laid-back posture and easy smile as he watched Enzo, there was a heat in his eyes none of them could miss.
Feeling her face burn with humiliation, Zoey picked up the cue ball. Deliberately rolling it into the closest pocket to her, she glared at Enzo, so furious she was shaking.
“Scratch.”
“Why is it new money always insists on carrying that much cash?” Lana rolled her eyes, plucking the white ball out of the corner pocket and placing it down where it suited her the best. “Let’s have a little class, shall we? Oops, missed this one. Zoey, it’s your turn.”
Once again, Zoey picked up the cue ball and shoved it in a pocket. “Scratch.”
If looks could have killed, Zoey was sure the glare she aimed Enzo’s way would have been a particularly painful version. Much worse than a carnivorous horse. Three scratches from Zoey later, Lana sank the eight ball with a solid thump of victory.
“Well, that wasn’t nearly as hard as it should have been. Sorry, love. Some people just have to ruin the fun.” Peeling off a thousand of Enzo’s money, presumably to cover what Zoey didn’t have, Lana picked up the rest between two manicured fingertips and dropped it in his lap. “Really, I don’t know why he likes you two.”
Lana’s bored tone of dismissal left Enzo flushing a particularly dark shade of red and Haleigh’s eyes widening.
Killian ambled up, stuffing his phone into his pocket. “What did I miss?”
“Your choice in friends sucks,” Zoey said, so angry she couldn’t look at any of them. Hard, quick movements of her hands had the balls racked and ready.
“Would you like to play again?” Lana asked her, because Lana knew how much Zoey loved pool, but she was done. With a tight shake of her head, Zoey left the table and headed for the bar.
She needed a moment free of these people, to swallow her anger and try not to think about the money she’d left on the table.
Money that could have made a real difference.
“Water please,” she said to the attractive but shy-seeming man working behind the bar.
The bartender gave her a wary look, which she didn’t blame him for. The people she’d arrived with had done nothing but make spectacles of themselves. E
ven now, she could hear them carrying on as if it meant nothing.
Fingers trembling in anger, Zoey scooped a couple of pretzels from the little bowl he silently set in front of her.
“Well. That was interesting.”
Zoey wasn’t ready for tall, scruffy, and handsome to lean against the bar next to her, so she buried her face in her hands.
“That was exactly why I don’t like to be around Lana’s friends. Or friends of friends. It always starts fine and ends up with—”
“You taking double shots of ice water? Hey, Rick, keep them coming for Zoey here.”
The bartender, Rick, snorted but played along for Graham, adding a shot glass of water next to her larger glass. When she lifted her head to murmur a thanks, Graham caught her eye. “If it helps, I can go beat up those two, no problem. But I might need some help beating up myself if I’m getting lumped in with the Neanderthals.”
Rolling her eyes at him, Zoey groaned. “I’m refraining from judgment, but only until I’ve finished my water.”
“Which means I have ten sips to redeem myself.”
“I’m sorry about them. I don’t even think they realize how they act.”
“I’m used to the type.” Shrugging off the situation, he caught her gaze again, smiling sweetly. “You won me, fair and square. Or lost and got me, technically. Now that you’re stuck with me, what are you going to do with me?”
“I can’t believe I let Lana goad me into that. I’m a female Neanderthal. A Neanderthaless.”
“You’re also a better pool player than Lana.” Graham’s eyes crinkled. “You could be buying us all a round right now.”
“He was trying to embarrass you and bully me. Screw him and his money.”
Zoey didn’t realize her hands were still shaking until Graham gently took her fingers in his larger, rougher ones. Squeezing lightly, he sat backward on the barstool next to her, body facing the room but his eyes gazing down warmly at her.
Holding her hand in front of far too many curious eyes.
“Trust me. I’d put up with his type to get to spend time with you any day of the week.” Voice softening, Graham asked again. “So, since you have me, what are you planning on doing with me?”
The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska) Page 12