Playing for Keeps

by LuAnn McLane

  “Excellent choice, if I do say so my damned self,” Pete commented in his gruff voice and nodded so vigorously that his beard swayed back and forth.

  “Shaken gently, three times, with the olive.” Madison smiled and held up three fingers.

  Pete winked at her. “A girl after my own heart.” He placed a hand on his chest and then nodded at Jason. “Whadaya doin’ with this here fella, anyways?”

  “Good question,” Madison answered and then laughed. Jason loved seeing this side of her and wished she could let her guard down and be this way more often.

  Pete jammed his thumb toward his chest. “You could do better, if ya know what I’m sayin’?”

  Madison gave him a flirty grin. “I know just what you’re saying.”

  “You’re about to get an ass whuppin’, Pete Sully,” Jason warned him.

  “Yeah? You and what army?” Pete scoffed and then flexed a muscle for Madison. “I can take that pipsqueak with one hand tied behind my back,” he said with a wink. “Your drink will be coming right up, sugar. Can’t rush perfection,” he added over his wide shoulders and then turned to begin mixing her martini.

  “You can pick your jaw up off the floor,” Jason said in her ear.

  Madison tilted her head and smiled. “I have to admit that I never expected to be served a martini here.” She looked around at the crowded bar but saw mostly longnecks and shot glasses. “Care to enlighten me?”

  “Absolutely.” Jason spotted a free booth in the far corner, tugged Madison to her feet, and grabbed her jacket. “Hey, Pete, we’re going to snag a booth. Bring me another beer with the wings and Maddie’s martini.” He ignored her elbow to his side for calling her Maddie.

  “Sure thing,” Pete replied as he poured the gin into the shaker.

  “Follow me.” Jason liked the feel of her small hand in his grasp as he led her over to a rather secluded booth. He nodded to people he knew, but didn’t stop to shoot the bull. All he was interested in was getting Maddie to open up and laugh with him. If she would only do that, hopefully more would come later.

  They slid into a booth with deep red vinyl-covered cushions and a high wooden back, giving them a bit of privacy. A checkered tablecloth and a fat flickering candle gave the atmosphere a romantic feel … or perhaps it wasn’t Sully’s bar but being with Maddie that made the air crackle with pent-up passion. Jason stretched out his long legs and bumped knees with Maddie. When her eyes widened slightly, he said, “Sorry,” even though he wasn’t.

  “No problem,” she answered, but she suddenly seemed flustered, making Jason wonder if she would ever let her guard down enough to give him a fighting chance.

  A moment later Pete wove his way through the crowd toward them, carrying a longneck in one hand and a martini in the other. “Here you go, sugar.” He presented the glass to her with a flourish and then unceremoniously set Jason’s beer down with a thump.

  “I see how I rate,” Jason mumbled. “Trying to steal my girl … gonna whup my ass.” He sighed and took a long pull on his beer.

  “Thank you, Pete,” Madison said and gave the big bartender a warm smile. She took a sip and then nodded slowly before taking another taste.

  Jason almost laughed at the expectant expression on Pete’s face. He took a swig of his beer and watched Maddie tip her head to the side and frown. He thought it was sweet of her to make such a big deal of judging the martini but would never let her know it or she would likely bite his head off.

  “Well?” Pete finally prompted.

  Madison raised her eyebrows. “Did you know that my mother, Jessica Robinson, was a chef at a four-star restaurant in Chicago known for excellent martinis?”

  “Is that right?” Pete shook his head and looked a bit nervous. In all the times Jason had come in Sully’s he couldn’t remember Pete ever appearing unsure of himself. Jason wanted to ask him for his man card. “Guess you’ve had a few, then.”

  “Now and then.” Madison admitted, but then she gave him a big smile that did crazy things to Jason’s gut. She held up her glass. “But I have to tell you that this dirty martini is perfection, Pete. Supercold and mixed with just the right amount of olive juice. And I can tell that you shook the ingredients with a tender hand. Excellent!” She kissed her fingertips to her mouth.

  “Really?” Pete asked.

  Madison took another sip and nodded. “Absolutely, no doubt in my mind. And I’m a straight shooter.”

  “Just like your aunt Myra. Gotta love that.” Pete beamed with pride. “Well, then, I’ll have to bring you another one on the house. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

  Madison grinned and held up her index finger. “One martini is all right. Two is too many—”

  “And three is not enough,” Pete finished for her. “James Thurber.”

  Madison gently set her glass down, stood up on tiptoe, and gave Pete a hug, making the big bartender actually blush. “Now you’re talking.” She was still chuckling when Pete walked away. “I love it when somebody is totally different from how they appear.” She took another sip of her drink and asked, “Don’t you?”

  “Not always,” Jason replied with a grin.

  “Well … true,” she admitted. “Or it can be a good thing.”

  “What I do appreciate is when someone is simply themselves. No bull, no pretense,” he commented. “How about you?”

  “Of course,” she agreed, but her smile faded and she looked down at the table and toyed with the stem of the glass.

  Jason wanted to reach across the table, cover her hand with his, and say, “You can let your guard down and be yourself with me.” But instead he cleared his throat and said, “You want to know the story behind martinis here at Sully’s?”

  “Yes.” Her smile returned and she nodded. “I love these sorts of stories.”

  Jason waited while a busboy placed a basket of wings in front of them. As he put a few of them on a small plate, he said, “During the boating season Cricket Creek Marina gets a wide range of boats, from runabouts to cabin cruisers.”

  Madison nodded as she gingerly bit into a hot wing.

  “Well—and I was here when it happened—this dude wearing khakis and a boating hat, no less, comes waltzing in here and asks for a martini. After Pete made one for him, this dude turned up his nose and told Pete it was the worst damned martini he had ever had in his entire life and stomped out.”

  “That jerk!”

  Jason took a swig of his beer and laughed. “Pete was so pissed. It was like watching an angry grizzly bear.”

  “Let me guess—after that, Pete Sully was on a martini mission?” Madison dipped a celery stick in the blue cheese and looked at Jason.

  “Oh, yeah. Pete has his pride. The food here is good. The beer is always ice cold and the drinks stiff. And although the place isn’t fancy, it’s clean as a whistle and the staff is pleasant and efficient.”

  “Like Aunt Myra’s diner,” Madison said with a nod. “And I actually think there’s a lot of atmosphere here too. That’s why I want this town to come back, Jason. I have nothing against national chains, but small pubs and local diners have so much heart, you know?” She looked at him with honesty in her big blue eyes. “I joke about wanting to return to Chicago, and I do miss the city, but I never forget that Aunt Myra and Cricket Creek took us in.” She laughed and said, “I was told that I was quite a handful.”

  “Really?” Jason leaned back and put a look of mock surprise on his face. “Hard to believe.”

  “Mom said that the saying It takes a village was coined with me in mind.” Madison smiled, but then pressed her lips together as if suppressing emotion.

  This time Jason couldn’t stop himself. He reached over and covered her small hand with his. “Let me guess—that’s why you want this play to be a huge success. Bring in tourists this summer and save the community center.” He watched her swallow hard and she finally nodded.

  “God, yes. Olivia and I are so excited, but anxious too,” she replied in a h
usky tone that hit him hard in his gut. “Keeps me up at night,” she admitted, but then she inhaled a quick breath. “And if you breathe a word to anyone I’ll hunt you down.”

  “I won’t,” Jason promised and gave her hand a squeeze. When she tried to pull away, he held on firmly. “Maddie, you can call me … bend my ear any time of the day or night, and I won’t tell a soul. Got that?”

  Madison nodded. Jason’s big hand felt so warm and reassuring, and when he rubbed his thumb over her skin a shot of pure longing hit her with more punch than the martini. She looked into those hazel eyes that seemed to change color with his mood and saw understanding and caring. “Yes, I get that loud and clear. Thank you,” she said softly.

  “You’re welcome, Maddie.” Jason’s concern chipped away at the cold, hard wall of solid independence that she hid behind, and even though it was a scary feeling Madison let a few pieces fall away and scatter like leaves on an autumn day. “Now, I want you to do one more thing for me.” He held up his index finger and gave her a hopeful smile.

  “You mean there’s more?” She rolled her eyes and drained the last sip of her martini. “Just like Olivia, there’s always more. Okay, what?” she asked in her kick-ass Madison voice, but inside she felt warm and wonderful and by the look on Jason’s face she wasn’t really pulling it off anyway.

  “I want you to just relax and let your hair down tonight.”

  “Unreal.” Madison leaned back in the booth and chuckled.

  “What?”

  “I just gave Olivia the very same advice earlier today. Am I really that uptight?” She hated to think so.

  “No.” Jason shook his head slowly. “Not uptight exactly, but guarded. And I think you know it.” He looked at her for a long moment and then lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it tenderly. That simple gesture made her breath catch, and she felt more pieces of her protective wall crumble away. But instead of feeling exposed, she looked into his eyes and felt a sense of freedom overtake her.

  “You want to get out of here and maybe watch a movie or a game?”

  “Sure,” Madison answered much more calmly than she felt. Her hand still tingled from his touch.

  A moment later Pete walked over and looked at Madison’s empty glass. “You ready for another one, little lady?”

  “May I take a rain check, Pete?”

  “Sure thing. You want the rest of those wings boxed up?”

  Madison nodded. “If you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all. I’ll throw in some extra celery and dip too.”

  “Thanks,” Madison replied and looked at Jason when he groaned.

  “Am I invisible?” Jason complained.

  Pete’s laughter was a deep rumble that shook his entire body. “When somebody as sweet and pretty as her is sittin’ there? You betcha.”

  Jason arched an eyebrow. “Pretty, I’ll give ya. Sweet … mmm, that might be a stretch.”

  “I don’t think so,” Pete insisted and then handed the bill to Jason.

  “Why, thank you, Pete,” Madison said and realized that she meant it. People in Cricket Creek seemed to speak their mind in an honest way that Madison appreciated.

  Pete gave her a wink. “Be right back.”

  “Wow.” Jason watched Pete walk away and then turned back to Madison. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wink at anyone, but he’s been winking at you all damned night.”

  “I seem to have that effect on men,” Madison joked with a flip of her hair but then rolled her eyes.

  “You sure have that effect on me,” he admitted in a voice that suggested to her that he was serious.

  “Well, you didn’t bother to wink at me,” she replied in a teasing tone, but she was fishing for a real answer.

  “No, but I sure kissed your hand like some big-ass lovesick puppy.”

  “Right … like you’ve never done that before?”

  Jason raised his palms in the air. “Seriously, do I look like that kind of mushy dude?”

  “No,” she admitted, with a soft smile. “And I guess that’s what made the gesture so cute,” she told him, but then lowered her gaze as if regretting her own honesty.

  “Yeah, cute, that’s me all right. I get that all the time. Sweet too.”

  Madison laughed. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

  A moment later Pete brought the to-go box over to the table and handed it to Madison. “Here, sugar. Hope to see your pretty face in here again sometime soon.”

  “Oh, I’ll be back,” she assured him with a sound nod.

  Pete slapped a dish towel over his shoulder. “And if this yahoo gives you an ounce of trouble, you just let me know.”

  Jason shook his head and they both stood up. “Pete, you’ve got this all backwards. She’s the troublemaker,” he said, but then he leaned over and kissed her on top of her head—yet another gesture that made Madison’s heart skip a beat. She tried to glance up and give him a scowl, but when she looked into those hazel eyes of his she was lost. She knew that she was falling for Jason Craig. She had been for a while. The trick was not to let him know. She couldn’t let anything interfere with the production of the play. But when he tucked her hand in his she felt a warm rush of happiness that was going to be difficult to resist.

  5

  Just Do It

  Olivia ducked behind a big oak tree when she spotted Jason and Madison coming out of Sully’s Tavern but then had to peek around the trunk to observe them. “Oh!” She put her palm over her heart and smiled. They were holding hands! “Yes!” she whispered and squeezed her eyes shut. “I knew it!” Now all she had to do was to continue throwing them together to keep the spark alive. She just loved it when a plan came together.

  “On the lam?” a deep voice asked, startling Olivia so much that she tripped on the brick pavers circling the tree. She fell forward and grabbed the trunk for support, drawing an equally deep chuckle. “Now, I know you drive a hybrid, but that’s taking tree hugging to a new level.”

  Olivia spun around and put her hands on her hips, but since she wobbled off-balance her glare lost some of its punch. “Must you always sneak up on a person?”

  “I’m six foot four,” Noah replied. “I can’t exactly sneak. From my vantage point you were the one sneaking, anyway.”

  “I was not sneaking,” she insisted hotly.

  “Hiding, then? Whom are you hiding from? Or is it ‘who’?” He scratched his dark stubble as if in thought.

  “Whom … I mean nobody,” she replied, but then felt heat creep into her cheeks. “Nobody at all.”

  “You really suck at lying. And your Southern drawl comes to life when you try. You need to work on that,” he teased. “Or maybe not. I kinda like it.”

  “Oh, really now? Well, you …” Olivia took a step toward him, which was a mistake, since the cool breeze carried the scent of his cologne her way, muddling her train of thought. “You … suck at—” she began but couldn’t think of anything that he sucked at and felt foolish attempting to come back with something.

  “Let me fill in the blank for you. I suck at acting.” He threaded his fingers through his windblown hair and then sighed. “I went through the motions on the soap, but I really need acting lessons, especially for a live performance. Will you work with me, Livie?”

  Olivia felt a hot little thrill at him calling her Livie, even though she pretended to hate it. It sounded like an endearment, but then she became annoyed that he could get to her so easily, just like back in high school. Noah was a natural-born charmer and she wasn’t going to fall into his trap again. “We tried this once before, remember?” she asked tightly.

  “I know.” He put one hand against the tree bark and leaned forward. She could feel the heat of his body, and when the wind blew a lock of her hair across her face, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear. “But I told you that I’m serious, and I meant it,” he added, with what appeared to be a sincere smile.

  “I—” Olivia wanted to answer, but she was
reeling from the feel of his fingertips brushing across her cheeks, and words failed her. She had to fight the urge to tilt her cheek into the palm of his hand and so she stepped away from him.

  “Okay.” His smile faded when she failed to respond, and he jammed his hands in his jeans pockets. “Look, I know you think I’m an arrogant ass, but do you think you could set your personal feelings aside and do this? You said yourself how much this means to the town. I would compensate you for your time.”

  “I don’t want your money,” she stated vehemently.

  Noah raised his hands up to the sky. “Now, how in the world did I manage to offend you this time?”

  “I don’t know. It just felt … wrong.”

  “Are you always this unreasonable?”

  “Never.”

  “Then why with me?” he asked and then smiled slowly. “Ah …”

  “Ah, what?” She was getting that urge to smack him and kiss him at the same time again. It sent her off-balance and yet felt oddly exhilarating. “I’m not certain that I like your tone.”

  “You’re attracted to me.”

  “Pffft … right! That explosive chemistry stuff that Madison tossed around was pure nonsense.”

  He rocked back on the heels of his boots. “You think so, huh?”

  She poked a finger in his chest again. “I know so.”

  “Really, now?”

  “Absolutely.” She pulled her finger back and looked at it as if it were a smoking gun. She really needed to stop poking him.

  “Oh, Livie, I’m right and you know it. You’re attracted to me but you don’t want to be, and it ticks you off.”

  “I’m not!” she insisted hotly and backed away but came up against the tree trunk. “That’s just pure … poppycock.”

  “Poppycock?” He grinned. “Really?”

  Oh, why did that silly word come out of her mouth? The man could fluster her no end.

  “Nonsense!”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “Yes! Wait! I mean no!” Dear God, she was so confused.