by LuAnn McLane
“Because I like to be footloose and fancy-free,” Carrie Ann answered firmly. But Easton was truly the one man who could change her mind about marriage. If he put a ring under her nose, she was pretty sure she’d cave and accept. Still, even though he made her heart go pitter-patter, she kept her feelings for him locked away inside a safe place. “I don’t need somebody snappin’ his fingers and tellin’ me I need to get dinner on the table or bring him a beer.”
“Carrie Ann, relationships aren’t like that anymore. And Easton doesn’t seem like the type of guy to issue orders to a woman. You’re a successful business owner. You wouldn’t have to lose your independence if you fell in love.”
“I’m just too set in my ways,” she argued, even though she knew what her real issue was. When her daddy died from a sudden heart attack at the age of thirty-eight, Carrie Ann’s mother bought A Cut Above and worked long hours while Carrie Ann went from captain of the cheerleading squad to being the caretaker for her two younger sisters. And although Mary Spencer put on a happy face for her girls, Carrie Ann could see the sorrow in her mother’s eyes. Carrie Ann vowed never to fall in love and risk suffering that kind of pain. She wouldn’t even get a dog for that reason.
“Are you sure about that?” Sophia looked at her closely.
“Yeah, who wants to be tied down?” Carrie Ann replied, but when she risked another glance at Easton, she reckoned that being tied down by him could be satisfying in more ways than one.
Oh boy . . .
Carrie Ann picked up her beer coaster and started fanning her face.
“You okay?” Sophia gave her a curious look.
“Damned hot flash,” Carrie Ann explained, but left out that the sudden heat was brought on by the vision of being handcuffed to Easton Fisher’s bed, not hormones.
“My mom gets those,” Sophia said with a sympathetic nod.
“Are you kiddin’ me?” Carrie Ann turned her attention to Sophia. “It’s hard for me to imagine your supermodel mama breaking a sweat.”
Sophia laughed. “Well, she does. Hey, not only has Jimmy Topmiller made her into an excellent bass angler, but he’s gotten her into hiking and camping. And she loves running the fishing camp for needy kids. So yeah, she sweats and gets muddy. She even curses once in a while.”
“Yeah, but with that English accent of hers, I bet it still sounds polite.”
Sophia laughed. “True. But trust me—she’s a lot tougher that she looks.”
Carrie Ann reached over and put her hand briefly over Sophia’s. “You know I’m just teasing, don’t you, sugar? The charity work your mama and Jimmy Topmiller are doing with their fishing camp for underprivileged kids is just fantastic. Those kids probably don’t know that they’re being taught to fish by one of the greatest pro bass anglers to ever live.”
“No, but Jimmy never would tell them. He’s a pretty humble guy, and according to Mom, he wasn’t ever comfortable with having money. She had to convince him that being rich isn’t a bad thing if you put the money to good use.”
“Smart woman, your mama. And Jimmy is damned easy on the eyes.”
“Another hot old guy.”
Carrie Ann narrowed her eyes, but Sophia only laughed.
“Speaking of hot old guys, Easton is heading our way.”
Carrie Ann lifted one shoulder and tried to ignore the extra thumping of her heart. “Well, he has a hot young guy with him.”
“I told you that Avery and I are just friends.”
“Right. I know that the sudden flush in your cheeks has nothing to do with a hot flash, girlie.”
Sophia plucked at her pink sweater. “It’s a little warm in here.”
“Ha, you can’t fool me, young lady.”
“And you can’t fool me, either,” Sophia shot back. “I think you should go for it.”
“Go for what, exactly?”
Sophia leaned over and whispered, “A kiss.”
“Oh, come on.” Carrie Ann waved a dismissive hand but her heart thumped at the thought. “No way.” She gave Sophia a level look. “What? I can see the wheels turning.”
“I will if you will,” Sophia said, but then pressed her lips together as if with instant regret. She glanced down at her ale.
“Seriously?” Carrie Ann was a sucker for a challenge. “So, you’ll go for a kiss from Avery?”
Sophia swallowed hard but then nodded. “Yes.” She looked down at her beer again. “Maybe this really is a love potion. Are you in?”
“Do we need proof?” Luckily Easton and Avery were still deep in conversation buying her time to back out.
Sophia shook her head. “The honor system will do.”
“No . . .” Carrie Ann shook her head so hard that her hair actually moved.
“Chicken?”
“Oh, you fight dirty.” Carrie Ann tapped her fingernail against her glass.
“Hurry up and answer,” she said urgently. “They’re heading this way again.”
“This is insane,” Carrie Ann whispered fiercely. “Girl, you’re crazier than a bedbug.”
“But it’s kinda fun.” Sophia bit her bottom lip. “I mean, a harmless little kiss never hurt anybody, right?”
Carrie Ann opened her mouth to protest, but the sudden scent of Easton’s aftershave made her brain short-circuit.
“You in?” Sophia mouthed.
Carrie Ann closed her eyes, but then nodded.
Sophia smiled, but suddenly looked a little bit skittish.
“Look who I found,” Avery said with a grin. He handed Sophia the glass of ale. “Sophia, you know my uncle, Easton, right?”
“Of course.” Sophia nodded. “From the bistro. Nice to see you, Easton.”
“It’s nice to see your pretty face too, Sophia.” He turned his gaze to Carrie Ann. “Always a pleasure, Carrie Ann.” He placed the ale in front of her.
“Why, thank you, Easton.”
“Avery bought it. I’m just your humble servant.”
“Well then, thanks, Avery. I still owe you one.”
“Oh no, I’ve got the next round.” Easton tapped his chest.
“Well, I won’t argue then,” Carrie Ann said.
Easton shrugged and tipped his bottle back. “Wouldn’t do you any good.”
“You might be surprised. She can be very persuasive,” Sophia pointed out and Avery nodded.
Easton lowered his bottle. “That so?”
“When I set my mind to something,” Carrie Ann shot back, but her pulse quickened when Easton bestowed his sexy as all get-out smile upon her. The warmth in her cheeks had nothing to do with a hot flash and she had to put her hand around the cold glass in an effort to cool down. She often wondered if she had the same effect on Easton or if the attraction was one-sided. Well, she supposed Sophia’s silly kiss challenge would get to the bottom of that.
“Avery, would you like to play a game of pool?” Sophia suddenly asked, giving Carrie Ann a go-for-it arch of one eyebrow. “I’ve gotten a little bit better since the last time we played.”
“Sure, Danny and some guys are already over there playing,” Avery replied. “Let’s go tell them we’ve got the winners.”
“Okay, sounds like fun,” Sophia said.
“Good luck,” Easton said, apparently oblivious to Sophia’s blatant scheme to leave them alone at the table. Normally, Carrie Ann would be perfectly content to be alone with Easton, but the whole kissing thing bounced around in her head like a pinball. Well, she didn’t have to do it, she reminded herself.
“Somethin’ on your mind?” Easton asked.
Yeah, kissing you. “Oh . . . no, why?”
“You’re frowning.”
“No, I’m fine as a frog’s hair.” Carrie Ann forced a smile and took a drink of her beer.
“Frog’s don’t have hair.”
“Then I’m pretty doggone fine.”
Easton chuckled. “I’d say you’re right.”
“Tasty,” she said, and took another swig of her beer.
“Mason Mayfield is a talented brewmaster. Danny just told me that they are thinking of expanding Broomstick Brewery again to keep up with the demand. Their beers are popping up in restaurants all over the county and I’ve heard they’ve won some awards.”
“Another Cricket Creek success story,” Carrie Ann said. “This little town has come a long way ever since Noah Falcon came back home and built the baseball stadium.”
Easton nodded. “I agree. Tourism sure has breathed life back into Cricket Creek. I guess the whole ‘if we build it they will come’ thing is really true. But I still wish I could have saved Fisher Hardware.”
“Your repair business seems to be going like gangbusters, though.”
“Yeah, more than Avery and I dreamed. Just goes to show you that when one door closes . . .” He tapped his bottle to her glass. “And your salon seems to be busy.”
“It is.” Carrie Ann nodded slowly, wondering if she should share her idea for White Lace and Promises with him.
“There you go frowning again.”
“Sorry. I have some things on my mind.”
“Anything I can help with?” As Easton looked at her with gorgeous blue eyes that were full of sincerity, it suddenly hit Carrie Ann that if she went through with the silly-ass kiss challenge that she risked ruining a perfectly good friendship. No, she wasn’t going to go through with it.
“No, but thanks for askin’, Easton.”
“You can bend my ear whenever you want. You know that, right?”
She nodded and took another sip of her beer.
“Hey, would you like to dance?”
“D-dance?”
“Two-step.”
“Oh, Easton, it’s been ages since I’ve danced,” she said, instantly feeling like a loser for admitting such a thing. But the last time she’d danced, she’d been at a wedding and it was to the song “It’s Raining Men.”
“Just follow my lead.”
Carrie Ann opened her mouth to protest, but when he stood up and offered his hand, she was powerless to resist. “I gotta warn ya, I might break all of your toes.”
“A risk I’m willing to take,” Easton said as he led her to the dance floor. Others were already twirling around in the outside circle.
“Oh, you say that now . . .” she mumbled.
Easton was a smooth, effortless dancer—very easy to follow. His sure grip on her hip guided her around the circle and, before long, Carrie Ann relaxed and found herself smiling and laughing when his spins and twirls became a little bit more advanced.
“I knew you’d pick it up easily. After all, you were a cheerleader and on the dance team, if I recall correctly.”
He remembered? “A million years ago.”
“Well, girl, you’ve still got it.”
And so did Easton . . . in spades. By the end of the George Strait ballad, Carrie Ann felt flushed and breathless. But just as she thought they were going to exit the dance floor a slower song came on and Carrie Ann found herself swaying to the music in Easton Fisher’s strong arms.
Easton threaded his fingers through her right hand and she rested her other hand on his shoulder. She could feel the warmth of his skin through the soft cotton of his shirt and the spice of his aftershave filled her head. After a moment, he pulled her slightly closer and she felt an ache, a longing so intense that her breath caught. She liked this feeling way more than she should. He sang “If I Know Me” in her ear and she was unsurprised to find that he had a great voice as well. Was there anything he couldn’t do? Well, she sure as shootin’ knew something she wanted him to do.
And then the song ended.
“Thank you for the dance,” he said in her ear. The warmth of his breath caused her skin to tingle and damn if she didn’t want to kiss him right there in the middle of the dance floor, no challenge needed.
Not trusting her voice Carrie Ann nodded. Her smile felt shy and when she looked into his eyes she saw a flash of something hot and aware. She accepted his hand as they weaved through the crowd and back to the round high-top table. Carrie Ann couldn’t remember the last time she’d held a man’s hand and it felt really nice.
“You were holding out on me,” Easton said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a terrific dancer.”
She waved a dismissive hand nearly knocking over her glass. “Yes, you are. There’s no use denying it, which leads me to my next question.”
4
Slow Burn
Avery leaned his pool stick against the wall and gave Sophia a little nudge. “Check out my uncle and Carrie Ann over there looking cozy.”
Sophia looked in the direction of the high-top table and turned to grin up at Avery. “I guess that slow dance got things heated up. How long do you think they’ve been in love?”
“In love? You really think so?” Avery asked because he wanted her opinion but he knew the answer. His self-proclaimed bachelor uncle needed a reality check.
“Absolutely,” Sophia confirmed with a nod. “It reminds me of last year when my mom and Jimmy Topmiller kept fighting their attraction. It’s pointless.”
“So you’re suggesting they should just give in and go for it?” Avery asked, thinking that Sophia’s observation hit way too close to home.
“Yep. Why waste any more precious time?”
“You’ve got a good point.”
“Thank you.” When Sophia smiled up at him again his gaze landed on her mouth. Damn, he wanted to kiss her. As if reading his mind she licked her bottom lip and leaned in a little bit closer. Forgetting they were in public, Avery dipped his head . . .
“Uh, excuse me, lovebirds,” Danny shouted from across the pool table. “Sophia, it’s your turn.”
“Oh!” Sophia blushed and stepped forward. “Sorry. We were talking.”
“Right, talking,” Danny said and gave Colby a nudge with his elbow. “Sure you were.”
Avery shook his head at his friends pretending to take their teasing in stride but they were adding fuel to the fire that was already a slow burn. The problem was that Avery was torn between heating things up and cooling things down. But when Sophia nibbled on the inside of her lip and frowned at the balls on the table Avery thought about taking the opportunity to lean in close and help her. But before he could take advantage of the situation she bent over and angled her head, assessing the shot in the corner pocket. Because she was so short she had to stretch, giving Avery a mouthwatering view of her snug jeans hugging her curvy bottom. He swallowed hard and tried not to stare.
Sophia stood up, inhaled a deep breath and blew it out before she bent back to her task. She wasn’t very good but concentrated so hard that Avery had to smile and by some miracle she made the rather difficult bank shot, sinking a purple ball into the pocket.
“Yes!” Sophia straightened up and did a cute little hands-and-pool-stick-in-the-air jig. When she turned and tried to give Avery a high five she grazed his hand but missed and hit him on the shoulder instead. She stumbled forward, giggling. “Oh sorry!”
“Whoa there.” Avery caught her around her waist but she landed against his chest and the sensation of having her breasts pressed against him nearly made him groan.
“Um, I hate to interrupt again, but, Sophia, you need to take another shot,” Danny said. He rolled his eyes at Avery but grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Oh, right,” Sophia said and turned around. It might have been Avery’s imagination but she sounded a little bit breathless. She missed the shot horribly and stomped her foot. “Sorry,” she said with a wince in Avery’s direction. “That was ugly.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re getting a lot better,” Avery
assured her.
“You think so?”
No, not at all. “Yes, definitely. With some practice you’ll become really good.”
Sophia stepped closer and tilted her face up at him, within easy kissing distance. “Will you give me lessons, Avery? I’d like to be an asset rather than a liability.”
“Sure.” Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Colby making another tough shot. He rather handily cleaned up the table and then sank the eight ball, winning the game.
Colby picked up his beer bottle and tapped it to Danny’s. “Now that’s how it’s done.”
“No doubt,” Danny agreed.
Normally Avery wouldn’t like to lose but right now all he cared about was standing close to Sophia. Warning bells of caution pealed in the back of his brain but he ignored them and smiled at her instead of backing away.
“Want to redeem yourselves?” Danny asked.
Avery looked at Sophia in question but she shook her head. “Actually, I think I’d like a breath of fresh air. That strong ale has made me a little tipsy.”
“No problem, I’ll go grab our jackets. It’s kinda cold outside but Pete should have the heaters going on the back deck.” Avery turned back to Danny and Colby. “We’ll take on you two goofballs next week.”
“Ha, think you’ll be ready for a rematch?” Danny asked and gave Colby a confident nudge.
Avery arched an eyebrow at Sophia. “What do you think?”
Sophia lifted her chin at Danny’s challenge and nodded. “Game on.” She turned and gave Avery a fist bump but when they walked away she leaned in and whispered, “I might have been a little overconfident so you might want to give me lessons.”
Avery chuckled. “I can do that,” he said, and realized it would be another way to spend time with her. “I heard Mason say they’re adding a couple of pool tables to the taproom at the brewery. We can practice there.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she said with a smile, and then paused. “I need to use the ladies’ room so if you wouldn’t mind getting my jacket I’ll meet you outside in a couple of minutes.”
“Sure thing.” Avery had the urge to lean in and give her a quick kiss on the cheek but refrained, quickly reminding himself that Sophia wasn’t his girlfriend. But for some reason, it sure felt that way.