by Darcy Burke
“I can’t imagine you get much opportunity for that.” He picked up his scotch and took a sip. Damn, that was a fine whiskey. “Pardon me, sir, but you look like a shagging shit spike of doom.”
A tremor raced across her shoulders. It was subtle, but Sean caught it. “I still contend you won only because insults sound a thousand times better with a British accent.”
He gave her a lazy smile. “Everything sounds better with a British accent,” he said, intending to sound arrogant.
She rolled her eyes. “So what are you going to do to the cue?”
Right. He’d almost forgotten that was what had spurred this delightful exchange. “Since I’m not allowed to break it, I think I shall leave a parting comment so that it may perhaps rethink its shame-inflicting ways.” He laid the cue across the bar and scrawled a few words above the grip. Then he dated it and signed his name.
Tori leaned close and peered over his shoulder. Her scent assaulted his already-teetering senses. Temptation washed over him, and he worked to keep it at bay. “Sod off, you manky pillock.” She looked at him, smiling. “Colorful.”
She was so close. If he just turned his head and moved toward her the barest inch, he could kiss her. But she didn’t want that.
Did she?
Not wanting to stay married didn’t mean she wasn’t still attracted to him. They’d started with a physical connection. Was there a chance it was still there on her part? It was definitely still there for him.
“Tori!” Kyle’s shout broke the spell that had gathered between them. Tori turned abruptly, leaving Sean to wonder if she’d felt anything.
“You’re up. Stop flirting and play pool,” Kyle said.
“We weren’t flirting.” But the look she flashed Sean said that maybe they had been. “Wish me luck.”
Sean saw Chloe give Derek a consoling kiss—he’d gone after Chloe and had just fouled out—and seized the moment. He brushed his lips against Tori’s cheek. “Good luck.”
She gave him a sharp, surprised look before taking her place at the table.
Sean watched her take stock and then move to the side in front of him. She bent over, treating him to a view of her spectacular behind. The teal jeans hugged her arse perfectly, beckoning him to splay his hand over the curve of her hip and draw her back against his erection.
Bollocks.
He turned toward the bar and took a long drink of his scotch as he contemplated a refill. Would they mind him taking a second pour of three-hundred-dollar-plus whiskey?
“What did you do to the cue?” Kyle asked, sidling up next to him.
Sean worked to calm his raging lust, tossing back nearly the rest of his scotch. “It was Tori’s idea. A bit of a counterattack in the hope of extinguishing the blighter’s evil grasp on the unsuspecting.”
Kyle read what Sean had written and burst out laughing. “What in the hell is a manky pillock?”
“Disgusting idiot or jerk, something like that.”
“Nice. And Tori put you up to that? Figures. It’s her fault the damn thing does what it does. It was originally her cue. Her game went to shit after she got it, so she abandoned it and got a new one. Thereafter, everyone who uses it generally experiences the worst game of their life—expert, beginner, doesn’t matter.”
Sean chuckled. “It is evil.”
“Liam always said she imbued it with her overwhelming drive and that it backfired. She’s so freaking competitive that the cue pretty much sucks the ability to play well from whomever picks it up.”
“Ouch. That isn’t the nicest thing to say about one’s sister.”
“You don’t have any siblings, do you?”
Sean shook his head.
“It’s what we do, especially Archers, and especially the ones with an excess of drive and ambition—like Liam and Tori.”
That was the Tori he remembered. The woman who was rising fast in her architectural firm and who was destined to take over the globe before she was thirty-five. But the charm and the vivacity had been drained from her, replaced with a cool complacence he simply didn’t recognize. If that was who she truly was now, and more importantly, who she wanted to be, then maybe it was for the best that they split up.
Chapter Six
TORI WAS UP to twenty-six points, which gave them a total of seventy-nine points to the guys’ fifty-five. She tried to focus on the game, but her gaze was continually drawn to Sean. He stood at the bar, his hand curled around his scotch, while he talked to Kyle. He seemed very comfortable here, and she was surprised that didn’t make her uncomfortable.
Something happened on the television that drew shouts from several people, causing Tori to nearly screw up her shot. “Hey! Knock it off.”
“Sorry, the Chiefs scored,” Kyle said.
She looked at Sean, who was the only one not watching the TV. His lips curved into a sexy smile, and he shrugged. Damn, but she wanted to be immune to the way he looked, the way he sounded, the way he made her feel. One day with him and she was wondering why she’d cut herself off from him in the first place.
But that was stupid. She knew why. Jumping his bones sounded great . . . to everything south of her neck. Then her brain kicked in and remembered that being with him summoned thoughts of Alex and how she should have been there for him. And right or wrong, she just couldn’t get past that.
“Can I shoot now, or are you all going to screw me up again?” she asked.
“Sorry, Tori-Wori,” Kyle said in his best condescending voice. “Should we all be super-duper quiet so you can play?” He pouted at her and blinked his eyes.
She resisted the urge to go over and smack him in the head with her cue. “Just shut up while I smoke your ass.” She proceeded to knock down the rest of the balls, rerack, and knock all of those down, too. “How many points is that now?” she taunted. “Ninety-six?” It was her turn to blink, and the other girls cheered her on.
For her next shot, she had to move near to where Sean was standing. Bending over the table would give him a prime view of her ass. Would he be looking? She called her shot and got into position, then snuck a glance back at him.
His gaze was pinned to her backside, and his lips were slightly parted. Then he saw her looking, and it was as if a fire sparked between them. Shaken, she turned back and quickly took her shot. In her haste—and who was she kidding, her lust—she completely fucked it up.
“Yes!” Kyle crowed, pumping his fist in the air. “Come on, Dylan. Bring this baby home.”
Tori scowled. “He’s not going to score forty-five points in his turn.”
“Watch me,” Dylan said.
Instead of going back to Sean and her scotch, Tori retreated to the other side of the table, where Chloe stood.
“Nicely done,” Chloe said, sipping her drink. She’d leaned her cue against the wall.
“Until that last shot.” Tori tried to shake away the frustration but still felt disgruntled. Maybe it was the talk of her competitiveness. She knew she could be a bit cutthroat, just as she knew that some people didn’t like that about her. She’d been less aggressive since coming back to Ribbon Ridge. Working with her family wasn’t the same as working at her firm, where she had to prove herself and demonstrate her abilities on a regular basis, especially since she’d taken a modified leave of absence when Alex had died.
“Don’t be hard on yourself,” Chloe said. “You did a lot better than me.”
Tori didn’t necessarily measure her success against other people. She measured it against herself, and her distraction had caused the foul. She’d blame Sean, but it wasn’t his fault he was sexy and charming and reminded her of the best time of her life. Until it had become the worst time of her life.
Tori watched Dylan speed through the rest of her rack and move on to a new one. Too bad her scotch was across the room. She could use a swig. But she didn’t want to go over to Sean. They’d come far too close to sexual innuendo and outright flirting, and she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea.
Tori chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to outright say that ship had sailed, but she also didn’t want their inevitable breakup to come out of nowhere. “I don’t know. It doesn’t look good. We weren’t really thinking about the logistics. We live in different cities, we both travel for work; it’s not a good situation.”
“Maybe one of you could move.”
“Not me—I love my job too much.” She’d loved her job. Since Alex had died, she wasn’t sure she loved anything anymore. “And in Sean’s line of work, he sort of has to be in LA.”
“Television shows are produced all over the place—even here. You guys should talk about it. Obviously there was something to draw you together, even if it was fast. Don’t let that be a reason you don’t try. Derek and I fell in love and got engaged in just a few weeks.” She smiled and shook her head. “It was crazy, and I would’ve been the first person to tell you that I would never do that. I didn’t believe in love at first sight, and I sure didn’t think it was possible to fall so head over heels in love with someone with such certainty in such a short amount of time. But here we are.”
It was precisely their quick courtship and engagement that had been the tipping point for Tori that weekend in Vegas. She and Sean had joked about getting married—since they were there, why not?—but when he’d gotten down on one knee and asked for real, she’d thought about how happy Derek had been, the happiest she’d ever seen him. And since she was happier than she’d ever been, she’d decided to go for it. Stupidly, however, they hadn’t discussed the logistics or anything else. They’d agreed to work their schedules so that they could hopefully spend at least two weekends a month together. Neither one had made any guarantees beyond their wedding vows. Vows that Sean said he took seriously.
“Are you guys talking about Sean?” Sara came over and joined them.
Chloe nodded. “I like him.”
“Me, too. He’s funny. And he was a great sport about The Humiliator.” Sara looked at Tori. “How long is he going to be here?”
“Just this week.”
Sara’s brow creased. “You canceled your trip to San Francisco?”
“No.” And he didn’t even know about it yet. “I can’t miss this meeting.”
“Oh, come on, your boss has been so understanding about everything,” Sara said. “I’m sure he’d let you Skype in or something.”
“He’s understanding about my brother dying, not me wanting to spend time with a guy.”
“Um, your husband?” Chloe asked, looking at her like she was stupid. Or bitchy. Or probably both.
“Wait, does anyone at work know you’re married?” Sara asked. “Were we the only ones you didn’t tell?” There was still a note of disappointment in her tone, but Tori was done explaining herself.
“They don’t know.” They’d known about Sean after Kuala Lumpur—several of them had seen them together at the hotel—and when anyone had asked after Alex’s death, she’d simply said that they’d broken up.
She decided braving Sean’s sex appeal was worth the risk in order to reach her scotch and to evade this conversation. “I need to get my drink.”
As she made her way toward the bar, Dylan fouled out. But he’d brought the guys to within two points.
“And now we’re back to Maggie,” Kyle announced. “Let me whip up another batch of drinks and maybe give my girl some tips.” He flashed her a smile and blew her a kiss.
Everyone’s lovey-dovey behavior was starting to give Tori a headache. She considered bailing entirely when Sean held up the bottle of whiskey. “More scotch?”
She finished what was in her glass and set it down on the counter. “Sure.”
“What do you have planned this week?” Kyle looked between Sean and Tori as he mixed ingredients.
“Uh,” Sean said, glancing at her, “I’m not sure.”
“Wait, are you still going to San Francisco on Tuesday?” Kyle asked.
Tori’s gut clenched as she felt Sean’s questioning stare. “Um, yeah.” She sent him a look that hopefully said please don’t let on that you didn’t know about it. Her family was already beginning to like him far too much, and if they found out she was being less than fair with him, they might take sides against her.
And, ugh, she was being less than fair. She should’ve told him about the meeting.
Kyle finished pouring the drinks and delivered Maggie’s, taking a minute to give her some advice. When the game started up again, Tori turned to Sean. “I have to go to San Francisco for work early Wednesday. I’ll be back Thursday afternoon.”
“So the week you agreed to is more like five days.” He took a drink of scotch. “Thanks for letting me know up front.”
She winced. “I’m sorry. I can’t change the meeting. I should’ve told you.” She shrugged. “I don’t know why I didn’t.”
“Because you were pissed at me for coming.”
“Arriving unannounced was a bit of a douche move.”
“Douchier than pretending you never married me?” He frowned into his scotch. “My parents know I have a wife. They’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Shit. Her insides twisted into a thousand knots. “I didn’t know.”
He looked up at her. “Why would you? It’s not like we’ve had any meaningful conversations in the past eight months.”
Cheers interrupted their conversation.
“Way to go, Maggie!” Kyle swept her into a hug and kissed her soundly. She must’ve hit a good shot. Tori was sorry she’d missed it.
“Hey, you aren’t supposed to be encouraging the opposition,” Derek said to Kyle with a good-natured, completely manufactured frown.
Kyle stepped away from her. “You’re right. You suck, Maggie.”
“Me and my three points?” She narrowed her eyes playfully. “Outta my way so I can kick your ass.”
She proceeded to foul out. And then she socked Kyle in the arm. “You jinxed me. And I could’ve won the game!”
He drew her into a tight embrace and massaged her back while he kissed her forehead and whispered something in her ear that made her smile in a thoroughly alluring, feminine way.
Tori looked away from their PDA as the game carried on. If anyone noticed that she and Sean weren’t paying particular attention, they thankfully didn’t say so.
“Hey, stop groping your girlfriend and play pool,” Derek barked at Kyle.
Kyle flipped him off but let Maggie go and chalked his cue.
Dylan slapped Kyle on the back. “Six points, dude, that’s all we need.”
Tori should’ve been anxious to watch the game play out, but she was more concerned with Sean and what he’d revealed a moment ago. She took a bracing drink of scotch before making eye contact with Sean again. “What did you tell your parents?”
“That we got married and your brother died. Your coping with his death and my Europe assignment gave me plenty of reason as to why they couldn’t meet you or even talk to you via Skype.” It sounded as though they believed she and Sean were happily married.
“They also provide reasons as to why things didn’t work out,” she said. “Even a planned and thought-out marriage would’ve struggled under these circumstances. You get that, right?”
He leaned toward her, his eyes intense. “I do. But marriage isn’t a whim—it’s a commitment. You get that, right?”
Loud male whoops prevented her answer, not that she had one.
She turned her head to look at the pool table. “Kyle must’ve hit a hundred.” She swore under her breath. Yes, the competitor in her was alive and well. But at least it meant the evening could end and she could escape Sean.
“Sara and I are staying to watch the rest of the fourth quarter.” Dylan drew himself another beer and took a seat on one of the leather couches.
“Sounds good,” Kyle said, depos
iting himself on another couch. He patted the space next to him and crooked his finger at Maggie.
“Chloe and I need to go. I’ve got some work to do before our status meeting tomorrow morning.” Derek set his empty glass on the counter.
“Good game, guys. Night everyone.” Chloe waved. She paused as she passed Sean and Tori. “It was really nice that you could be here tonight. For what it’s worth, Tori, I think you might have a keeper here.” She winked at Sean and then left with Derek.
Tori resisted the urge to throw a towel from the bar at Chloe’s departing back. She threw back the rest of her scotch and stood. “I’m wiped out. Catch you all in the morning.” She spared a fleeting glance for Sean, but nothing more.
“Wait, I’ll walk up with you,” he said, finishing his whiskey. He turned to Kyle. “Thanks for saving me from a repeat performance with the cue of ignominy. Cheers.”
Everyone waved at Sean and warmly bid him good night. They clearly liked him. And why shouldn’t they? She liked him, too. She just couldn’t get past the mess in her head to allow more than that.
When they got to the ground floor, she planned to continue upstairs to her bedroom, but Sean snagged her elbow and drew her to turn and face him. “What’s going on tomorrow?”
“Nothing. I mean, I don’t know—for you. We have our weekly status meeting at eight thirty at The Alex. I’ll be working there most of the day.” She had a meeting with Cade and several other things that required her attention.
“I’ll come with you.”
“Please don’t.”
He lifted his hand, and she held her breath while he tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. “Why not? I’m interested in your project, and you promised me a week, even though you meant only five days.”
“Are you going to say I owe you again?” She hated that she sounded a bit breathless.
“Don’t you?” He dropped his hand to her shoulder. His touch was gentle, reverent almost. “Come on, Tori. I’m not going to embarrass or harass you. You had fun with me tonight, didn’t you? You looked happy.”
She’d felt happy. For a little while. And she couldn’t think of the last time that had happened. “It was the scotch.”