Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ruby
Diners packed Curly’s. Every table was full. Tenor and I had been seated in the middle, close to the front. Everyone who entered would turn from the hostess booth and see us. I’d heard about Curly’s seating preferences from the Baileys, but this was the first I’d witnessed it.
The mayor was sitting at the table next to us. Bourbon Canyon royalty, front and center.
The gaze of other customers burned into me. In the coffee shop, I had felt the weight of others’ curiosity. Here, the load was amplified, and I didn’t miss a few of the envious glances from various women.
I had gotten one of the most coveted bachelors.
As much as I wanted to gloat, I couldn’t. Tenor tried to appear at ease, but his shoulders were rigid and he’d pushed his glasses up three times in the last two minutes.
This was the same man who’d given me two sweet kisses at Mountain Perks, though there’d been fewer witnesses.
“We did not have to come here tonight,” I said quietly and snagged a bun. If he wanted to go, I had to get them while they were warm.
“It’s just taking some getting used to.” He pushed the menu to the side. He’d never cracked it open. “I get to show off the prettiest woman in here.”
I laughed, but warmth packed in the places around the soft bun and maple bourbon butter in my belly. I’d put on the red handkerchief dress I’d worked in last night and paired it with ballet flats. I was extra short compared to Tenor, but his hot look had said he could gobble me in one bite.
Again, he could, but he wouldn’t.
A woman walked by who was probably between my age and Tenor’s. She had long dark hair hanging down her back in a braid and shrewd eyes. Her gaze caught on Tenor, then she glanced at me and did a double take.
She stopped next to me. “Are you Ruby?”
Surprised, I nodded.
She didn’t smile. “Madison Townsend.”
“Oh. Nice to meet you!” I held out a hand.
A line formed between her brows, but she eventually shook my hand. Her grip was firm, no-nonsense.
“I’m really sorry about any miscommunication,” I said. “I’m happy to talk to you if you change your mind.”
“It’s not my mind that would have to change.” Her gaze softened only slightly. “You might want to steer clear of Flatlanders though. Scott thinks you’re a spy.”
A spy? Shock heated the back of my neck. “I’m sorry.”
She waved me off. “I just don’t want trouble, and you’re clearly with the Baileys.”
“Just one Bailey,” Tenor said evenly.
“Of course.” Madison’s smile was saccharine sweet. “We all know Teller doesn’t stick with one woman for long.”
“Maybe it’s because Scooter will try to marry her,” he said without missing a beat.
Red infused Madison’s cheeks. “Both of them lost with that one.” She whisked herself away, heading to the back of the restaurant.
“I hate to say she’s right,” Tenor said.
“What was that about?”
“Scooter married Teller’s ex, but they weren’t exes when Scooter started sleeping with her. Madison was the one who told Teller, and from the way he tells it, she enjoyed breaking the news.”
Ouch. “That doesn’t help the bad blood.” I thought more about what Madison had said. “Is Teller a player?” I shook my head. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”
I hadn’t seen that side of Teller. There were other single women who worked at Copper Summit, but Teller and Tenor—until me—were nothing but professional around them.
“No. He’s decisive about what he does and doesn’t want, and he won’t make any promises. He also doesn’t date much.” Tenor shrugged. “It’s hard to date a lot in a small town. Not many options.”
Or in Tenor’s case, he didn’t want to risk getting shamed for his interests again. I would not be doing that. Everything about Tenor was interesting. “Do you have other games you play? I don’t think I could get into Warhammer, but is there anything else? Cards? Board games?”
His expression tightened. “I joined the board game club in middle school.”
“That’s cool. What was your favorite?”
He stared at me.
Suddenly nervous, I took a drink of my water. Had I said something wrong?
“I got a lot of shit for being in the board game club,” he admitted.
I wrinkled my nose. “People find anything to step on to make themselves feel better.”
He relaxed. “Trivia games were my favorite. And Jenga. Now I have a closetful.”
I smiled. “Only a closet?” His Warhammer collection spilled beyond an entire room.
He chuckled. “I might have to add on just for them. Tate’s oldest, Chance, comes to play. He’ll hang out with me, Lane, and Cruz sometimes, so he’s not always lumped in with the younger kids.”
“Let’s play some tonight.”
He pushed his glasses up. “You want our date to be Curly’s and a board game?”
“Sounds fun.”
His expression turned calculating. “I think we should add some stakes.”
Tenor
I placed a green chip on the Sequence board. “That’s five in a row. Take your shirt off.”
Ruby blinked and pursed her red lips. “You did not—” My diagonal line of green chips couldn’t be denied. A scandalized gasp left her. “Another joker? You are too damn lucky!” She’d already lost her pants in the last game—after having dressed in her pajama top and bottoms when I’d suggested the stakes.
She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. Still squeezing her eyelids shut, she ripped her shirt off. I drank her in. A pale-yellow lace bra cupped her creamy tits. She peeled her eyes open.
“Now that’s incentive to win a game.” I discreetly adjusted myself. How easy would it be to haul her to the back bedroom? If I asked, would she get herself off again? Would she let me watch?
I shouldn’t have tossed down the wager, but a small part of me feared she’d be bored by a dinner-and-board-game date night. Another part of me was just a selfish guy with a sexy woman under his roof.
Her full tits jiggled with a shiver.
“Cold?” I asked. I’d bundle her in one of my sweaters if need be.
“ Exposed .” She scowled at me, but her lips twitched into a smile. “I’m fine, but we should try another game.” She got up, her hips swaying in matching underwear. She tugged at the hem. “I can’t believe you talked me into this, but it’ll definitely make us seem more familiar with each other next weekend.”
That goddamn wedding.
The date was bearing down on me. Did Ruby feel the same sense of impending loss?
Perhaps she wanted to return to weekends in her own home. She probably missed her friends. She might even want to get a real boyfriend.
The idea made me feral. I nearly rose to haul her to my bedroom.
She went to the door that would’ve been the pantry for someone whose mama didn’t supply him with meals. I had a few staples tucked in the corner if I ever got stranded, but the rest of the shelves were filled with games.
I had to get a hold of myself, or a flirtatious game of strip board games would derail all my honorable intentions.
“Oh my god, I haven’t played Battleship in forever.” She withdrew the box and turned. Her bottom lip was pinched between her teeth and delight danced in her eyes. “That was the thing about being an only kid. I didn’t have enough friends to play games with.”
She sat and did a little wiggle when she opened the box. Her smile never left her face as she took out the game units. She was really enjoying this. Pleased, I placed my ships.
When I’d dated in my early twenties, I’d felt like I had to do backflips to entertain the women I went out with, and Bobby’s taunts had rung through my head the entire time. Didn’t help that he’d been proved right. No one but my family would like me. I was too sloppy, too big, too clumsy, too slow, too whatever.
“Losers go first.” She grinned wickedly. “B-seven.”
Grateful to get yanked out of the past, I shoved my hair off my forehead and put a red peg in my destroyer. “Hit.”
She clapped and giggled, her delight a show just for me. We continued to play.
Ruby Casteel was amazing. As she took down my destroyer, my admiration grew. I was into her. That sweet smile. Her body. The way she blushed.
I flipped my unit around. “You sank my battleship. Shirt or pants?”
“Hmm...” She rubbed her chin and eyed me. “I’ll never pass up you without your shirt.”
I used to hate taking my shirt off in public. Still did. Until that growth spurt, I had avoided it. My tennis teammates had wanted to practice on weekends. All of them would go shirtless but me. Girls I’d dated had made me self-conscious with the comparison to my brothers. Katrina had sent me information on gym memberships, claiming my morning runs weren’t enough and we could work out together.
I stripped off my shirt. I didn’t run anymore. Nor had I ever enjoyed the gym. Without a partner’s opinion to worry about, I hadn’t questioned my decision. But the look in Ruby’s eyes was nothing but appreciation.
She did that little wiggle in her chair that almost had me surging over the table to drag her onto it for my own personal dessert. “Do I try my luck at more Battleship or...” She rose and went to the game closet. “Exploding Kittens? What’s that?”
“It’s a card game. Chance loves it, but it’s better with more players.”
She continued to stand in the opening. I continued to eye her ass. “I feel like you’d decimate me at Scrabble.”
“Especially when you can’t use the slang you young’uns are used to.”
She laughed, tossing her hair back. “No wonder Lane calls you old man.”
A dark cloud passed over my good mood. “It’s exactly why. This whole night is why.” She turned and I waved my hand over the table. “I don’t go out unless it’s with my family, and I love game nights. I’m not exciting. It’s not because of my age.”
“You’re my kind of excitement. What does that make me?”
“Special.” Her eyes took on a shimmer, and I dropped my gaze. “Don’t ever doubt that.”
She abandoned the board games and took the chair next to me. “You know why I love my job?”
“Because you’re good at it.”
Her expression remained solemn. “It’s because I never fit in. I can follow the trends, but they just don’t look right on me. I can speak the lingo, but it’s always just a little off. Online, though? It’s like when people claim they can’t read tone. I can do the trends, I can talk the talk, but I’m not the product. My posts land like they should. My content resonates with people, whereas I never did.” She folded her hands on her bare legs. “And when something doesn’t hit like it should or people leave mean comments, I don’t take it personally. Not like when Brock broke up with me because I was boring and predictable .”
I twisted toward her and took her hands in mine. Our skin was touching. Her legs were under my grip. “If he was bored with you, then I think he fell into the uneventful mind category.”
Some of the sadness left her face. “Bet he never played strip board games.”
“Bet he’d lose. Just like you’re going to.”
Her eyes went wide. “I will not lose.” She squeezed my hands and winced. “How far down are we stripping?”
I raked my gaze over her half-nude body. “I have to win two more games.”
She laughed and pushed at my hands. “I’m done. I can’t. You’re too lucky, and I’ll be naked. I don’t think I can keep pretending to be nonchalant. I have no shirt and no pants on around you. I’m very much chalant.”
I tucked a wild curl behind her ear. “Go to bed, Ruby, before I decide to quit being a good guy.”
“You could never be the bad guy.” She didn’t move for a beat, then turned and left.
I didn’t have to be a prick to let her down. If there was ever a woman I didn’t want to disappoint, it was her. Good thing the wedding was next weekend, or I’d keep figuring out ways to get her naked. The lines were blurring and I’d learned that on the other side was failure and heartbreak. I didn’t want that for either of us.
So next weekend, once we put on a good show at the reception, I’d make sure Ruby got in her car and drove off. And it wouldn’t be in the direction of my home.