Chapter 20
brEAKING: STEEL CITY SEALS SPOTTED AT BOWLING ALLEY Chaos, contraband, and questionable decisions ensue
Tanner
The door opens and I glance over my shoulder. A woman walks inside, but it’s not Alaia. My shoulders drop. Where is she? She said she’d be here.
Nolan clasps my shoulder. “You’ve got it bad.”
I shrug off his hand. “You’re one to talk.”
His eyes narrow. “Do not compare your situation to mine. I’m not faking anything.”
Interesting. Is he finally admitting there’s something happening between him and Terri? He’s denied their involvement since the first night they met when she turned him down in front of everyone.
“Maybe I’m not either.”
“Then, maybe you need to tell her.” He nods to the door Alaia is walking through.
She scans the room. When her gaze meets mine, she smiles and waves. She starts toward me but I can’t wait. I hurry toward her.
“Hi, gorgeous.” I kiss her cheek.
“Hi, charmer.”
“Two things can be true at once. I can be charming and correct about how gorgeous you are at the same time.”
She rolls her eyes. “Why are we meeting here? I didn’t think you were into bowling.”
“How could I resist? The bowling alley is named The Drunken Anchor Lanes.”
“You do realize tonight is a special night, don’t you?”
I squeeze her hand. “Any night with you is special.”
“You need to stop before I roll my eyes so hard they get stuck in the back of my head.”
I’m not lying or being charming. I’m serious. But she doesn’t realize it.
“That can’t happen.”
“Shush. Don’t tell the twins. They still believe me.”
“Sure, they do.” I lead her to our lane, where Gage, Nolan, Brock, and Corbin are waiting.
She glances around. “Where’s the moonshine?”
“We’re in training,” Brock grumbles.
“Too bad. It’s Sirens & Strikes Night. If you don’t participate, you’ll get heckled. And if there’s one thing Smugglers know how to do, it’s heckle.”
Gage’s brow furrows. “I thought the one thing Smugglers knew how to do was smuggle booze.”
She winks at Gage. “That, too.”
“What’s Sirens & Strikes Night?”
“Be right back,” she says instead of answering him. She makes her way to the bar and I follow her.
“Are you seriously buying moonshine?”
“Yep. And don’t say a word about being in training. I saw the beers.”
“Beer is one thing. Moonshine is another.”
She snorts. “Landlubbers are such wimps.”
I puff out my chest. “I’m not a wimp.”
“Good. Then, you’ll help me carry six shots back to our lane.”
“You tricked me.”
“What was your first clue?”
I chuckle as she hands me the tray with the shots of moonshine. When we’re back at our lane, I hand out the drinks. Corbin lifts his but Alaia grabs his arm to stop him.
She shakes her finger at him. “Not yet.”
He grunts. “I should have stayed home.”
“Don’t be such a fuddy duddy. Siena’s working late tonight anyway. She has to get those documents filed with the court by tomorrow morning.”
His lips purse. “Siena’s schedule has nothing to do with me.”
She pats his shoulder. “You’re adorable. Delusional. But adorable.”
Brock growls. “Do you know everything happening on this island?”
She bats her eyelashes at him. “As in, do I know about you and May?”
He steps forward. “How do you—”
I move to block him. “Be nice. This is my girlfriend, Alaia.”
He snorts. “Girlfriend. Right.”
I open my mouth to tell him Alaia is my girlfriend. To declare we’re not faking anything. But before I can speak – and probably cause a huge fight with Alaia – the lights flash.
“The pins aren’t the only things going down tonight,” the DJ declares.
Alaia holds up her shot. “Now it’s time to drink.”
“To the bootleggers!” The DJ hollers before the lights go out.
“Holy shit,” I mutter. “This moonshine glows in the dark.”
“Is this shit going to poison us?” Brock asks.
I frown at him. He can’t see me, but I’m frowning. “Stop being grumpy.”
“Masters of the sneaky snips and secret stashes. Thanks for keeping the party alive,” Alaia toasts. We drink our shots and the lights come back on.
“I’m beginning to wonder why I agreed to come out tonight,” Gage says as he sets his glass down.
“Live a little, Gage. Maybe Addy will show up later,” Alaia says and he perks up.
“I’m first,” Brock declares before grabbing a ball. He scans the lane and pauses. “Why the hell is there a toy rum barrel in our lane?”
“Because this is Sirens & Strikes Night,” Alaia says.
“Make sense,” he demands. He'd better watch his tone with her. I don’t care if he’s bigger than me. I won’t stand for anyone being rude, mean, or grumpy with her.
Alaia motions to the lanes. “Each lane has a hidden ‘contraband item’. If your ball knocks it loose, you win a prize.”
“What kind of prize?”
My teammates are interested now. Professional athletes are competitive. We like to win. But we hate to lose more.
Alaia points to a table near the bar. “There are the prizes. You can pick out your own.”
Brock drops his ball and stalks off to the table.
Alaia leans close to me. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s competitive the same way the rest of us are, but if there isn’t anything his son, Jace, will want, he’s out.”
“There’s tons of cool stuff. Free ghost tours. A tour of the underground tunnels the smugglers used during Prohibition. Lots of stuff a teenage boy will enjoy. When I win, I’ll pick something cool out for Jace.”
I lift an eyebrow. “When you win? You’re competing against professional athletes.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Is bowling a sport? I think of it more as a leisure activity.”
“Leisure activity or not, I’m kicking your ass.”
“We’ll see,” she sings before glancing around the bowling alley. “By the way, where’s the press?” she whispers.
“Press? Why would the press be here?”
“Duh. To photograph the two of us together. To show how you’ve been reformed.”
“This isn’t a PR stunt. The guys and I were going out. You had the night off, so I invited you.”
My stomach sours. She thinks I invited her because this is a PR stunt. She has no clue I want to spend all of my time with her. She thinks this relationship is fake. I fucking hate the word fake.
She rubs her hands together. “Your mistake.”
Hold on. She doesn’t care the press isn’t here. Maybe she wants to spend her time with me after all. I want to ask her, but she made herself pretty clear the other morning in the hotel. She doesn’t want a relationship with me.
Unacceptable. Alaia is the first woman I’ve ever wanted to have a relationship with. The first woman I’m interested in spending more than one night with.
I need to convince her I’m worth taking a chance on. That there’s more to me than the goofball, player the press can’t get enough of.
Brock returns and grabs his ball. “I’m knocking the rum barrel loose.”
“Did you find an item you want to win?” I ask.
“Wok the Plank donated a dinner for four, including drinks.” He frowns. “May’s parents can’t afford the donation.”
“Smuggler’s Hideaway is bewitched,” Corbin says while Brock lines up his shot.
“Bewitched how?” I ask.
“Men fall in love with the women on this island without realizing what’s happening,” he mutters.
Alaia leans forward. “Are you in love? Can I quote you in The Siren’s Spill?”
“Not me. Everyone else.” He points to me. “Including him.”
Alaia’s cheeks darken. Is she blushing with embarrassment? Or is she excited by the idea of me loving her? What I wouldn’t do to know the answer.
An alarm sounds as a giant anchor slowly lowers from the ceiling. Everyone in the bowling alley freezes.
“What’s going on?”
Alaia doesn’t respond. For several minutes, the alarm blares. She doesn’t speak until the giant anchor raises into the ceiling again. She points to Brock. “He’s getting a gutter penalty.”
“Why?”
“You can’t move when the anchor is lowered.”
“You didn’t tell us.”
She shrugs. “You didn’t ask.”
“Remind me never to play poker with you.”
She beams at me. “Too bad. I thought we’d play strip poker later.”
My cock twitches. Alaia naked. Her miles and miles of creamy skin on display for me. Her breasts and pussy begging for my attention.
She stands and winks. “You’re not the only troublemaker in the family.”
I’m officially intrigued. Does Alaia want more than a fake relationship with me? And how do I find out?