Page 75

“Pretty sure that was worth a bathroom cabinet install,” she told me.

“I did install a bathroom cabinet for Millie!”

Jamie just shrugged.

“She’s changing the decor?—”

“Of course.” I gritted my teeth. “After we fucked around all that time installing a floating bathroom sink.” I dragged the balls towards me and racked them again in preparation for another game. “So, what are we playing for next? A new deck? A pergola? A tiny house installed in the bottom of her garden for the two of you to sit and plan yet more DIY nightmares?”

“Ooh, I like that idea,” she said, her grin utterly merciless. “So I’ll break?”

“The fuck you will,” I said, stepping up and doing just that, watching the balls scatter, but not one of them hit a pocket.

“Fine.” She surveyed the spread of balls and then went to take her shot. “I’ll let Millie know she can order the materials for that tiny house.”

That cocky look, it drove me mad and made me want to knock her off her perch every damn time, so I moved closer, propping my arse against the edge of the table right next to her shoulder. The way she paused, looking up at me warily, yeah, that made me smile.

“Maybe.” I held her gaze. “Or maybe I’ll win.”

She tried to rally, a smile forming, but it faded quickly.

“And what do you want?” Jamie asked the question, but she knew. “If you manage to actually win.”

“A do-over.”

She snorted at that.

“Like when we played handball at school?”

“Like me acknowledging that everything about the other night was a misstep,” I said. “Like me learning from my mistakes and getting a second chance to prove I’m not a complete waste of space.” My hand slid across the shoulder, and she watched it get closer and closer to hers. “Like you walking into another date with me, knowing it’s real for me, at least, and seeing how that pans out.”

Jamie stared intently, her eyes seeming to take every part of my face in before meeting my gaze. That smile was back again, and it was a relief to see it.

“You’d need to win first,” she said and then bent over the table, going to work.

Chapter 35

Jamie

“Like you walking into another date with me, knowing it’s real for me, at least, and seeing how that pans out.”

I didn’t really date. All the guys I’d been out with before had been the result of hookups that never really went home. They decided they liked what they saw when we slept together and so came back for more and more until they got sick of me or I kicked them to the curb, but in some ways it worked. We never pretended to be anything other than a situationship and that left me feeling safe.

Except for Rohan, they never had a chance of touching me any more than I did them.

So why did I stand there and stare at Hunter’s smile and consider the idea of it? The fancy restaurant was gorgeous, but that wasn’t us. This was. I shook my head, realising I didn’t need to even worry about this, because he’d never beat me at a game of pool.

“You’d need to win first.” In my mind, it all went perfectly. All I needed to do was take the shots I could see clearly in my mind, but right as I had a ball in my sights a hand landed on the small of my back. My whole body stiffened and that queered my aim, only a knee-jerk reaction stopping me from hitting the ball. “So this is how we’re playing?”

“I aim to win, and I don’t give a fuck how I get there,” he said, his smile a flag of challenge being waved in my face. “Especially with that prize on the table.”

As Hunter’s eyes slid over me, I shook my head.

“You wanna play dirty pool? I’ve got three older brothers. I know all the tricks.”

“Yeah, but this way, win or lose, I get something out of it.” His hand slid slowly over my lower back, mapping its curve. “Might leave me with blue balls, but I’ll take it.”

“That right?”