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Gosh. I forgot Lynn was there for a second. Jake’s gaze flits all over my face, as if he’s trying to read my mind. “Yeah, sure.” I can use the distraction. I take a sip of my drink. The refreshing mint and lime taste center me.

I look at Jake again. “Want to join us? Since we areoldfriends and all.”

He hesitates for a second and pushes his chair back. The three of us walk to one of the empty pool tables. Lynn goes straight to the wall holding pool sticks and carefully inspects them as if they are surgical instruments, and precision is essential for this operation.

She returns with three sticks and hands one to both Jake and me. “There are three of us, so we can play eight-ball, and the loser gives up his spot to the next person, or we can play cutthroat with the three of us. What will it be?”

I’ve never played with three people before. “Cutthroat? What’s that?”

Jake points at the rack in the center of the table. “We each get five balls to protect. Instead of pocketing your balls like in a regular game, the objective is to pocket your opponent’s balls. Wipe them off the table.”

Lynn smiles. “That’s right.”

“How do we know which ball belongs to who?”

Jake adjusts the balls, moving their positions inside the rack. “We go by numbers. One person gets balls one through five, the next six through ten, and so on.”

Lynn saddles up to the table and nudges the rack a hair to the left. “I’ll go first.”

I point at her with my cue stick. “No, you won’t. The game will be over before we start. Jake, you can go first.”

He shakes his head and takes a step back. “No, ladies first.”

“Okay, I’ll go first, but Lynn will go last.”

Lynn touches my elbow and stops me before I can hit the racked balls. “Let’s make it interesting, though.”

Oh no, here it comes. “Lynn . . .”

She ignores me. “Loser buys dinner. And I agree to go last. That’s fair.”

Jake narrows his eyes at her. Her relaxed demeanor, one hand at her hip, cue stick in the other. Her eyes wide and innocent as she waits for an answer. “Why do I feel like I’m about to get swindled?”

She places her free hand on her chest. “What? Why, I’m offended.” Her thick Southern accent has me nearly choking on my mojito. She’s a yank. A New Yorker through and through and there’s not an ounce of a Southern belle in her.

Jake laughs. “Maybe I should just hand over my wallet while I’m ahead.”

The sound of his laugh is melodic and unexpected. Warmth spreads into my chest as I see him smile and the tension ease off his shoulders. But there’s also a little unwelcome sharp burn, like the prick of a heated blade. I want to be the one making him laugh like that. I shove the feeling away and force myself to relax, stop thinking, and be present. Enjoy this moment, enjoy the truce between us, and take what he’s offering. I mentally thank Lynn for dragging me here today. I step to the table and break the rack.

Solid and striped balls roll and settle. Four balls hit the sides and the cue ball sits in the middle. I study the table and make my call. “I’ll take six through ten.”

Lynn looks at the spread. “Good call. I’ll take one through five. Andyour detectivecan have eleven through fifteen.”

I glance at him. A raised eyebrow tells me he too caught the inflection in Lynn’s voice when she saidyour detective. I might have to beat her up with the pool stick. I take a deep breath and go after her balls instead. Pocket one.

“Hey? And you call yourself my best friend?”

I smile and go for another one of her balls. I miss this time, and Jake steps in. He pockets two of her balls and misses the third. It’s Lynn’s turn now.

She swaggers forward. Grabs a chalk cube while she studies the table. Then tosses it over her shoulder, and Jake grabs it mid-air while I flinch. She laughs and winks at me. “Prepare to be amazed.”

She goes after Jake’s first. Pockets all five balls in rapid succession. Someone whistles and someone else says, “I want her on my team.”

We have a small audience now. The bartender comes over to watch—a dishtowel draped over his shoulder. He crosses his arms and smiles at Lynn. She saunters around the table, her back to him, leans over, and gives him a fantastic view of her ass. I have to laugh. The poor guy has no idea what’s coming for him.

She sinks four of my balls and misses the last one on purpose. The hit is so wild there’s no doubt she cheated. “Oops. It’s your turn again, Ava.”

Jake walks behind me and whispers into my ear, “Your friend is a hustler.”