“Winner gets whatever he or she wants.”
Her heart raced because he kept glancing at her mouth.
“What do you want?”
“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Will asked.
Evan leaned closer. “If we win, I want you to bring me a chocolate mint sundae, to my place, and serve it up fancy. Whipped cream, fudge, a big old glass dish, long silver spoon, the works.”
She grinned. She could do that. “Okay.” She thought for a second. “If I win, I get you to play handyman at my house for a few hours.” A few? Heck, she’d have to pick the most important broken items for him. “Are you ‘handy’ enough to do it?”
“Are you kidding? Who do you think has kept my mom’s forty-year-old house in working order for the past six years?” He held out his hand.
She took it and shook, her gaze glued to his. Her heart pounded, and the warmth of his palm messed with her brain.
“Quit distracting her with your testosterone,” Rachel complained. “And step away. You smell too good.”
Will raised a brow.
“He’s not as good-smelling asyou,love muffin. And I didn’t say anything at all about his amazing gray eyes.”
“Amazing? I’d have gone with mesmerizing,” Lila added. “If I wasn’t into brown all of a sudden. Like honey-brown,” she amended, leaning closer to Hector.
Daniel made gagging noises. “I think I’m going to be sick. Can we please stop with…whatever you guys are doing and just bowl?”
Evan sat back down and whispered something to Daniel that had him staring in shock. “Seriously?”
“Yep. But we have to win first.”
“Oh man. We are so winning.” Daniel grinned, his excitement palpable, and Kenzie had an odd pang. Her brother used to be that uninhibited, free to express his laughter and joy with an adult, back when Bryce had been around.
It was nice to see him acting like his old self again. She refused to attribute that emotional freedom to Evan and instead considered how long it had been since she’d had some fun with her friends doing anything besides working or complaining about work.
“Well? You’re up, Kenzie.” Evan sat back, his arms linked behind his head, and waited. “Don’t choke.”
* * *
She wanted to chokehim.
They lost by twenty points through no fault of her own.
Lila hadn’t helped, distracted by Hector, his huge biceps, and his silly jokes which, okay, she found funny as heck. But it was Daniel who’d really won the guys the game. Her brother was on fire, everything he bowled knocking down pins.
The guys rubbed it in by ordering another pitcher of beer and a super large Icee for Daniel. The girls took it in stride, playing off the loss as if they’d let the boys win.
Kenzie’s stomach balled in knots, in both dread and excitement. She refused to look at Evan then couldn’t help herself and peeked before looking away again.
Her phone pinged, and she checked her message. Evan’s address appeared.
I’ll see you tomorrow at two. Don’t be late.
And don’t forget my cherry on top.
He high-fived her brother and the guys, and he smirked at her.
Unable to help it, she flipped him the bird when her brother wasn’t looking.
He laughed hard, and she wished his smile didn’t make him so irresistible.
