Tex tilted his hat back and grinned. “Yeah? You want to bet on that, big guy?”
Jed stood maybe an inch taller than Tex. So bigguys—plural—made a better description. Mack had leaner muscle and stood a few inches shorter. Still over six foot but not a giant, which made her more comfortable around him. Heck, she’d be able to reach up to drag him close if she wanted to plant a kiss—
Put him in a headlock, she quickly corrected.Jesus, Dad is right. I need a life if I’m even thinking of locking lips with stud muffin Revere.
He quirked a brow at her. “Thoughts in that pretty little head?” He gave her a sly grin. “Scared?”
“Of making you cry, yeah.”
He laughed.
Tex grinned. “I like her.”
“She’s not kidding. She’s pretty good at pool,” Jed warned.
Mack shrugged. “I’m not too shabby either.”
“Okay, then, go ahead and rack ’em.” Cass nodded at the pool table. “Ten bucks says I can take you in three games.”
“Oh, you’re on. Eight ball?”
She nodded.
He racked the balls on the pool table. “Yo, Tex. Grab me an ale and an order of nachos. Jed? Cass? You guys want something?”
She felt funny hearing him call her by her first name but ignored it. “I’m good, thanks.”
“I could use something to eat,” Jed said. “I’ll head over to the bar with Tex. What do you think about the team this year?” He asked, nodding to the Seahawks logo on Tex’s shirt. “Pretty damn good, yeah?”
She didn’t hear what Tex said back, watching Mack size up the table. He looked comfortable as he positioned the balls correctly. A littletoocomfortable. She saw him eyeing up the play after he set the flat end of the rack parallel to the end rail of the table, making sure the top ball of the triangle centered on the table’s foot spot.
“Are you planning to hustle me?”
He chalked his pool cue. “Me? Do I look like a hustler?”
“Yes.”
He grinned. “Didn’t need to think about your answer, huh?”
“You look tricky.”
“I think the word you were looking for is ‘skilled.’ Or maybe ‘spectacular.’ ‘Gorgeous.’ ‘Breathtaking.’ Yeah, that’s probably it.”
She rolled her eyes.
“No, no, you meant ‘superior.’”
She snorted. “‘Superior’? You wish.”
“Well, that remains to be seen.” His devilishly handsome grin made it tough to focus anywhere else. “But I notice you didn’t object to ‘breathtaking.’ And you wonder why it’s so hard to be me. There’s only so much of me to go around.”
“Oh my God. Stop talking.”
He chuckled.
She glanced at the bar to see Jed and Tex still chatting as they drank and waited on their order. Jed hadn’t been lying about not considering this a real date because he’d clearly left her on her own with Mack. Typically, when they hung out, he hovered like a mother hen if a guy so much as twitched in her direction. Big brother to the extreme.
She took the pool stick Mack handed her and lined up to break. She hit and managed to sink the one ball—a solid.
