Jessie Jane was correct. His mother’s family went around acting as if they were the good people. While they stabbed people in the back. He knew for a fact that Mike was skimming money off the payments for those insurance policies. He knew that Danielle was lining her pockets with town money. People didn’t see it, because this town was so …
So damned narrow-minded about whom they labeled good and whom they labeled bad.
He didn’t have patience for it anymore.
Normally, he didn’t fight it. Normally, he just leaned into it. But hell … Jessie had served him this opportunity on a platter, and he wasn’t above taking it. Except the problem was, now he had JessieJane pressed up against the side of his body. Now he could feel her curves. The roundness of her hips, those firm breasts, pressed up against his chest. He was no green, inexperienced boy, but she was making him feel a touch out of control.
He walked up to the bar, past Cassidy and Dalton, who was busy chatting up the redhead, while Cassidy looked like a sad puppy. “Gus,” he said. “Can I get a drink for the lady?”
“Lady,” she said. “What an upgrade.”
“Well. A man can admit when he’s made a mistake.”
“Canhe?” she asked, lifting a brow.
Her hair slid over her shoulder, a glimmering river of chestnut gold.
God, she was so hot.
He had to remember that this was a game, and not in fact a pickup.
He could’ve asked. He could have asked her if maybe … since they were pretending, there was some merit in not pretending. But that was another thing he just flat out refused to do. Because there was tension between them, and he was absolutely certain that she felt it too. He would be damned if he’d be the first one to acknowledge it. He would be absolutely damned.
Which meant he wouldn’t even ask.
“And what would the lady like?” Gus asked with far too much mirth in his voice.
“Iama lady, Gus,” she said. “And I would like a motherfucking beer.”
She looked at Flynn and smiled. He smiled back. And then he became aware of his sister’s presence. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey yourself,” he said.
“Are you and Jessiehanging outtonight?” Cassidy looked at him far too meaningfully. If he were actually picking Jessie up, and if she weren’t … well, her, Cassidy would have likely messed this whole thing up. His little sister really was a menace.
“Maybe,” he said.
She grinned. “Okay. I need to call Austin—he owes me money.”
Cassidy walked away, and he stared after her, his jaw practically on the floor.
Jessie nearly howled. “Does your family bet on …Seriously?”
“It’s news to me,” he said. “They never told me that they had a bet going.”
“How wholesome.”
“Yeah. Well, my family never claimed to be wholesome. But you realize this is going to cause issues for me.”
“Look, if you need to tell your family, that’s fine. But keep it on the down-low. We can’t have everybody knowing. West will know. I mean, he would never believe … Sorry, but my brother is not taking bets on us.”
“Yeah. Well. The only bet I have that concerns West is whether or not Carson would punch him if he had to interact with him again.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t you hear about the whole thing where Perry went on a date with him?”
Jessie Jane blinked. “No.”
