Page 13 of The Bluffing Game

I try not to roll my eyes. Who calls glasses pretty?

I take another step closer, grateful that Toby is holding my hand quietly as we stand there.

“Rosie, they look like standard glasses,” the woman next to her says, and there’s something in her tone that makes me freeze.

Do I know this lady? From the back, I can’t tell if I recognize her. She’s got long, straight dark brown hair. She’s wearing jeans that show off her pert derriere and a tight blue top, but from behind, I can’t tell what that shows off.

“They’re nicer than the glasses we have.”

“We don’t have any glasses yet.” The woman laughs.

Suddenly, it hits me. I know that laugh. And I’m pretty sure I remember this woman. The two women I saw at Kettle King were new to town, and the beautiful one I bantered with had dark hair and a tinkling laugh that sounded just like this.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, and I’m taken aback at the irritation in my tone. Like I somehow knew deep inside that this woman would complicate my life.

Did Lucia hire the hot woman with the disdainful eyes to work at my restaurant?

“What did you say, Daddy?” Toby looks up at me, and before I can respond, he goes running toward Lucia. “Auntie, I’m here.”

Lucia and my two new employees turn around to gaze at me, and I see the shock on the brunette’s face as she takes me in. She looks even more gorgeous than I remember from the night before. Her striking red lipstick emphasizes her luscious lips, and her skin seems to glow. Her top shows off the swell of her breasts and the tight curve of her waist, even giving a small peekaboo of her belly button and the tan silk of her skin. I frown as I gaze at them all.

“What’s going on here?” I ask gruffly, watching Lucia lift Toby and hug him.

“Hello to you too, Dalton,” Lucia says sarcastically and takes a step toward me. “I’d like to introduce you to your two new employees, who are literal lifesavers for being able to start working right away. This is Sage and her sister, Rosie. Girls, this is my brother, Dalton. Ignore the scowl. He’s often in a grumpy mood. He’s like a pit bull; he looks scary, but once you get to know him, he’s lovable.”

“I don’t know if anyone has ever called me lovable.” I step forward and offer my hand to Rosie first, presenting her with a smile, hoping to put her at ease.

I’m pretty sure I hear Sage whispering under her breath, “Doesn’t surprise me,” but I ignore her.

I find it quite interesting that she’s coming with her fiery personality right away. I would have thought she’d be a lot more congenial, considering I was now the one paying her checks.

“Hi, Dalton. Nice to meet you,” Rosie gushes, having not picked up on the tension in the room. She shakes my hand graciously, and a wide smile spreads across her pretty face. I’m struck by the fact that she’s also quite beautiful, but in a less striking way than her sister. Her dark hair is highlighted with light blond streaks and falls in waves down her shoulders. She’s definitely a looker, and I know with her personality, she could bring in a lot of men if she were behind the bar. Maybe I’ll talk to Lucia about training her as a bartender—that is, if I decide to let them stay employed.

I turn to Sage and notice that her eyes are bold and direct as she gazes right at me. She tilts her shoulders back and lifts her chin up, like she’s a bull and we’re ready to fight. Interesting. I’m not surprised that she’s looking at me combatively. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from the confident woman in the bar. I slowly reach out to give her my hand and plant the fakest smile on my face that I can. No need for her to know how unsettled I feel.

“Nice to meet you again, Sage,” I murmur as she reluctantly offers me her hand.

She tries to squeeze mine tightly, but it doesn’t affect me in the least. I almost want to laugh at the fact that she believes that her handshake could hurt me in any way.

“I’m sure it is,” she says, giving me a sickly sweet smile that is as authentic as the gold-plated cutlery we give to guests. “You can let go of my hand now.”

“I thought you were trying to play a war game.”

“A war game?”

“Like thumb war or something.”

“As if I would be trying to play …” She looks over at a gawking Lucia, whose eyes are wide with merriment as she watches us banter back and forth.

My sister has the most transparent face I’ve ever seen, and I can tell from the way she’s gazing at me that she thinks she’s just uncovered some huge secret.

“You two know each other?” She sets Toby on a stool, then steps closer to us, curiosity getting the best of her.

“We met the other night,” Sage admits, wrinkling her nose, as if the memory were not a pleasant one. As if we didn’t both enjoy our moment in the dark bar.

I wonder if she was kept up at night as well. Not that I am going to ask her that in front of my sister and hers. Not that I would ask her even if our sisters weren’t there.

I try not to spend too much time looking at her face. I’ve been around pretty women all my life and never had one make me lose my head. I wasn’t about to let Sage start. Even though she was more than just pretty. One might call her beautiful if one was inclined. I, however, was not one of those people. As far as I was concerned, she could be a pig, a cow, or an alien from outer space. I had absolutely no interest in her.