Chapter Five

Luke

Monday could kiss my ass. Especially this Monday.

Starting and finishing the day at Wayne’s wasn’t what I’d planned. First the hose on the truck was crap, and then I had to go back and get a new spark plug for the tractor we used to mow with. On top of that, I’d tried all day not to think about Charlotte. Which was impossible. Sexy little minx kept leaping to the forefront of my mind, giving me the same kind of hell she had that morning. It wasn’t my day, that was for damn sure.

When Duke suggested we grab a bucket of beers at the Drunk Skunk—Shady Grove’s local watering hole—I’d jumped at the chance to drown my frustrations. Now I was three beers in, and things were starting to look up.

“Here’s to giving Wayne way more money than he deserves,” Duke said, holding up his beer.

“Seriously.” I clinked my bottle against his. “Can we please just have a month where nothing mechanical breaks down?”

“Amen,” Duke agreed.

The fact was, we were so damn close to turning a profit at the distillery, we could taste it. With our next batch nearing age, we’d have a new lot to send out to distributors at the end of next month. Hopefully, from there we could finally make Wilder Whiskey a household name.

My brother and I drank our beers, but it didn’t take long for him to be distracted by what he called “the local talent.”

“You’re seriously going to ditch me for the same girls you’ve been running game on since high school?” I asked when he told me he was going to the back room to play pool with Lacy Danvers.

“First of all, I don’t need game,” he said. “Look at me.”

I shook my head. His arrogance never ceased to amaze me.

“Second, the last time Lacy Danvers was on the roster was junior year. Not sure if you remember, but she got knocked up after high school and married that prick from Hill Crest.”

Hill Crest was a rival school a county over. The same school that beat us in the playoffs our senior year. We were still licking our wounds from that loss over a decade later.

“Oh yeah.”

“She’s divorced now and back with her parents,” he explained. “She could be the one that got away, brother.”

“I doubt that,” I said. Duke hadn’t so much as mentioned the girl in ten years. There was no point in arguing the fact that as soon as Duke sealed the deal with Lacy, he’d be on to the next.

That was where he and I differed. He had the attention span of a gnat when it came to women. I, on the other hand, was monogamous to a fault. Sometimes I wished I could be more like Duke with his one-night stands and not giving a shit. I guessed he was more like Mom in that way, able to just shut it off. Hell, he could probably leave Shady Grove just like Mom did and never even glance over his shoulder. Lucky for me, he’d stuck around. After a day like today, I wasn’t sure I could handle all this on my own.

“She could be your sister-in-law,” Duke said as he slapped a hand on my back.

I laughed. “I’ll get the invitations made up.”

“Before you do that, why don’t you head on over there and take care of that problem we talked about earlier.” He nodded in the direction of one very sexy brunette saddled up to the oak bar. “Might turn your Monday around.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as he walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, I glanced over my shoulder and caught Charlotte’s reflection in the mirror that hung behind the bar. Even in the muted lighting, I could see the blue of her eyes. I watched as she took a drink of the clear liquor she had poured over ice, her finger skillfully keeping the lime wedge that floated on top from slipping against her lips.

Man up. You’ve got nothing to lose.

She already hated me. The way I saw it, the night would either end with her still hating me—or maybe, just maybe, we’d make peace. My dick perked up in interest. On top of that, I’d come up with a very interesting proposition for her, and I was hoping like hell that I could make her an offer she couldn’t refuse.

I stood up from my seat in the back corner and walked over to her. “Figured you for a fruity drink kind of girl.”

“Do you know how many calories are in those fruity drinks?” she replied, not looking over. In my peripheral vision, I could see her reflection looking at me.

“You surprised me with the straight vodka.”

“How do you know this isn’t just water?”

“By the way you pursed your lips when you swallowed, like it burned going down. There are much better things you can put in your mouth.”

That got her attention. Those blue eyes snapped to mine and widened as I leaned in a little closer.

“I could help if you’re looking for something a little . . . sweeter.”

Charlotte didn’t nod, but she didn’t shake her head either. I took her lack of response as a yes, and wondered for a second exactly what I could get away with.

What if I just went for it and closed the gap between us? What if I pressed my lips against hers and slipped my tongue into that smart little mouth?

As tempting as the notion was, I raised a hand to the bartender instead. “Two glasses of Wilder,” I told him. “Neat.”

I placed a hand on the back of the empty barstool next to her and waited for her to nod her okay before I sat down.

“Whiskey?” she asked when the glasses were placed in front of us.

“Best whiskey in town.”

“You’re telling me that this isn’t going to burn like the vodka?”

“I’ll guarantee it.”

“And what makes you so sure?” she said, leaning over toward me. Her eyes were a little glassy, making me wonder exactly how much of that vodka she’d had to drink.

“Because I made it.”

“Sure, you did.” She scoffed, clearly not believing me. When I raised my brows to challenge her skepticism, she said, “You’re serious?”

“Not a fan of liars. Definitely not one myself.”

“Okay then.” She picked up her glass and sniffed at the rich amber-colored liquid. “Let’s just see.” She lifted the glass to her lips and took a small sip.

I did the same, knowing what to expect—the smooth oak finish, the rich vanilla undertones, the sweet aftertaste that made you want to go back for more. As I swallowed mine, I waited anxiously for her reaction.

“Well?”

“Not too bad.”

She was cagey, careful not to let me know exactly how much she liked it. But when she took another sip, I knew we had a new fan.

“Can’t believe you ever doubted me.”

We sat there for a moment, just looking at each other. While she was still wearing the same clothes from this morning, something was different. Her hair was smoother, her makeup a little darker. The pink polish that I’d noticed on her nails had been replaced with an almost black color.

“How was your day?” I asked.

“Great. After dealing with Wayne, I spent the day at the salon.”

“You met Audrey?”

“I did.” Charlotte gave me a slightly crooked smile. “Don’t I look fantastic?”

While I didn’t miss her normally biting tones, I could tell she was a little drunk. Especially when she attempted to bat her now fuller lashes at me.

Damn, she’s a cute drunk.

“Fantastic. You wanna split a pizza?” I asked, determined to get some food in her before the liquor took over completely.

“Pizza?”

“Yeah, as in pepperoni, cheese, sauce . . . You’ve had it before, right?” When she answered me with an eye roll, I said, “And don’t give me that too many calories bullshit.”

“Well, it is.”

I silenced her with a finger against her pouty lips. “We both need dinner. Humor me. One slice.”

I let my finger linger in place for a moment. When her lips puckered slightly against my skin, I had to will my cock into submission. Not yet, pal. I dropped my hand from her mouth.

I wasn’t the kind of guy who took advantage of a girl who’d had too much to drink. Before I made a move, I’d get some food and water in her. The last thing I wanted was her doing anything she’d regret.

“Fine,” she said. “Pizza does sound pretty good.”

“That a girl.”

• • •

One pizza later, the two of us were sitting at a small table at the front of the bar. While we’d kept our conversation light so far, I couldn’t help but think of all the questions I had for Charlotte. My interest in her went far beyond looks.

“I learned a little bit about you today,” she said.

“Don’t believe everything you hear.” I was pretty sure my reputation in this town was golden, but you never know what’s said behind closed doors.

“All good, I promise.”

“What did you hear?”

“You’ve got a lot of fans,” she said with a smile. “Of the female variety.”

“I don’t know about that.”

I tried to keep to myself and ignore a lot of the attention younger women throw my way. But I could have gone on for days about how doing the right thing hadn’t always panned out the way I’d hoped. Didn’t keep my mom around. Or Sarah.

I decided against opening up, though. I barely knew this girl, and the last thing I wanted was to bare my soul to a sexy stranger passing through. A subject change was needed.

“So . . . how exactly did you end up here?”

“Long story,” she said with a sigh.

“I’ve got no place to be.”

“Well . . .”

I could see her hesitation in revealing her reasons, which only made me want to know more.

“I’m on my way to LA,” she finally said. “I’m moving in with a friend.”

“Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”

“A girl that’s a friend. Valentina.”

“Okay.” I could hear the relief in my own voice. “New York girl moves to LA. That’s a big move. You running from something?”

“The law,” she said plainly, causing me to nearly choke on the water I’d just drank.

“Seriously?”

Her lips twitched. “I shot a man in Reno.”

When I realized she was yanking my chain, I was relieved and more than a little turned on by the girl’s wit. New Yorkers were pegged as being street smart, but this one didn’t miss a beat, so I played along.

“Just to watch him die?”

“You know my story?” She chuckled, and I laughed along with her.

“I’m familiar. Johnny Cash is a favorite around here. I’m surprised you know who he is.”

She grinned. “Even New York isn’t immune to a little country charm.”

That’s what I was hoping. She wanted country charm, and I had it in spades. Hell, truckloads. I’d turn it up and get exactly what I wanted from her.

“I just need a fresh start,” she said, confessing as much as I thought I was going to get out of her that night.

Whatever she was leaving behind in New York wasn’t something she was ready to talk about, which was fine by me. When I’d walked over here, I was aiming for simple and easy. Too much talk of the past might lead someplace I didn’t think either of us were looking to end up.

“Fresh starts are good. I’ve needed a couple in my life.” The urge to clear up the bad blood between us was weighing on me. Seemed like as good a time as any. “Maybe we get one? I might not have made the best first impression.”

“Me either,” she admitted. “I was a jerk too. I promise I’m not a complete asshole.”

“Same here. All is forgiven.”

The truth was, seeing her sitting there with her kissable lips and a look of vulnerability that I hadn’t seen from her yet, I would have pardoned her for actually shooting a man in Reno.

“To fresh starts,” she said, raising her glass of water.

“To fresh starts.” I nodded and clinked my glass against hers, grinning back at her. “So, about what you mentioned yesterday, a marketing degree from Yale.”

“What about it?”

“Any chance I could convince you to use it to help me out?”

The cutest little line formed between her brows as she processed what I was saying.

“See, I’ve got this fantastic whiskey that needs selling, and I’m about as useless as tits on a nun when it comes to social media and all that shit.”

She giggled. “Are you asking me to help you market your whiskey, Luke?”

“Yes.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“What do you want?” I teased, letting our stare linger for a few seconds. I would have given my left arm for her to say something along the lines of I want you to fuck my brains out. Especially when she ran the tip of her tongue over her lips as she thought.

“What do you have to offer?” she said, shifting a little in her seat.

As much as she was getting to me, I could see that she was feeling it too. The sexual tension. The heat. The chemistry. It was undeniable.

“I can think of a few things.” I rested my forearms on the table and leaned closer. The sweet smell of her expensive perfume was intoxicating.

“Well . . .” She leaned forward, mirroring my position, and it took a lot of willpower not to toss the table between us across the room. “I can think of one thing,” she said softly, drawing me in even more. “I’d really like that car part you said your buddy could ship from Austin.”

“You got it,” I mustered up, drowning out the lust that was about to rip me in two. Never in my life had a woman riled me up the way this one did. My dick was so hard, I could have used it to pound nails, and all we’d done was sit here and talk tonight.

“Good,” she said with a huge grin. “You’ve got a deal.”