Southern Sinner (North Carolina Highlands 3)

“There’s that smart mouth.”

Her eyes dance. “Maybe I’ll let you fuck it later.”

My dick twitches. I’m ready to go again?

That’s gotta be a record.

“Listen,” I say, adjusting my fly. “As much as I wanna talk dirty with you right now, I think we should discuss the weekend before, uh, things get out of hand for the second time in ten minutes.”

Her eyebrows pop up, and she scoots back in her chair, sitting a little taller. “Let’s. Is it weird that I’m excited? Because I actually think this could be fun.”

Phew. Her enthusiasm makes me feel slightly less like a douche for asking her to play this game.

“Honey, I’m gonna try my damndest to make it as fun as possible for you. We should have a story, right? Something we agree on?”

Stevie sips her cocktail and licks her lips, nodding. “Yes. But I think it’s best if we stick as closely to the truth as possible. That way, we have fewer”—she winds her wrist as she tries to think of the right word—“inventions to keep track of. Plus, we can really engage with our story then. Let’s just say our meet-cute went down exactly the way it did.”

“At a blackjack table in Vegas, when you won me a grand by showing me how to split aces and eights.”

“I am a solid teacher.”

“Damn right, you are. So you showed me the ropes. I bought you a drink.”

“I bought you a drink.”

I remember how her purse was so stuffed with chips they were falling out of it. No, you can’t buy me a drink, but I’ll buy you one.

Goddamn, is she a pistol. And goddamn, do I like it.

“The second I tasted your beer, I knew I was in trouble. Then we had fun at a club, and then we—”

“Had coffee.” Stevie smiles, her teeth gleaming in the firelight. “Lots and lots of mind-blowing coffee.”

“I’m sure my family will buy that.”

“Does Rhett know?” Stevie arches a brow. “About us pretending to date? Obviously, he was there in Vegas, and I know y’all traveled together afterward. Won’t he know something’s fishy?”

I shake my head. “The second his team’s season ended, Rhett was balls deep in either a bottle or a blonde. He was often in both at the same time, and he’s played that game ever since. I don’t think he knows what day it is, much less who I’m seeing. But just in case, I told him I didn’t say anything about you because I didn’t want to jinx it. Our relationship. It was new and exciting, and I wanted to see how it panned out before I clued anyone in. He seemed to buy it.”

“Good.” Stevie nods, sipping. “So we’ve seen each other since Vegas.”

“You came to visit me in Aspen before Rhett arrived.”

“And you came to visit me in Nashville right after.”

Sounds plausible enough. After I spoke to Samuel, Rhett returned to Vegas the next day while I hung out in Aspen for a few more days before flying back to North Carolina.

“We talk constantly.” I hold up my phone. “We haven’t known each other long, but our connection is special.”

“Right. What have we bonded over?”

“Besides coffee? And your amazing ass?”

Stevie catches the tip of her tongue between her teeth, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you. I happen to like your ass too.”

“Good. I work fucking hard on it.”

“I say we also share a love for hospitality. Treating our people to a good time.”

My heart twists. I ignore it. Just like I’m trying to ignore how nice it feels to have someone over at my house. Been an age since I’ve had company. “Yes. I also like how you know your shit. Blackjack, beer, business . . . you’re really, really great at all of that, and it turns me on.”

Her smile softens. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. Why? Guys don’t usually think your prowess is incredibly, ridiculously sexy?”

She looks away. Looks down at her drink, which she lifts off her palm with her fingertips. “Not always, no.”

Now there’s a nudge in my chest. I want to know more. I want to know Stevie’s real story. Is her ex one of those prickless, spineless assholes who’s threatened by a powerful woman?

But she hasn’t been forthcoming with that information, and it’s not my place to pry.

Besides, the last thing I need is to get personal. Because once that happens, it’s a slippery slope, and I’m not about to get in deep with yet another woman who doesn’t want what I do.

Granted, I don’t know what Stevie wants, exactly. But she’s made it pretty clear she’s not interested in something serious. I’m not either—at the moment. Eventually, though, I would like to start that family of my own, if I can ever figure out how to do it.

“You’re down to earth, but adventurous too,” I say.

That makes her look back up. “And you’re sweet. Thoughtful.”