Preston laughed. “You bet again, didn’t you?”
“Of course we did,” she snapped. “Our friendship is based upon ridiculous bets that Halley always wins, and I somehow always end up losing.”
I held up my hands. “You bet Reagan on this. Don’t bring me into it. And while you’re bitching, you could have a little faith in me. I haven’t won four years in a row for no reason.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t been up against Creek Falls’ answer to fucking Thor before.”
“That’s gross,” Reagan muttered.
Preston laughed again. “Creek Falls’ Thor, huh? I can live with that.”
Sigh. He was. Kinda. Ugh. “It’s just a bit of fun, okay?”
“You live for this contest. It’s your favorite thing,” Ava said. “How can you just say it’s a bit of fun?”
“She’s downplaying it for when I beat her.” Preston leaned over and took a sausage from my plate with a wink.
“Do you mind?” I peered at him over the rim of my glasses. It wasn’t the best idea in the world because it made him a little blurry.
Actually, no, wait. That was a great idea. It meant all his stupid, handsome features blurred together, and there would be no clit clenching if I couldn’t see him clearly.
“No.” Preston tore a huge bite off the end of the sausage. “I’m hungry.”
“The line is right over there.” I cocked my thumb over my shoulder. “There’s more than enough food to go around. Get your own.”
“Why do I need my own when yours is right here?”
“Preston,” Reagan snapped. “Leave her alone.”
“You’re right.” He held up his hands as he moved his tall, strong body away from the table. “She gets the pleasure of my company for the next week—I’m sure she needs tonight to let that sink in before she gets excited.”
I stared at him. “The only sight of you that excites me is you walking away.”
He clutched his chest. “You wound me.”
“Carry on, and I actually will.” I twirled my fork in my hand.
Preston laughed, walking backward. “The week is still young, Halley.”
Ugh.
He was right.
It was young. Too young. And one week competing against him was one week too long, if you ask me. I couldn’t think of anything worse than being stuck in a glorified, oversized tent and having the object of my dumbass crush sitting mere feet behind me.
Kissing other women.
What would undoubtedly be a long, long line of other women.
Preston Wright was Creek Falls’ most eligible bachelor. Ever since his and Reagan’s parents sold fifty percent of their florist chain, the Wright family was worth seven figures. Preston stood to inherit fifty percent of that, but he was on a tidy little salary for whatever it was he did in the company.
There were a lot of women in Creek Falls who had their eye on him. Of course they did—that was where his wallet usually was. On his person.
Yes, I was jaded. At least that was what my thrice-married mother would tell you. I was more of the view that I was realistic with a dash of pessimist.
The only time I was optimistic was when I was opening a bottle of wine. There was a hole of optimism to be found at the bottom of one of those babies.
I didn’t actually care that Preston would be kissing other women.
I needed to say that. Loud and proud—but not so loud that he could hear me and get the wrong idea. Well, the right idea. But the wrong one at the same time.
I didn’t care. Honestly, I didn’t.
The lady doth protest too much and all that bullshit.
I digress.
I didn’t care.
If I said it a lot, did that make it truer?
Probably not. That wasn’t how it worked.
But still—I didn’t care. The idea that he was going to do it just feet from me on the other side of a curtain wasn’t a desirable situation, but I could handle it.
I was a librarian. I lived and breathed books. Those damn things had some situations in them, you know? If I could handle some fictional people ripping out my heart, I could handle this.
That’s what I was going to tell myself.
I turned my head and found both Reagan and Ava’s eyes on me. “What?”
“Did you know you’ve been staring a hole in Preston’s back since he turned around?” Reagan asked, a smile tugging at her lips.
Ava grabbed Reagan’s insulated wine bottle and unscrewed the cap. “It’s not that surprising, is it? She’s had a crush on him forever. Now she gets to listen to him playing catch with a bunch of other women’s lips.”
“Do we have to discuss this right now?” I said.
“Yeah, Ava,” Reagan continued. “It’s tough enough for Halley. She knows she’s going to lose this year. Give her a break.”
“Is there no support for the underdog these days?”
“Yes, Reagan was supporting the underdog, but now we’ve switched.” Ava swigged from the wine bottle. “My money is on you, Hals, but let’s be honest—you don’t stand a chance against Preston and his band of merry bitches.”
Reagan sniffed. “They’re not all bitches.”
“Isn’t Lindsay Rinna trying to get in with him?”
I snorted. “She’s a bitch.”
“One snake, Halley,” Reagan pointed out.
“Yes, and it was one snake too many.” I pushed away my plate of food. I wasn’t hungry anymore. “It doesn’t matter. I’m under no illusions about my lack of a relationship with Preston. We barely even get along, never mind anything else. My crush is just that—a crush. I’m attracted to him. That’s all it’s ever been and all it ever will be. Now, can we drop it?”
Ava and Reagan shared a look that said they would drop it.
For tonight.
CHAPTER THREE
* * *
HALLEY
Harems and Hostility
“Halley!” Stephen, my future stepdad, took a big step toward me and wrapped me in a bear hug.
To be honest, he was the only one of my mother’s partners I’d ever liked. Except for my own dad, of course. As it was, Stephen would be her fourth husband unless they fucked it all up before that.
It was an option. The woman had been engaged six times, married three, and God only knew how many relationships.
She was a serial dater, a serial bride, and she could advocate her own divorces at this point, never mind anyone else’s.
She probably earned a commission from her lawyer for referrals.
“Hey.” I returned Stephen’s hug. “Is Mom here?”
“No, she’s at the town hall. Something about fireworks.”
I rolled my eyes as their German Shepherd, Zeus, came bounding out and almost knocked me on my ass on the porch. “Hey, buddy.” I ruffled his fluffy neck and let him lavish me with attention.
He was the only male doing it, okay? A girl had to take her kicks where she could get them.
He finally calmed down, trotting into the front yard to his favorite bush to do his business.