Page 14 of The Maestro and the Roofer

Amazing how some spirited flirting could completely transform a girl.

Walking on air, she retraced her steps to the bar and side-stepped Travis with a playful salute as he ambled to the hallway housing the unisex bathrooms. She chugged some water and sought to get her heart rate under control while he was gone, but that endeavor went out the window when he returned with a come-hither grin.

“Let’s play a game,” he said, nodding to the pool table at the back of the tavern.

As if they hadn’t been doing that since the instant they’d met. His calloused palm extended in an obvious invitation, and she didn’t hesitate to place her hand in his, allowing him to lead her toward the billiard table.

“You play at all?” he asked, grabbing two cue sticks from the rack built into the wall.

She placed her beer on the corner of the table and took the cue stick from him with a sheepish glance. “Not really.”

“Excellent.”

“I already know what you’re thinking. You wanna give me a full tutorial, right? Bend me over the table and teach me how to hold this thing properly?” she prompted with a nod to the stick.

“Only if you’re into that.”

Rolling her eyes, she waved her hand back and forth. “Rack the balls.”

A growl rumbled from his chest, but he obeyed her command and prepped the table for their game. “Still not a betting woman?”

“Depends on the wager.”

“Loser has to answer a question. Any question the winner asks. And they have to be brutally honest.”

An intriguing proposition. They’d already engaged in one session of brutal honesty, and she couldn’t pass up the chance for more.

“Deal,” she said, holding her hand out for a shake.

He clasped their palms together and used the physical connection to tug her closer, no different from his stunt earlier that day. “Good luck.”

After one strong shake, Mia pulled away and placed her hand on her hip. “Thanks, Boss Man.”

That nickname had a different connotation coming from her, and his eyes turned dark with incendiary heat. But before things escalated, he gave her the honor of first strike, and the cue ball smacked into the colored globes. They flew to every corner of the table, and Mia considered her options before sinking the solid red ball into the top right pocket with a straight shot.

“I thought you didn’t play,” Travis remarked with a suspicious glance.

“I don’t,” she chirped. “I just really love winning.”

With the gauntlet officially thrown, they traded plays over the next forty-five minutes, their competitiveness intensifying with each move. Teasing barbs were exchanged, laughter was contagious, and in the end, she won fair and square.

Travis took the defeat in stride, bestowing her with a courtly bow. “Well done. Go ahead, do your worst. Ask me anything.”

Dozens of questions flashed through her mind. She leaned her right hip against the billiard table, placed the cue stick onto the ground for leverage, and studied him. Eventually, one question won out.

“Why didn’t you say goodbye today?”

His sandy brows knit together, and he blatantly avoided her searching gaze. “Didn’t think you’d notice.”

“Bullshit.”

Her reply was hushed but vehement enough that he pinned her with a stare so powerful she almost gasped. The rest of the tavern faded into a blur as she waited for his answer. Waited for the truth.

“I thought it would make it easier to forget about you,” he eventually admitted.

Her breath caught in her chest, but she managed to choke out a reply. “Did it?”

“Fuck no.”

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