Page 66 of Love Me, I Dare You

Raven, the new bartender we hired, who’s done an amazing job in the two weeks she’s worked here, scoots in between us, her gorgeous figure on display in a pair of short denim cutoffs and a green halter top. The rundown cowboy boots she wears add an edge to her already fashion forward style. While her long hair falls down her back in a coat of black, her eyes glisten like two emerald stones as she stares up at me, oblivious to the moment Nash and I were just having.

If she hadn’t also become a friend since I met her, I’d be really irritated with her for ruining the moment between Nash and me, but in this case, she’s a godsend. His lips were so close to mine. Who knows what I would have done next?

“What did I miss?” she asks, just as the backdrop we built comes crashing down.

Iwas wrong. Oh, so terribly wrong. This is a total disaster.

I’m startled when my phone buzzes against the marble counter of the bathroom sink. After the backdrop came crumbling down, I ran to the bathroom, needing a moment to myself to regroup. I’m about ready to explode from the tension in my shoulders and neck as I deal with the stress of putting this event together and the possibility of it being a total failure, and Nash taunting me when he knows I’m damn near ready to break.

Staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I barely recognize the woman staring back. Although the sleeveless black lace cropped top, which looks more like a piece of sexy lingerie I’d wear under my clothes, is doing wonders to my self-esteem, especially paired with the tight leather skirt and my favorite YSL knee-high boots, I can’t help but feel like a fraud.

I’m not this confident, sexy woman I pretend to be. The makeup, outfits and shoes.

Unlocking my phone, I stare down at Nash’s name flashing on the screen. My heart quickens as I tap on Nash's name, the anticipation building with each passing second.

Nash: Where’d you run off to, Angel?

I can't help but smile at the endearment.

Me: I needed some room to breathe.

Nash: Is that your way of telling me I take your breath away, B?

I lean forward, closing my eyes, savoring the moment.

Me: You know you do, Nash. Stop acting like you don’t. It’s not cute.

Nash: Bailey?

Me: Yeah?

Nash: You take mine away too, Angel.

All the air in my lungs leaves at once as I read his message.

Nash: Especially in that goddamn skirt I want to tear off you using nothing but my teeth.

Heat pools between my legs at the vision that hits me.

Stepping back out into the bar, I adjust my skirt as I walk past Nash and Jase, hanging by the bar with Monty who looks bored out of his mind.

I know he's older than us, but he's not old by anyone’s standards. Not to mention, the man is a fucking smoke show.He’s got the sexy cowboy look down to a T. His dark brown hair is wavy and overgrown under his black cowboy hat, while the scowl he wears adds a bit of edge to the mysterious man I've never been able to read.

I give him a soft smile when he catches me staring, and he wholeheartedly returns it. Monty’s always been nice to me. He loves Monroe and I'm in her life, despite whatever happened between our families in the past. Regardless of what his brother did. But there’s always been a certain way he looks at me, and right now it’s clear as day. Monty Bishop looks at me with the same pity in his blue eyes as his brother.

My phone buzzes in my hand and I look down to read the new text from Nash as I make it back to our table by the bar.

Nash: Stop eye-fucking my brother, B. I’m trying to repair my estranged relationship with him, but if you don’t stop looking at him like that, I’m going to fucking knock his teeth in.

His jealousy makes me smile, and the little wheels in my head turn. So the way to get Nash Bishop to break is by making him obscenely jealous. Well, game on Bishop, it’s time to poke the bear and make him break. Then maybe he’ll get to make me come.

“This event is a fucking nightmare. It’s so boring, B.”

Billie’s right. What was supposed to be a fun mixer to help the locals in our town, and any tourists stopping by to potentially find their forever match, has turned out to be a flop. The live music isn’t hitting and instead of mingling around, everyone seems to be off on opposite corners like this is some middle school dance where the boys are afraid of the girls.

“It really is,” Monroe agrees, drinking the sweet tea we’ve been refilling her cup with. Luckily, everyone’s been toopreoccupied with their phones to notice she hasn’t had a drop of alcohol.

Then it hits me. While everyone’s standing around, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, why don’t we give them a little something to look forward to? Just like that night in Tennessee when Billie went viral for her performance, I have just the thing to make this from total disaster to huge hit.

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