Page 22 of Banking on Love

“Oh come on!” Xavier groaned.

“That makes three.” I held up three fingers. Xavier rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“One more round?”

“Fine. One more round,” I laughed and grabbed the triangle off the wall. I handed it to him. “You get to rack this time.”

“Oh, hell,” he muttered, taking it from me. “We’re going to be here all night.”

“With the way you play pool and how you’re a sore loser, I don’t doubt that at all.”

He flipped me off and laughed before racking up the balls. A noise at the bar caught my attention. I turned towards the bar. The moment my eyes landed on a man with dark hair wearing a red plaid shirt, I groaned.

“He’s a regular… pain in the ass here,” Xavier said, standing next to me. He was looking at Kensi’s dad too.

“Does he evernotdrink?”

“I heard his daughter, Kensi, had forced him to go to rehab a few times but he always heads back to the bottle.”

“You know Kensi?” I asked, glancing at him.

“Not really,” he chuckled. “My wife knows her.”

“Wait? You’re married?” His words caught me completely off guard. He held up his hand showing me his silver wedding band. “How did I miss that?”

“Guess cause I wear gloves a lot.”

“Guess so,” I rubbed the back of my neck. “What’s her name?”

“Ashlee,” he smiled. The look in his eyes was the same look I imagined I’d have when talking about Kensi. He looked happy and filled with admiration. “She’s a great girl.”

“Happy for you.” I patted him on the back. It was cheesy but I meant it. He seemed like a good guy. Was always sticking up for me against Cody, when he didn’t need to.

“Thanks. I appreci–”

“I said give me another damn drink!” Kensi’s dad shouted, interrupting Xavier and my conversation.

“So much for a peaceful night,” I muttered, setting down my pool stick and heading over to the bar.

Chapter Eleven

KENSI

My foot slammed into my couch; pain radiated up my leg. My hands gripped the top of the couch as I took long, slow breaths. Rage flowed through my veins. It was taking everything in me to keep from completely losing it.

“You selfish asshole,” I sobbed.

A few minutes prior, my phone had woken me from a deep slumber. It was Jack– the bartender– calling. The drunk had struck again and was wreaking havoc at the bar. Part of me had wanted to roll over and go back to bed. While the other part of me felt obligated to go get him. Not sure why. It wasn’t like the man had ever done anything for me. Ever.

I kicked the couch one more time before grabbing my purse and heading out the door. Five minutes later, I was walking inside the bar. All eyes were on me.

This shit is getting old,I grumbled to myself and headed over to Jack.

“Hey, Kensi. Sorry for waking you,” he offered me a sympathetic smile.

“No worries,” I lied, looking around the bar. It seemed that everyone in Cupid’s Cove was there except the one person I was looking for. “Where is he?”

“The guy from last time took him home.”

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