Page 31 of Sweet Whiskey
Duke snaps his fingers. “The new omegas at Sweet Whiskey. You girls are infamous on the ranch.”
I scrunch my nose. “Great.”
Not great, because what is being said? What if my dad is listening to gossip, and he thinks I’m some kind of buckle bunny? That’s a lovely term I’ve picked up at work.
“So can you guide us in the right direction?” Brielle says with a tone dripping in honey. “And maybe you can leave a better second impression.”
Cooper drags his tongue along his bottom lip, staring at my best friend in a way that has me wanting to give them privacy.
“I’m heading on the road for a few weeks. You still gonna be here when I get back?”
Her eyebrows raise. “Why? Plan to make some big promises?”
Duke throws his arm over Cooper’s shoulders. “We both can.”
Brielle crinkles her nose. “I can still smell the woman from last night on you. At least have the decency to wash it off before trying to pick up someone else.”
Duke blanches, his arm dropping to hang limply before he turns away with us and walks back to the truck without another word.
“Thanks for that. Now he’s gonna pout the entire ride,” Cooper says with a sigh.
Brielle rolls her eyes before stepping closer to him. “The ranch?”
His finger curls in her waistband, and he yanks her to him fast enough for Brielle to gasp. “How about a kiss first?”
“Okay, I’ll be back,” I squeak out and hurry away from whatever is about to happen.
Duke looks up as I pass, and I stop short, giving him an appraising glance. Something pulls at me to help him, an almost kinship. Maybe it’s becausehe looks exactly like his brother, who I want to know more. “She likes sunflowers.”
His eyebrows raise, his attention flickering behind me and then back. “Yeah? Anything else?”
I shrug. “She has a big heart, no matter how she acts. So don’t break it.”
Duke swallows, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll try, but I seem to break everything I touch.” His face twists as if he didn’t mean to admit that.
“What about Dallas? Do you think he’d break my heart?”
Duke’s head snaps up to study me, a different perspective filtering in his gaze. “No, I think he’ll treat you like the princess you probably are.”
I smile. “Far from a princess.”
He hums. “Something tells me that’s not true.” The crunch of dirt has us turning to watch Brielle and Cooper walk toward us. Duke’s eyes drop back to the floor as my best friend struts up to me, her attention falling to him more than once.
“Cooper gave me directions. Ready to go?”
I nod, facing the man who hasn’t looked away from her. “Thank you. It means a lot.”
Cooper shrugs. “You would have found it eventually. This town ain’t big enough to get lost in.”
She ignores Duke completely. “Got it. Let’s roll.”
I laugh, shaking my head once. “You know you didn’t have to kiss him.”
She grins. “Oh, but I wanted to.”
A stomp of boots and huff of breath comes from my right, but Brielle continues to stare right at me. “Ready to go?”
I nod and she turns, keeping her back to Duke and heading for the car. I glance at him, catching his eyes on her before he looks at me, and I shrug. “Good luck.”
