Page 32 of Bad Boy Crush

Hunter cashed in on the distraction, turning to the side and literally running. The move sent Ant into the drink before he knew what happened. He surfaced from the lake, shaking out his hair before retrieving his floating hat.

Using the ladder on the dock, he climbed out, shoes squishing on the boards. Damn. There were more people here than at yesterday’s event. Apparently he had fans both young and old. He waved and smiled at the cheering crowd as a volunteer handed him a towel. Dabbing his face, he angled toward Lou and her friends.

“I’m so sorry,” she said as soon as he was close. “That was one hundred percent my fault. Terrible timing.”

“Much as I’d like to blame you”—Ant swiped his arms with the towel—“I suck at this sport. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I don’t know what came over me. I got excited. You know the feeling.” Her smile was cunning.

Was she…flirting with him?

“When is the chain saw sculpting?” May interrupted. “That’s what I’m most interested in.”

“One o’clock,” Lou answered. “It’s a two-hour sculpting session.”

“Two hours?” May gaped.

“Piece of cake.” Some of his bigger projects had clocked in at twenty-five to forty hours each, depending on the detail and size.

“We’ll be there cheering you on,” Lou said. “Not literally, though. I don’t want you to accidentally lop your leg off or something.”

“It’s the or something you have to be careful about.” He liked her like this. Talkative. Open. Looking at his mouth like she was considering kissing him. If it weren’t for mixed company, he might have kissed her already.

“I won’t make it.” Lisa, on Lou’s other side, was scrolling through her cell phone. “I have to run across town to meet with Wanda. We are discussing a project for the city. Mum’s the word!”

“Until you volunteer us to work on it?” Elliott asked.

“I’ve helped lots of people find lucrative positions,” Lisa Labreck, entrepreneur to the bone, said in her own defense.

“Yes, I was Babe the Blue Ox,” Lou said. “Lucrative.”

“You seem to have ended up in a good position.” Lisa squeezed Ant’s biceps as she walked past him. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

“Elli, let’s you and I grab a soda pop.” May waved. “See you later, Ant.”

“Bye, May.” He shook his head. “Subtle, your friends are not.”

“Says my friend who just fell face-first into the lake?”

“Rub it in.”

“Eh, who cares? The chain saw competition has the most points anyway. You’re going to nail it. I predict first place. Mark my words, your sculpture is going to be the winner unveiled at Salty Dog tomorrow.”

A loud splash came from behind him, and her mouth dropped open. “You missed it! Hunter just lost. I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy that.”

“I don’t care what that prick does.” Unless he tried to flirt with Lou again. Ant cared about that.

He might be hesitant about how to proceed with her, but he was far from ready to give up on exploring this new thing between them.

“What’s up, lovebirds?” Hunter shouted, toweling off as he swaggered over. “Unless I misread the signs and you two aren’t together.”

“Um, hi.” Lou’s face pinched.

Eat shit, state champ.

Hunter took a step closer to her and lowered his voice. “Your article needs updating now that we’re more than halfway through the games. I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have after I win the sculpting competition.”

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