Page 53 of Danger
I do exactly what he says. I slide onto the barstool, smoothing my skirt and trying to act normal because none of this is normal. Danger moves behind the bar like he owns the place, like this is natural, like I belong on this side of the bar.
And that’s when I hear it.
"Well, I'll be." Finn Banks says from two stools down. "My buddy just told me you’re a bartender here. How long you been working here, Winnie?"
I smile politely. "Long enough to know your usual order."
He knows my name?
He spoke to me.
Danger was right.
We did something. Changed something. He doesn’t think I’m invisible.
But I don’t want Finn’s attention. I don’t want just any man’s attention.
I want the one currently teaching me how to get someone else’s.
When my gaze finds Danger again, he's already watching me. He sets a drink in front of me without breaking eye contact.
"You're good at this," I say.
“And you’re better at it than you think. We could rule this town, Winnie Hawthorne.”
His gaze drifts past me to where Finn is still looking our way.
A slow grin tugs at the corner of his mouth.
“Well, that's embarrassing for him.”
“What?”
Danger leans closer.
“That he just figured out you were right in front of him.”
Heat creeps up my neck.
Yeah, this is a problem.
Because I’m not just learning how to get a man’s attention.
I’m learning exactly how much I’m starting to want this one.
A man I absolutely cannot have.
And I have a very bad feeling…
He’s not the lesson, not the teacher.
He’s the mistake.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
winnie
The thingabout pie contests is nobody really wins unless it gets a little messy. And although I didn’t sleep much last night, I showed up today because Weston treats this day like a holiday. Folks dust off their grandma’s “secret” recipes, call that one aunt who swears she makes the best crust in the county, and splurge on the good butter like it’s a special occasion. Because it is.
