Page 73 of A Cup of Autumn
Someone. Not Keaton.
Was Raine reading too much into this? Those éclairs looked mighty tasty. Forget the wine. She wanted sugar.
Anna tsked. “You’re sounding like Margot, Callie.”
Callie raised her shoulders. “Well, she brought me and Brandt together.”
“And me and Garrett,” Taryn added.
“Coincidence,” Pippa spoke in a firm tone.
Callie shrugged. “Maybe, but that’s two of five of us.”
“Nope.” Anna shook her head. “Not buying it.”
“Please don’t fuel Margot’s matchmaking,” Raine said. “If Margot thinks something is happening between Keaton and I, she’ll be beaming brighter than the lights on Broadway, and trying her matchmaking skills on others. This conversation can’t leave this room.”
The others agreed.
“Now,” Raine said. “Can someone please pass me an éclair?”
Death from Lawson’s Bakery sounded like a good idea. The only problem? She wanted to share with Keaton.
*
In the onlybar in Silver Falls, Keaton lined up the cue and hit the white ball. It struck the three-ball, which rolled and dropped into the corner pocket. “That’s how it’s done, gentlemen. Three more, and I win.”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “Lucky shot, little brother.”
Brandt groaned. “No one told me I’d be hustled tonight.”
“Hey, no one’s hustling.” They were playing six-ball. The object—put the balls into the pocket in order from one to six. Keaton hadn’t shot off the break, which had made taking over and gaining control easier. “I can’t help it if I’m a pro at pool.”
Even though Keaton had been up half the night writing, he wasn’t tired. If anything, the words exhilarated him.
He took another shot. The four-ball went in easy.
“Hustler,” Brandt muttered.
Garrett laughed. “Guess this is what they teach in college these days.”
“You’d be surprised.” Keaton studied the angles for the best shot to knock the five-ball in. Math was his least favorite subject—chemistry held second place, but geometry came in handy playing pool. He tapped the white ball with his cue. That sent the orange ball banking off the far side and into the middle hole. “One more to go.”
Brandt shook his head. “Your little brother doesn’t play fair.”
Keaton figured out his shot for the six-ball. He took aim and…
Garrett snickered. “Wonder what Raine thinks of gambling.”
The cue didn’t hit where Keaton intended. Who was he kidding? The white ball missed the green ball completely. It wasn’t even close. “You distracted me.”
Brandt grinned like the only turkey left at the farm before Thanksgiving. “I’d say a certain barista’s name did that.”
“Heckling isn’t against the rules because there are no rules.” Garrett took aim. With one tap of his cue to the white ball, he sunk the six. “Now, that’s how it’s done.”
“I need another beer.” Keaton headed to the bar.
The other two followed him.
