Trick - By Lori Garrett Page 0,17

spits the word. “You agreed.”

“Under fucking duress, Rochelle. Is that how you think engagement works? You find a man you like the look of and nag him until he dies of it or gives you a ring to save his skin?” Funny how a face I couldn’t take my eyes off of eleven months ago bores me now.

Also funny how a face I haven’t seen in three years can be a thousand times more gorgeous than I remembered.

She crosses her arms and her mouth sets like she’s determined. “You and I make sense, Gunner. We do. And you’re gonna settle down with someone someday soon. I want it to be me.”

“I thought girls were supposed to be romantic or some shit,” I say. “Most days we can’t stand each other unless we’re fucking. How’s that gonna work in a marriage, Rochelle?”

She presses her small tits against my arm. “I guess we’ll just have to fuck a whole lot.”

I don’t reply, and she drops the coy act.

“I’m gonna figure out who that little tramp is,” she threatens.

I grab her by the arm, letting her feel the bite of my fingers. She glares at me. “You stay the hell away from her, you hear me?”

“Let go of my arm, you bastard!” She yanks her arm away and rubs it like it hurts.

“Take your drama out of my bar. I don’t have the time or patience to deal with you.” I don’t look up again, don’t say good-bye, don’t kiss her, and she turns on her heel and marches out without looking back.

Harlow used to wrap her arms around my neck and kiss me every time we had to say good-bye, even if it was just for a few hours. Used to make me crazy, especially since I was working as a farmhand that summer. Nothing like having your girl kissing you all over your face while a bunch of guys you’re about to work with all day watch.

I got a fuckton of heat from them that summer, but it was worth all the ragging and the shitty work they threw my way because they were jealous bastards. It was worth it to feel like the sun shined just on me according to Harlow.

Rochelle’s Mustang roars out of the parking lot and I wonder if she’s gonna drop it like I asked. Without realizing it, I ball a receipt up in my fist.

Harlow was an idiot to come back into my life, and this is why. I’m surrounded by shitty people, people Harlow doesn’t deserve to spend a minute with.

“Fuck it all,” I mutter, tossing the receipts aside. “Jared! I’ll be out for awhile. Brittany will be here by four.”

I don’t wait for him to answer before I climb on my bike to go and check on Harlow.

This is the problem with bad ideas. They never stop at just one.

CHAPTER 5

HARLOW

“So, what’s this I hear about you changing majors, sugar?” My daddy asks the question with one white eyebrow raised high up on his forehead. Because he doesn’t approve.

Even though I am a grown woman in college, when my daddy looks at me like that, I feel all of five years old with crooked pigtails and skinned knees.

“Daddy, I told you at winter break that I’d planned to switch. Don’t you remember? I’ll make business my minor. I love dance. I know I can make a career out of it—”

“Career?” Daddy’s laugh cuts my words short.

“Yes, Daddy. Many people have careers in dance.” I notice I’m twisting my hands and drop them. Damn it! Why do I get all riled up around him?

“In Piedmont, Texas, darling? What careers are there for dance? Now, if you got your business degree, I could groom you to be my VP, and I’d have a settled mind, knowing you’d be ready to take over someday. Until you wanted to stay home and care for your children, of course. Did I mention I went golfing with a very sharp young man the other day? Auburn graduate, good looking fella.” He trains his gray eyes on me. They seem to bore right through me, and I squirm like he can see every rotten thing I’ve done.

“Daddy,” I plead.

“A girl as pretty as you are should be out every weekend.” He frowns. “And I don’t mean going to honky tonks with Daisy. I mean sitting down with intelligent young men and having nice dinners, going to shows, taking in the sites. This is the time in your life for you