Page 39 of Bene

He chuckled. “I’ll let you whoop my ass, if you let me take a bite of yours later.”

Yeah.

Hell.

That’s where she was going. Straight to hell. Because a part of her liked this man. Another part hated him. She was making him like her, too. And yet, she would also ruin him when her plans finally came together.

Vanna pushed those thoughts away.

At least, for now.

Pushing up to her tiptoes, she kissed him and winked. “That sounds like a deal.”

Vanna leaned over the pool table, feeling Bene’s gaze firmly stuck to the way her pert ass lifted a bit over the wood edge as she readied on her next—and hopefully, final—shot. He was such an ass man, and she didn’t mind using that to her advantage while playing this game of theirs. After all, she’d just used his attention to her ass to her benefit for his last shot, making him miss to give her the next round which left her with one final ball to sink.

“Eight ball to the far right,” she said, “and that’s game.”

Before Bene could reply, Vanna took her shot, easily sinking the eight ball into the pocket she called. He let out a low whistle behind her as she stood from her leaning position, resting the pool cue to the floor as she stayed looking over the table still scattered with Bene’s solid-colored balls.

“Played pool a few times—wasn’t that what you told me?”

Vanna laughed lightly, the sounds of the bar fading in the background as she spun around to face Bene. His heated gaze met hers, and she couldn’t help but grin. “There was a billiards table in my father’s basement. Apparently, he used to play a lot when he was younger, and instead of getting rid of it, it just found its way into the basement. He taught me how to play, and a few tricks. We used to play a couple of times a week.”

Bene’s stare softened, and she saw that dawning flash across his face as he leaned forward a bit on the pool cue. “Used to, huh?”

Shit.

“Yeah,” she said, knowing she should lie but finding that she didn’t want to, “my dad passed away just before I turned sixteen. I buried him on my birthday.”

“That must have been hard on you and your m—”

“Don’t have a mom.”

Her tone came out clipped, and a little strained, despite the fact that she tried to hide it. It was almost impossible for her not to have that reaction when it came to talking about her estranged—missing, too, because she had no idea where the bitch was—mother. It wasn’t Bene, and it definitely wasn’t fucking personal to him. It just was.

Bene’s brow lifted high. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. “Don’t apologize just because you pity me or anything.”

“Nah, I’m sorry I asked. Wasn’t my business unless you wanted to tell me, you know?”

Vanna swallowed hard, shifting in her tall, strappy heels. She could have gone for something simple to dress in, and comfortable. She seriously doubted Bene would care seeing as how he looked at her the same in her t-shirt, strappy heels, and boyfriend-style jeans that were rolled up at the ankles, as he did her sexy two-piece, crop-top dress from their first meeting. But she didn’t do simple, and if heels were always a choice, then she would forever pick them.

“I …” Vanna sighed, glancing over her shoulder and across the bar to stare at the gleaming bottles lining the cedar shelves behind the bartender. It was easier to admit something when she didn’t have to look someone right in the face while she did it. “Sorry, it wasn’t you or what you said that made me sharp—just my mom does that, in general. She was gone before I could even sleep through the night, I guess.”

“So when your dad died … shit.”

“Yeah.” Vanna chewed on her inner cheek, wishing it hadn’t been as easy as that just was to spill some of her deepest secrets—even if they weren’t the kind of secrets Bene could use to hurt her—to tell him that. She looked back at him, arching a brow and offering him a small smile. “Can we just … get back to talking about pool, or literally anything else but all that? A little too deep for a second date, is all.”

Bene chuckled. “Anything?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“What were you doing when I texted?”

That was random.

It kind of made her smile, too. It wasn’t the question she expected him to ask, but it shouldn’t really shock her at all that Bene could keep her on her toes. He consistently did that, right from the moment they met. She expected him to be one thing, and he turned out to be something different. Even if he was still a Guzzi.