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The bar patrons erupt in cheers.
He’s not going to scare me. “You’re on.”
I think fast. Drew and Ensley are headed to a tiny private island in the morning for their honeymoon. I don’t have much scheduled because Lila has Rosie. Garrett and I are snorkeling at dawn, but then he has to fly back for work.
I’m pretty free, actually.
I move even closer to him to prove I’m not intimidated in the least. “Tomorrow afternoon?” Our faces are so close now that someone looking over from a distance would probably think we’re kissing.
Gabe keeps the position a beat longer. Everyone holds their breath, waiting for his reply.
Finally, he steps back. He picks up a bottle of tequila, tossing it into the air with a perfect spin before neatly catching it in his palm.
Uh-oh. I hope I haven’t been punked.
He aims the bottle at me. “Sure. Four o’clock?”
I nod. What have I gotten myself into? I don’t have any bar gear. I’ll have to use his.
But I can’t back down.
“What are the rules?” I ask. “And the stakes?”
Gabe shrugs. “It was your idea.”
Mendo stands. “I’ve got it. Three drinks. One for taste. One for presentation. And one wild card. I’ll assemble some judges.”
“I have to make sure I have the ingredients,” I say. “I can’t conjure the right liquor from nowhere.”
“Come by in the morning,” Gabe says. “We’ll go over what you need. Anything I don’t have, we can pick up at the wholesaler. I’ll cover it.”
“Okay. And the winner gets what?”
Mendo smiles. “The winner gets to run the bar with the loser as their lowly apprentice for the entire evening shift.”
“It’s a Saturday night,” Gabe says. “I can’t make her work that hard.”
As if. I push away from the counter. “You’ve got what—twenty stools here? Try holding down a bar withthirtystools, four waitresses, and a roomful of tables.”
He starts to open his mouth but I add, “And your barback doesn’t show.”
He closes it. “All right, then.” He spins the bottle sideways on his palm. “Meet here at ten for a supply run. I’ll let you get used to my setup. Then the booze brawl at four.”
I tear my eyes from his fancy bottle work. “Make it eleven. I’m snorkeling in the morning.”
“Done. And your name is ...” He extends his hand for a shake.
“Tillie.” I reach across the counter. When our skin meets, an electric charge flashes through my body. Yeah, that’s no surprise.
Gabe is exactly the sort of man who gets under my skin.
Chapter 4
GABE
Mendo hangs around until the last customer closes out. He often does.
Tillie stayed only a few minutes past when we established the parameters of our booze brawl. She never even got a drink. Probably for the best. No point in tipping her off. I already know how she can dunk a cherry.
