Read Online Baking Love by Lauren Boyd - Free Book Online

Mark.”
    “Do you still bowl the way you did in high school, man?” Eric asked. “Because you kicked ass back then.”
    Mark chuckled. “That was a long time ago.”
    “Don’t believe his modesty,” Jess warned. “He’s still really good.”
    “In that case, I suggest we play women against men,” Eric piped up.
    “Let’s do it,” Jess said. “Come on, Kate. We’ll go get our balls.”
    Kate finished tying her shoes, then walked with Jess over to a wall lined with shelves of bowling balls. “How’s it going with Eric?” Jess asked.
    “It’s not as easy as I thought it’d be.”
    “Hang in there. The night will be over soon enough.”
    “I hope so.”
    They selected their balls and returned to the lanes, where Mark now sat at the computer. “Alright,” he said. “Eric and I are on lane fifteen, and the ladies are on lane sixteen.” He pressed a button. “Kate, when you’re ready, you’re first.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Good luck!” Jess told her.
    Kate walked up to the lane and bowled her first turn. “Yes! Six maples!”
    “Nice start,” Eric called out. “Wonder if you can keep it up.”
    Damn straight I can. “I hope so.” Once Kate’s ball had returned to the rack, she walked back to the lane and bowled again. Her ball struck three pins and skirted the fourth. So close.
    “Almost!” Jess called out.
    Kate returned to the seating area. “You’re up, Eric,” Mark said.
    Eric smiled at the women. “Watch and learn.” He took his ball from the rack and bowled his first turn. The ball hit two pins.
    “What’s the lesson there?” Jess asked him, leaving Kate to stifle laughter.
    “I’m just warming up,” Eric told her while waiting for his ball to return. Once it was back, he bowled the second half of his frame.
    “A whole pin,” Kate muttered under her breath. “Guess you’re not very warm yet.”
    Jess snickered.
    “Your turn, Jess,” Mark said.
    Jess picked up her ball. “Here we go!” She walked to the lane and bowled.
    “Five!” Kate clapped.
    Jess came back and waited for her ball to arrive before bowling again. “Yes! A spare!” She ran to Kate, and they exchanged a high-five.
    “Way to go!” Kate exclaimed.
    Eric put his hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Time for you to clean up, man”
    Mark chuckled. “We’ll see.” He picked up his ball from the rack and bowled it down the lane.
    “Oh, yeah!” Eric pumped his arms in the air. “A strike!”
    Mark shuffled back to the seating area. “Woo!” He and Eric exchanged a high-five.
    “You’re the man!” Eric told him.
    Jess scoffed. “Kate, wipe the floor with these boys.”
    “Gladly.” Kate picked up her ball and stepped to the line. As she looked down the lane, she could hear Eric’s voice in the seating area, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. She turned around. “Are you talking to me?”
    “Nope,” he smiled mischievously.
    Kate turned back around and repositioned herself. Just as she was about to bowl, Eric came around her from behind. He ran to the top of her lane and released his bowling ball.
    It went straight into the gutter.
    Kate blinked. What the hell?
    Eric backed up to the line where she stood. “Uh, why’d you do that?” she frowned.
    “You were taking a long time, so I thought maybe you needed some help.”
    Maybe I should go back to treating him the way I always have, just so we can have cohesive conversations. Kate hesitated. Should I?
    Eric’s bowling ball clapped against another as it returned to the rack.
    Yep. She met his gaze. “Did you aim for the gutter just now, or was that actually your best shot?”
    “Ouch!” he laughed.
    Kate smiled smugly. “You didn’t mean to bowl it in there, did you?”
    “Of course I did!” Eric pointed to the gutter. “That’s exactly where I wanted the ball to go.”
    “Oh, so you’re trying to bring my team down the way you’re bringing yours down, is that it?”
    “What do you mean? I’m an excellent