Holy hell, he smelled good up close, but I needed to focus.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to play.” I stepped back from the board, and I swept my gaze over the three men. The one who’d handed me the darts shook his head as he leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed.
“You’re welcome. If you could please try to get it over with so that we can actually play, that would be great.”
“Oh right, I guess girls can’tactuallyplay darts.” I giggled for effect. “I don’t think I got your name.” I tilted my head to the side, loving the impatient huff falling from his lips.
“Artie,” he said. “And you seem to know Lou, and this is Dan. Now that introductions are over, let’s go.” He nodded to the board.
“Ah, right. Do you know what my favorite thing to do is, Artie?”
I shot him a glance before I went back to the board.
“I don’t,” he said, his irritated tone making me smile wider.
“My older cousin had a dart board in his basement. And he also thought since I was a girl, it was a waste of time letting me play. But then,” I said, launching my first dart right into the bull’s-eye, “I practiced.” My second one hit right where the first hung from the board. “And I ended up better than all of them.” I grinned when the third one landed with the other two. “Fancy that, right?”
I grinned wider when I caught Artie’s glare.
“In fact, he took me to bars with him when I wasalmostof age, and I was good enough to be an underage hustler. It became a little dangerous one night, so we stopped. But I forgot how much I loved the rush”—I bunched my shoulders as if I were about to let out a squeal—“especially when someone with no real talent at something tries to intimidate me. Being underestimated is my favorite pastime.”
I sauntered up to the board and pulled all three darts from the bull’s-eye.
“So, thanks. And here you go,sweetheart. I noticed you were having some trouble keeping them on the board, so I’ll let you keep practicing.” I dropped the darts into his hand. “If you need some pointers, my man and I will be at a table in the back.” I winked and smiled, the tic in Artie’s jaw as his friends snickered behind him giving me that flood of elation bursting in my chest that I hadn’t realized I’d missed.
I grabbed my bottle out of Jude’s hand and slid my palm against his to lead him toward the tables. When he didn’t move, I stopped and turned around.
“What? Too much?” I asked, referring to both the darts and the fake-couple show I might have been leaning into a little too hard tonight.
Then it happened. Jude laughed. He dropped his head back, his chest shaking as the wonderful sound reverberated right through me.
“That was fucking incredible. Artie is a pompous douche, and you pretty much ruined his night,” he said, his smile so wide and beautiful I had to suck in some of the oxygen he’d stolen out of my lungs to make words.
“Well, sorry about that.” I shrugged.
“No, you’re not. And you shouldn’t be,” he whispered as he eased toward me, draping his arm around my waist and pulling me almost flush to his body. Real desire zinged through me and down my legs at both his proximity and sexy-as-hell change in attitude. We were close enough for me to feel the vibration of the laugh rumbling through his chest. “You were amazing.Honey.”
“Well, thanks,” I said, ticking my eyes up to Jude’s, more heat rising up my neck from the fake term of endearment he’d thrown back at me. Our eyes locked long enough to thin the air between us. “Excuse me for a second.” I cleared my throat and slipped out of his hold, missing the warmth of his arms, even though his embrace—like everything else that happened between us—was just for show. “Jake and Peyton are still back there at a mostly empty table. I’ll join you guys in a minute.”
“Okay,” he said, his voice a delicious, low rasp as he took a couple of slow steps back and shifted toward the cluster of tables. I stole one quick glance at his perfect ass before I rushed back up to the bar.
“That was a good fucking game,” Larry whispered, leaning over the counter when I strode toward him, a wry grin lifting his cheeks. “And the highlight of my night.”
“Yeah, thanks. Listen,” I said, leaning closer before I lost my nerve. “How much are you selling this place for?”
“You want it?” He crooned as he leaned in. “Or do you want to convince me to stay?”
“No, I’m asking for a purely business reason. So please get that creepy smile off your face.”
He blinked a couple of times before his eyes grew wide. “You’re serious?” He splayed his hands on the counter. “Well, okay. Come see me tomorrow. I don’t want to talk numbers with so many nosy ears listening.”
“I have competition?” I whispered back.
“No, gorgeous. You don’t.” He laughed, squinting at me. “But you really want to leave the city and take up residence in this sleepy little town?”
“I might,” I snapped back. “What time should I come?”
“Be here at eleven tomorrow. I’ll explain the numbers.”
