He shoved his hands in his pockets. In the flickering candlelight, I could see the muscles flexing in his forearms. “What prize are we playing for?”
What did I want most from Logan? The answer came easily: I wanted to climb inside his head, know what he was thinking. But I couldn’t say that, so I said the next best thing: “The truth. Whoever sinks their dart gets to ask the other a question, or two in my case. Honest answers only.”
“Truth darts. A politician’s nightmare.”
“Oh, you’re no politician.” When he raised his eyebrows, I added, “I mean, not a very typical one.”
“I see the honest thoughts are coming out already. Putting my ego on notice.” Logan dropped the red darts into my hands. “Losers first.”
Cheeky. I eyed the dartboard and made a silent plea to my arms:We want this. We are highly incentivized. If ever there was a time for a miraculous showing of athleticism, it’s now.I pulled back and let the dart fly.
Right into the triple ring.
“No way.” My hands flew to my mouth. “I didn’t think that would actually work.”
Logan stared at the board. “You hustled me.”
“That was one hundred percent beginner’s luck. Now pay up.”
He dropped into a chair. “Man, Nora would kill me for agreeing to this. She says sorry for missing your speech, by the way. The campaign got invited to another event tonight. We had to tag team.”
I sat down in the chair facing him. “I guess you drew the short stick?”
“Actually, I traded her to go to yours.”
I blinked. He smiled, looking down at one of the candles as he cupped his hand over the flame. “It was this dental association gala. Black-tie. I hate the penguin suits.”
Right. Logan trading to avoid putting on a tux made more sense than Logan trading because he was dying to watch my speech. I studied him from across the table. It was unfair, really, how beautiful he was. Moody lighting only made it more obvious, made his strong features more pronounced, showed that his lashes were so long they cast shadows. The candlelight flickering over his skin lent him a sense of motion, an outward restlessness that matched his mind inside. I could look at him forever and never grow tired of it. “Is this what your whole life is like? Double-booked on weekends, never any time for yourself?”
He shrugged, still watching the candle. “We’re only two months out from election day. And I’ve been working on this for so long, can’t let up now. Besides, I get little pockets of freedom.” His eyes lifted. “Like tonight.”
“It doesn’t seem like anyone here recognizes you.”
“I would be very surprised if Jimmy’s regulars knew who the president was.”
“So that’s why you like it—the anonymity?”
“No. I like it because this place reminds me of home.”
“The old-school cowboy vibes?”
He bent over his drink and pulled out the little black straw, sticking it in his mouth. “Simple, unpretentious. Like Odejo. Which is far from perfect, but I do miss it from time to time.” He chugged the rest of his drink and dropped it on the table, ice sloshing. “Were those your two questions?”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “You gave that away for free.”
He winced. “All that media training and I’m still making rookie mistakes.”
Wordlessly, Jimmy walked up and dropped two fresh drinks on the table. “Thanks, Jim,” Logan said, as he returned to the bar.
“Did you order those?”
Logan shook his head. “Clairvoyance is one of many reasons Jimmy’s great. Hit me with your questions.”
“Okay. First one.” Something that would crack Logan wide open. “What’s your favorite childhood memory?”
I waited for his expression to change—a look of contempt, a groan, anything—but he stayed motionless. Finally, he said, “I can’t tell you. You’ll laugh.”
“What? No, I won’t. You can trust me.”
