Page 41 of Fallen Flame

“I already take you to dinner.”

“A nicer one.”

He sighed dramatically. “See? This is what happens when I lose.”

Alice laughed. “No. This is what happens when you get married.”

Even Karmen chuckled.

Pipe pointed at the women. “I don’t need commentary from the peanut gallery.”

“Oh, you absolutely do,” Nikki shot back.

“You’re insufferable.”

“And yet you still married me,” she shot back.

Pipe smiled despite himself. “Still questioning that decision.”

Nikki blew him a kiss. “Liar.”

The teasing kept flying back and forth while another round started, but my attention drifted away from the targets.

It settled on Oliver.

His shoulders weren’t as tight as they’d been since I’d met him. The permanent crease between his brows had softened. He wasn’t laughing like everyone else, but every now and then the corner of his mouth twitched.

It wasn’t much. Honestly, if I hadn’t been standing beside him, I probably would’ve missed it.

Arlo wandered over and bumped Oliver’s shoulder. Oliver bumped him right back without taking his eyes off the lanes.

No words. No acknowledgment. Like they’d been doing it forever.

A few seconds later, Nikki squeezed past us to grab a mozzarella stick from the table. She patted Oliver on the back as she walked by. “You keeping out of trouble?”

“I wasn’t in trouble.”

“Good answer.” She kept walking before he could say anything else.

“You okay?”

Oliver’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked over and he was watching me now instead of the competition.

“Yeah.” I smiled. “Just watching.”

His gaze flicked back toward the lanes. “Wrecker’s gonna win.”

“I wasn’t talking about them.”

That got his attention. He looked back at me, waiting.

I tipped my head toward the crowd. “You all really like each other.”

One side of his mouth lifted. “Most days.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I mean... really.” I looked around at Alice laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes, Nikki still heckling Pipe, Karmen shaking her head while trying not to laugh, and the rest of the club carrying on like this was just another Saturday. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”