Page 43 of Going All In

“Be nice, Ethan. It looks like we’re up anyway,” Penny said after the hostess called their name.

Harty’s response was valid, but it still bristled.

Darcy linked her hands with his. “Is it possible to tame you?” she teased, and there was something in her eyes. Something that went beyond teasing.

Now he wanted to lean down and kiss the hell out of her. She licked her lips, and he bit back a groan, wondering if she had any idea what she did to him.

“You’re doing great,” he whispered in her ear as they followed behind his friends. He had no clue how tonight was going to go, but so far, he hoped they’d been convincing.

“Who’s up first?” Penny asked when they reached the first landmark.

Each mini-golf hole was a replica of a famous spot around the city, from the well-known crooked street with houses lined up along the path to the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower.

“This place is so fun,” Darcy said.

“You’ve never been?” Amanda asked.

“No. Until Jake, I rarely went out. School keeps me busy.”

“Darcy is super smart. Maybe even smarter than Ally,” Harty said. He turned to face Darcy. “Don’t you dare tell her I said that.”

“Of course not,” Darcy said, and laughed.

“Yes, she’s getting her master’s in clinical research. Focusing on epidemiology and biostatistics,” Jake said. He caught the surprised look on Harty’s face, like the man didn’t expect Jake to know what Darcy was studying.

Again, he couldn’t blame Harty, and it shouldn’t sting, but it did.

“Wow. That’s sounds insanely hard,” Amanda said.

“It’s not easy, but studying has always fascinated me,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Anyway, we could go alphabetically by name, so Amanda would be up first.”

“Great. Let me show you kids how it’s done,” Amanda said, stepping up to the tiny green square and dropping her ball. Then she sent it down the stretch and right into the hole.

“Seriously, are you sneaking in here every chance you get? You were not this good the first time we came here,” Cheesy grumbled.

“Of course not. I’m just that good,” Amanda fired back, and grinned.

Ben took his shot, and the ball got wedged in a corner.

Jake leaned close to Darcy. “Your turn,” he whispered, enjoying the tiny shudder that she tried to play off by rolling her shoulders.

Darcy took her shot and it went straight into the hole.

“Are you a fan of sharks? They’re having a three-hour talk about them at the aquarium next week,” Darcy said.

Well. Shit.

***

For the nexthour, they played through the course. Darcy was insanely good. He’d never seen anyone get that many holes in one, and he was starting to sweat. Which meant it was only fair that he spent the evening teasing her with little pecks, prolonged kisses—for authenticity, of course—and wandering hands.

If he wasn’t going to win the bet, he might as well enjoy tormenting her while she was plotting his demise with science lectures and tennis.

“Jake, let her play, man,” Harty said after one long kiss.

“I think it’s adorable. They are smitten. Maybe you should kiss me like that,” Penny said.

Harty tugged his girlfriend into his arms and leaned in, whispering something that made Penny’s cheeks flame bright red before she planted a big kiss on him.

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