Page 26 of Bitten By Desire
“Are you laughing at me?” he asked, but he was smiling.
“Nope.” I pressed my lips together.
“Just capturing my humiliation on film?”
I laughed as he tossed another ring and it bounced off and almost knocked over our apple cider.
“Well…I did tell you it was rigged,” he said.
“This game is not rigged,” the man at the booth said loudly to a family walking by.
I laughed harder.
Bennett cracked his neck to the side. “I’ve got this.”
He most certainly didnothave this. He’d already gone through half his tickets. But he didn’t seem like he had any intention of stopping. And I found that extremely endearing. If not a little stubborn.
His next shot hit the top of one of the corner bottles and sailed into the middle. The ring landed perfectly around one of the center bottles.
I let my camera fall back around my neck and clapped.
Bennett smiled. “I meant to do that.”
“Suuuure. But it just so happens my favorite animal is a rabbit. And there’s a little one I had my eye on the whole time.” I pointed to one of the smallest stuffed animals on display. One that he’d won by getting his ring on one of the center bottles.
“I really can keep trying,” he said. “I think I was just getting the hang of it.”
“As fun as that sounds…I’d rather use those tickets for some rides.”
“Rides sound like so much fun!” Zoey said.
I jumped. She’d popped out of nowhere.
“Okay, you ladies win.” Bennett asked for the small rabbit and handed it to me. He looked a little embarrassed.
“I love it,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
When I pulled back he looped his arm over my shoulders.
“Besides,” I said. “There’s still a ton to do and it would have been annoying to lug that huge polar bear around all night.”
“So true,” Zoey said.
“And this one will fit in my purse.” I flapped the rabbit’s ears. “Thanks for winning me,” I said in weird deep voice.
Bennett laughed. “Was that your impersonation of the rabbit? I have so many questions.”
“Well…it’s a boy.”
“Of course,” he said, like that made it all make sense. His smile was contagious.
I nodded. “And Captain Floppy Ears is such a score. Especially since that ring toss is definitely rigged.”
“The ring toss isn’t rigged,” the booth attendant said to more passersby.
