Page 36 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
‘Seventeen. Good girl.’ He went to the wall and collected the dart that had fallen to the floor. He checked the tip and tail fins before handing it to her. ‘Throw it again. We’ll forget that first one happened.’
‘Are you sure? That would be cheating, wouldn’t it?’
The corner of his mouth twitched. ‘You’re not playing with a straight arrow here.’
She held up the dart. ‘Oh, but I am.’
‘Funny.’ He took a safe stance behind her and folded his arms over his chest. ‘Just like last time now.’
She lined up again for her re-try and warmed up her elbow. When she let the dart fly, the board exploded into song. She clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘Was that bad? What did I do?’
His gaze narrowed on her as he stepped up to her side. ‘You just scored triple eighteens.’
‘I did?’
His gaze turned suspicious. ‘Those little squares in the inner ring are worth triple points. The outer ring scores double.’
‘You didn’t tell me that.’ Genieve hurried to get her darts. He was still watching her as she moved back behind the line. She curled her toes into the plush carpeting. ‘Your turn.’
‘Uh huh.’ He fired off his three darts with a speed that showed years of experience.
‘Wow, you got them all,’ she exclaimed.
He clicked his tongue at her, and she knew she’d pushed a bit too far. She stepped up to the line and followed all the pointers he’d given her. She hit a fifteen with her first throw, but missed on the second. On the third, the board let out another exciting little tune. ‘What’s that?’
‘Double eighteens. You just scored on me. I haven’t closed them out yet.’
‘So I’m winning?’
He gave a tug on her ponytail. ‘For now.’
They continued playing, with Brody becoming more serious. He closed out the eighteens, but Genieve pounced on the next open zone. She frowned when the board didn’t play her favourite song when she hit the little square that usually made it do so. ‘Why didn’t that count?’
‘Sixteens are closed. You want nineteens.’ He walked over to the board and pointed it out. ‘At the bottom, here.’
She scrunched her nose and glared at the board. ‘OK.’
She zinged a dart right into the zone he’d pointed out.
Brody watched her steadily from the bar as she walked back after collecting her darts. ‘Why do I have the feeling I’ve been conned?’
She took his beer from him and stole a sip. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Right.’
She grinned, but was saved from having to answer any more questions when her phone rang. She stopped to pull it out of her back pocket, but the number wasn’t one in her address book. She was about to answer when Brody stopped her.
‘Wait.’ He looked over her shoulder and quickly swiped it away, ignoring the call. ‘Don’t answer that.’
Genieve didn’t like the frown on his face. ‘Is there a problem?’
He shrugged. ‘I just wouldn’t have bet that phone could fit into those shorts.’
Her chin snapped up, and she caught the evidence of a sly grin before he took another drink of his beer. That was the second joke she’d heard from him tonight. Was the grouchy bear loosening up?
She cocked her hip and slowly slid the phone into her back pocket. She knew her shorts were short. That was why she’d chosen them. ‘Are they too little?’
‘You’re not going to win this game, Jenny.’
