Page 94 of The Lake House

Declan laughs. “You just made her day.”

I extend my hand out and Lily places hers in mine.

The two of us walk up to the game and Declan follows closely behind us. I pull out some money from my wallet and place it on the table. “Three darts for my friend here,” I say, pointing to Lily, and then add, “and three darts for me, please.”

The carny behind the table picks up the money, places our darts in front of us, and steps back as he explains the rules.

I pick Lily up and place her on the table. “Go ahead, Lily. Take the first shot.”

Declan stands to my right and I feel his hand land on the small of my back. He leans in closer and whispers, “Thank you.” He kisses the side of my cheek.

Lily misses the first two tries. “Awww. Daddy, can you help me, please?! I want to win that koala!” She points to one of the stuffed animals sitting on the shelf.

Before Declan comes to her rescue, I say to her, “Hey, you’ve got one more try. If you don’t make it, I’ll let your dad take my darts and win it for you, for sure.” I turn to face Declan and wink.

He chuckles. “Great, no pressure.”

I laugh with him. “Come on, Lily, girl. Take one more shot.”

“Okay,” she agrees.

As Lily pulls her arm back and then flings the dart toward the balloons, she pops one on the bottom row. “I did it! I did it!”

“Great job, Lily! I knew you could do it!” I lift her up and then place her on the ground.

“Way to go, baby girl!” Declan cheers.

The guy behind the table steps forward. “You can pick one of these small prizes on the last shelf, or try again. If you can pop two more balloons, you’ll be able to pick from the large prizes.”

Of course, the koala Lily wants is considered a large prize.

“I want the koala! She has a pink tutu!” Lily whines, tugging on Declan’s jeans.

“Let me try,” I say to them.

I step forward. “We’ll try for the large prize.”

The carny steps back, and I throw my first dart. I hit a balloon in the second row.

I turn my head back as I hear cheering from Lily.

“Yay! One more, Giules!” she announces, jumping up and down.

I nod and Declan winks at me. “You got this, sweets.”

I face forward and take my second shot, but unfortunately, I miss. “Dammit!” I mumble under my breath.

I turn to face Lily, who looks at me wide-eyed, her big green eyes sparkling. “Come on, Giules!”

I smile. “Are you sure you don’t want your dad to try? This is my last dart.”

She shakes her head.

“Try once more, and if you miss, I’ll pay for another game,” Declan states.

“Okay.” I turn back to face forward and take in a breath. I pull my arm back, toss the dart forward and hope for the best.

Luckily, it pops one of the balloons.

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