Page 47 of The Great British Bachelor Chase

“This Mara woman. Hugo’s mystery love,” I explain. “He said they only spent a weekend together in Vegas, so it must have been one hell of a weekend to make him chase her down like this.”

“Wait a minute, they met in Las Vegas?” Fraser asks, looking baffled. “Isn’t that place all Elvis impersonators and gambling addicts?”

“And the home of soul-shaking true love, apparently.” I grin. “Do you think she’s a showgirl? One of those women in feather headdresses and sparkly bathing suits?”

“Or a stripper,” Fraser suggests.

“You mean, adancer,” I correct him. “Which, by the way, is no easy gig. I tried a pole dance workout class one time, and oh my god, I had bruises for a week! Those women don’t get enough credit for their skills.”

Fraser rumbles a laugh. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“She could have just been an ordinary woman, too,” I say, thinking of Hugo’s mystery woman again. “There on a bachelorette trip, or for a conference, or vacation… But little did she know a movie star was about to fall head over heels with her. Wild, right? What do you think she said when he just showed up on her doorstep out of nowhere?”

“Please turn right around and go back to your job?” Fraser suggests, and I laugh.

“Come on. It’s romantic for him to go chasing after her! Wildly inconvenient for us, and everyone on the movie, but romantic.”

“You always were a soft touch,” Fraser shakes his head, smiling.

“Says the man who fell for every street scammer in London,” I retort sweetly. “Remember when you gave every pound you had to that woman in Trafalgar Square because she swore her dog needed it for cataract surgery?”

“It was a really pathetic looking dog!” he protests. “And I thought you swore you’d never speak of that again.”

I laugh. “Yeah, well we both promised a lot of things, back then.”

A shadow flickers on Fraser’s face.

Shit.

I didn’t mean to bring up the past and ruin our good mood. I look around quickly for distraction. “Ooh, darts,” I say, spotting the board hanging across the room. Some people are already playing, but it looks like a friendly free-for-all, and not some kind of serious spot. “Want to play?” I suggest.

Fraser arches an eyebrow, smirking. “That depends. Are you still as terrible as you were ten years ago?”

“You’ll just have to find out, won’t you?” I reply airily. “I’ll have you know, I’m a woman of many talents.”

“Oh, I remember…”

Fraser’s gaze practically sizzles with heat, and I feel every inch of me flush with sudden awareness.

“Another round?” I blurt. “I’ll go grab our spot.”

I get up and scurry away, using the head start to give myself a stern talking to.

No flirting, I scold myself firmly. No sultry gazes, or lingering looks, or reminders of the past. I’m playing with fire even spending the night in the same general vicinity of this man. It took me long enough to mend my broken heart the last time he trampled all over it. The last thing I need is to tumble back into bed with him and undo the past decade of moving on.

Although, Hazel did suggest the whole hate-sex/closure hookup idea…

Nope!

I focus on introducing myself to the darts playing locals instead. Eddie, Neil, and Granger are friendly and up for a laugh, and I regale them with tales of our almost-death-by-Bambi. By the time Fraser saunters over to join us with a pair of fresh drinks, I’ve volunteered us for the next match.

“You can take it easy,” I tell Fraser sweetly, handing him the darts for the first round. If I remember right, he pretty much sucked at the sport. Snooker? Sure. Trivia night? He killed it. But darts wasn’t his game… Which is why I picked it tonight. “It’s just a friendly match,” I add. “Nobody will be judging your skills… or lack thereof.”

“That’s awfully kind of you,” he smiles. “I’m a wee bit rusty.”

The match gets underway, with Fraser and I paired up against Eddie and Neil. We put up a spirited defense, but they pretty much wipe the floor with us. Things look up when we switch things around, and after a couple of games—and a couple more drinks—I’m almost holding my own.

“Woohoo!” I cheer, as I manage to land two of my three darts in the triple ring.

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