Beau leans forward, forearms on the table. “She smells like sugared peaches and firelight. I bet it was her shampoo.”
Simon groans. “You’re poetic now?”
Beau shrugs. “I invited her out. Just for dinner. She turned me down.”
“Smart girl,” Simon mutters.
“Relax,” Beau says. “It wasn’t a move. I just thought she could use a friendly face.”
“She doesn’t want a friendly face, Rhodes. And you and I know that you weren’t chasing her down forfriendship, so don’t bother lying.”
“She’s hot!” Beau groans.
“She’s a stranger,” Simon replies.
I sip my beer, watching the two of them. We never compete like this. Never.
Beau’s a flirt. He’s slept his way through half the town, while Simon hasn’t been on a date since Marissa.
And me? Well, I haven’t really been interested in a woman in a long time. But when I touched Wren’s wrist, when I helped her into the ambulance…something clicked.
She’s messed with the air between us.
“Let’s play darts,” Simon says abruptly, standing. “Before Beau starts quoting Byron.”
We follow him to the back wall where the dartboard waits. Mick’s already replaced the darts—fresh points, neon feathers. As always.
I aim. The dart hits wide. My focus is shot.
“Sheisquite the looker,” Beau insists conversationally.
Simon glares. “Leave her alone.”
Beau sighs. “I’m not stalking her, Simon. I’m just curious.”
“You’re circling.”
“Maybe,” Beau admits, throwing his dart dead center. “But I’m not the only one.”
Simon throws his next, too hard, too fast. It bounces off the board.
We all pause.
Beau lines up his shot. “You ever felt like someone just… slid under your ribcage and stayed there?”
Simon snorts as he adjusts his glasses. “It’s called indigestion.”
Beau grins. “She affected you, too. You’re a doctor. Diagnose yourself.”
“My diagnosis?” Simon’s dart hits the bullseye. “Hormonal nonsense. She’s pretty, she’s new, she’s tragic. Our hindbrains are lighting up like mating season at Fernbridge.”
“She’s not tragic,” I say. “She’s surviving.”
They both glance at me. I wasn’t planning to say that. But it’s true.
“She’s not staying,” Simon adds. “She made that pretty clear.”
I don’t respond. But I know what I felt.
