Page 43 of Finding My Charming

Ari pushed me away and took his money so I wouldn’t have to interact with the public for a moment.

April was definitely the spawn of evil. It explained why her hair was the most vivid red of all the women in our family. She has a special connection to a certain red-horned man.

Another hour flew by in a blur of children, darts, and the constant sound of plastic explosions. The food area was finally drawing in the majority of the crowd, and we were slowing down. Ari was true to her word and maintained the balloon wall while I remained in charge of the cash and darts. I’d fallen into a mindless rhythm and was no longer paying attention to each person.

Suddenly, Ari began coughing loudly. I turned and saw her looking directly at me while pointing discreetly toward the line. I followed the direction, scanning the faces, and understood her fit.

The guy from the picture. He was standing right there! Two from the front of the line. What did she say his name is?

I widened my eyes trying to convey my panic.

She hid her face behind an inflated balloon and mouthed, “Breathe!”

I exchanged the darts with the next person. Only one little girl stood between me and the gorgeous guy I was obsessing over.

My heart rate took off while the girl took her turn. She popped one balloon by some miracle, so I handed her a small plush animal and watched her walk away.

Breathe. In and out. I silently repeated that twice before meeting his amazing deep brown eyes.

Melting. My brain and my heart were melting into a puddle at my feet.

“Hey, I’ll take four.”

I nodded and held them out. He smiled, and my heart sped up. That smile should be illegal in all fifty states.

“Thanks.” He took the darts and placed his dollar into my empty palm. As he pulled away — much slower than necessary, I might add — his fingers tickled my palm, making me want to pounce.

I’d never felt such an immediate reaction to anyone. Love at first sight always seemed like a made-up fairytale, but as of this moment, I was a believer.

Ari was giggling behind me, and if I’d had the brainpower to do really anything I would have given her a death glare, but I was frozen in place staring at him.

He smiled at me one more time before turning away slightly to take aim. Four balloons popped in succession.

The noise brought me back to reality, and I cringed. Ari was waving her hands forward, signing for me to give him a prize.

I ducked below the table and grabbed one of the large plush dogs. I quickly plastered a smile on my face and told myself to act normal. Maybe he’d forgotten the previous minute of my mutism and awkward ogling.

He had moved out of the way of the next person in line and was waiting directly in front of me when I stood. My smile grew a little more natural when my eyes met his. Something familiar about him caught my attention, more than recognizing him from the party or the picture.

“Congratulations. You’re the first person to hit with all four darts.” I handed him the blue dog and realized how ridiculous this was. What was he going to do with a two-feet-tall stuffed animal?

“Really? Thanks.” He accepted the dog and looked down at it. He seemed to be thinking the same as I was.

“You’ll have to find a lucky girl to give that to.” I mentally face-palmed when I realized I’d just said that.

He laughed, and not in a mean this girl is psycho way. “I have just the girl in mind actually.”

My heart dropped, and my face must have shown it.

“I mean my cousin, Mia. She’s around here somewhere, and she’ll love it when I tell her I won this for her.” His face lit up when he mentioned her.

I couldn’t help but smile with him. “You’ll be her hero.”

“Definitely.” He ran his hand through his dark brown hair and looked back at me. “Well, thanks again.” He held up the paw of the stuffed animal and waved it once before turning and walking away.

I watched him for a second before looking around at the booth. Ari had stepped forward and kept the line moving while I was busy falling for a near stranger.

I whispered to her, took the next person’s money, and handed him darts. “Thanks.”