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As she moved into position, she realized she’d let her ego get the best of her. It’d been too many years since she’d done this. She would be quite rusty, while he probably played every weekend. She shrugged off the worry. It was all for fun.
She threw all three darts. On the plus side, she hit the board each time. On the negative side, she missed the bullseye by large margins. Definitely rusty.
She turned to Andrew. “Your turn.”
He moved with his ever-present limp to the line. It wasn’t until he held up a dart that she realized he wasn’t using his left hand, his dominant hand. Something major had happened to him if it affected both his leg and his arm and left a scar on his jaw. But why wouldn’t he talk to her about it? What had him all knotted up inside?
It might not be her place anymore, but that didn’t stop her from worrying about him. Maybe it was a habit from the years they’d been together, or perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to explore those emotions too deeply.
When he lifted his arm to throw, the breath caught in her throat. He tossed the dart. It surprisingly hit the board. The air whooshed from her lungs. Not quite as good as her throws had been, but still she was impressed.
He smiled at her, making her stomach flutter. “I guess I need to warm up a bit.”
This was her opportunity to try to get him to level with her. “You did pretty well.”
“Just not well enough.”
“So I—”
A group of rowdy college-age guys moved past them, their robust voices drowning out her words. They stopped at the dart board next to theirs. Their boisterous laughter and jovial voices made it impossible to have a quiet, intimate conversation. Her questions about Andrew’s injuries would have to wait until later.
“What were you saying?” he asked. “I couldn’t hear you.”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about grabbing an early dinner after we’re done playing. What do you think?”
“You want to collect on the bet already?”
“Why wait? All of this walking around today has worked up my appetite.”
A glint of surprise sparked in his eyes before an easy smile lifted his lips. “Sounds good to me. What do you have in mind?”
“I thought we could just eat here. I hear they have amazing burgers.”
“With bacon and cheese?”
“Of course. I checked the menu before bringing you here.”
His brow arched. “You remembered?”
“How could I forget? It’s practically all you ordered when we went out. And it didn’t matter how fancy the restaurant.” Their past came flooding back. She tried to stop the images, but there were too many.
“Can a man be faulted for knowing what he likes to eat? Burgers are better than all of your salads.”
Not about to get caught up in the very old debate, she attempted to steer the conversation back to business. “I have a unique place you might want to consider for your bachelor party. Can you meet me at the office tomorrow at five?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Was it possible he was hoping she’d actually asked him out, as in a real date?Nah. That couldn’t be the case. After all, he was the one who had broken off their engagement. He was just being friendly.
As they continued to play darts, Andrew’s mood lightened again. They talked and laughed. And if Clara wasn’t careful, she’d forget all of the reasons they’d broken up.
That couldn’t happen. It’d taken her all of this time just to piece her heart back together. And right now, her entire career was riding on making this star-studded wedding a huge success. That was where her attention needed to be, not on the very handsome man standing next to her. As he leaned past her to grab his drink, a crisp, fresh scent caught her attention. She knew it. She inhaled deeper. It was Andrew’s cologne. He still wore the same enticing scent. Oh, she was doomed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Theireveningtogetherhadbeen more than he’d hoped for.
The following day, Andrew set off on the long drive back to his brother’s place in Santa Monica. He took the interstate instead of the Pacific Coast Highway to save time. There wasn’t much to see along the way so he let his mind wander back to his evening with Clara.
