“Still,” her hand lands on my arm and we both freeze. She pulls back from me and points toward the game. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Ladies first,” I say when I hand over some cash to the guy running the booth and nod toward Ezra.
He hands the rings over and I swear the man is close to drooling when he looks at the woman standing next to me. I glare at him and when he looks back at me, he straightens up and looks away quickly.
Yeah. That’s for the best.
“You have six rings. One out of three is a small prize. Two out of six is a big prize. Same if you get it on the gold bottle,” the worker informs us.
When I look at the bottles, there is a gold one in the center of the field. While I’m eyeing it, I’m surprised when Ezra shoves three rings into my hands. The moment her skin touches mine, a feeling shoots through my arm; a zap.
She sucks in a sharp breath, and I have to wonder if she just felt the same thing I did. My mouth goes dry, but I force myself to look away from her. Even though it’s the last thing I want to do.
“You’re up, Teach,” my voice is husky.
Her eyes darken slightly before she shakes her hands out and bounces on her toes slightly. “Right,” she chirps.
Fuck, she’s adorable.
She stretches her neck one way and then the other. The carnie is grinning and looking at her like she’s some sort of revelation. It makes me want to slit his throat.
The first two hit the tops of the bottles, but don’t fall into place. “Damn it,” she breathes out.
When she eyes me, as if she’s expecting me to roast her or something, I hold my hands up. “You got it this time. I can feel it,” I encourage her.
A blindingly bright smile fills her face and, fuck, it does something to me. She looks at me differently.
Not the way her dad looks at me—like I’m a criminal he can’t wait to arrest. As if I’ll ever let that shit happen.
And not the way most women look at me—like I’m a prize to be won. That’s not happening either. There’s no way I’ll let a patch chaser get their claws in me.
My Nana would never let me hear the end of it either. She’d make her displeasure at me bringing home that kind of woman very well known.
“Okay,” she whispers more to herself than me, her eyes locked on the bottles.
She shakes out her hands and takes a deep breath before letting it out slowly. The fact that she’s treating this ring toss game like a professional sport is endearing in a way that hits me in the center of my chest.
I swear I hear the tinkling of a bell. It’s a sound I heard before, recently, but can’t place it.
“I’ve got this,” she mutters.
“Fuck, yeah, you do,” I encourage her while almost bouncing on my toes because her energy is infectious.
Ezra licks her lips and my eyes flash down to take in every second of it. Her lips are plush, pink, and kissable. When was the last time I thought that about a woman?
The ring tips off the top of the bottle and Ezra’s body slumps. She waves her hand like a magician, indicating that it’s my turn, but she has a bratty as fuck pout on her face while she does it. I try to hide my smile, but one side of my mouth twitches.
I don’t make any of the tosses either and reach for my wallet, the thrill of being that close driving me. Just like it always does when it comes to this damn game. Every fucking year.
Ezra’s hand covers mine and my entire body stills. Not with fear or even surprise. But with a knowing I can’t explain and don’t entirely understand. I focus on her entirely. Entirely.
“Damn games are rigged,” I grumble and she grins up at me.
“Thanks for the rings, but I need to get back to the kids,” her voice is soft.
I find myself looking into her blue eyes. I’m closer to her than she’s ever let me be before. I’m not sure if how much I like it is a good thing or not.
She smells like citrus and cloves. It’s something I never would have noticed if I weren’t this close to her.