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Like she was next to her high school crush, and he’d just confessed he had feelings for her. She held in a snort. How sappy was that? And so not true. Sure, she probably did have a crush on Derek. It was odd to think about, but what else explained all the crazy attraction she was feeling? But he was never going to reciprocate.
He married her for money.
The thought didn’t sit well with her, and she shoved it away. So what if he married her just to get the company? She married him to get the one thing she wanted from her grandmother’s estate. And after they got home, she’d weasel it out of her father’s hands.
The ride continued to carry them around for another minute. She reveled in the feeling of being close to Derek, and doing something childish. It was fun.
As the ride slowed, and then stopped, she peered out over the crowd of kids. One of them carried what looked like a unicorn that had eaten a million marshmallows. It was almost larger than the child. She struggled to not drop it. It made Nara giggle. “Look at that.”
Derek followed her gaze. “The giant stuffed animal?”
“Yes! It’s adorable! Where did she get it, do you think?”
“Probably over there.” He pointed to a carnival game. Balloons covered the back wall, and kids were tossing darts, trying to pop them.
“Ooh, let’s go try to win one.” She craned her neck to see the booth as the ride brought them down closer to the ground.
Derek exhaled and rubbed between his eyes. “I suppose you won’t listen if I say it’s for kids?”
“Nope.” She grinned at him, and he actually did his little lip lifting thing back. She was wearing him down. It wouldn’t be too much longer, and she’d have him smiling for real.
Chapter 12
Derek concentrated, threw the dart, and missed again. He frowned. “You know these things are all rigged, right?”
“No, they’re not.” Nara clasped her hands together under her chin and batted her eyes. “Please win me a unicorn. Please, please, please?”
He huffed and slid another five-dollar-bill over the counter. The man took his money and tossed the darts his way. This was ridiculous. He was never going to pop three balloons in a row. He couldn’t even get one. How emasculating.
If only Nara didn’t look so adorable as she begged him to win her an animal. And, if he was being honest with himself, he would actually do anything for her. He aimed another dart and held his breath as he threw it.
A balloon popped. “Yay!” She squealed and clapped her hands. “You got one!”
“Two more,” the man behind the counter said.
“That was a fluke,” Derek said to her. “I’ll never get another one.”
She patted his arm. “Sure, you will. Have confidence.”
“I have confidence that this is a really stupid waste of money,” he said low, under his breath.
Nara nudged him. “Just two more. That’s all.”
“You have been watching me, right? You did notice I’ve thrown about a hundred of these without hitting anything.”
She rolled her eyes and picked up a dart. “Fine. I’ll throw then.”
Derek imagined what would happen if Nara popped two more balloons and balked. She was totally the kind of person who would do a victory dance in front of everyone. Loud yelling and hooting would probably follow. She’d gloat for eternity. He grabbed the dart from her hand. “Wait. Let me try again.”
From the smug look on her face, he knew she played him. He huffed and concentrated on the board of balloons. Whatever. Maybe if he stared hard enough at one of the balloons, he’d hit it. He stared until his eyes watered, then threw the dart as hard as he could.
“Two!” Nara bounced as she clapped again. “You are the master! I knew you could do it.”
“I wasn’t even aiming for that one.” He shook his head. Why did he tell her that? He should have just let her think he was improving.
“Just one more,” the man said, leaning against the sidewall.
“You hear that? Just one more. Go on, you can do it.”
