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“I enjoy being owed favors. Besides, this is more fun than I’ve had in here in a while.” He blinked, as if saying it helped him realize it was true. “Another thing about you, Vespa. You’re never boring. I can see why Coronella likes having you around.”
That silly chest squeeze was back. “I told you, I’m a delight. But fuck off on me owing you a favor. You want to do this, you’ll earn it. Play me for it.” She nodded toward the dartboard.
He laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Same rules I used before. I win, you buy me a drink. You win, instead of me going home with you, I’ll let you be my wingman.”
His smile disappeared. “You told that man you’d go home with him if he won? Jesus, Vespa.”
“Whatever. I don’t lose unless I throw it. Gives me a chance to feel them out, is all.”
“With these rules, you’ll win either way. Hardly seems fair.”
She slid off the barstool. “That’s why I like it. It’s okay to bow out if you’re scared of losing.” But as she walked toward the dartboard, he followed behind her.
She pulled the darts out of the cork, handing him his. “You go first, as a handicap. That way my darts don’t all block the bull’s-eye.” Her cheeks hurt a little, and she realized she’d been grinning at him.
Antonio was scowling. “I don’t need a fucking handicap. We’ll take turns.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.” The dart she threw hit the board right in the middle, like she’d intended.
“Showoff,” Antonio muttered. He waved her out of the way and took his own stance.
When his dart landed beside her own, another frisson of heat slid inside her. Damn, she’d been pretty certain Antonio Di Salvo could aim, but having her suspicion confirmed made him even hotter.
It was a shame he was who he was. There was no way in hell she was going to sleep with him. It’d be as bad as fucking a Coronella.
After they both nailed the second round, his triumphant grin wasn’t fake, but it had become somehow boyish. Her cheeks were aching from grinning back, but whatever. She’d only had fun like this with Montrell before.
The idea made her lose just enough focus that someone bumped her arm in the too-crowded bar. The dart still hit the target, but a smidge outside of the bull’s-eye.
She turned to glare at the perpetrator, more annoyed at herself than at him, but that began to switch when he looked past her like she wasn’t even standing there.
“Antonio?” he asked, a hopeful smile on his face making his dark eyes crinkle in an attractive way. The man wore khakis and a polo shirt, and he had bleached hair and pierced ears. He was good-looking in a way that Vespa rarely saw around the family.
Antonio’s boyish smile was gone. The fake one slid into place as he nodded to the man. “Hey, Josh. I haven’t seen you around here for a while.”
“I needed a little time.” Josh’s soft, dark eyes slid Vespa’s way, widening. “Is this your date?”
Vespa shook her head. “Hell no. Antonio is my wingman.”
The hopeful man looked back at Di Salvo. “So you’re not with anyone tonight?”
Antonio turned his back on the newcomer, hitting the bull’s-eye with his last dart. He grabbed Vespa’s hand, his grip firm but shaking slightly, to her astonishment.
“I win. You leave with me.” He dragged her through the crowd toward the door.
Chapter 2
Vespa normally wouldn’t allow herself to be towed along like Antonio was doing, but she’d never seen him with quite that expression on his face. If someone had told her this particular Di Salvo could lose his cool, she wouldn’t have believed them.
Still, if the world they lived in was rough on women, it was even tougher on men who weren’t trying to land all the women they could, so she understood why Antonio was feeling insecure.
At least, she thought she’d deciphered the undercurrents correctly between him and the man he was running from. That Antonio swung that way surprised her, but she also didn’t think his sexual preferences were any of her business.
She felt even dumber for worrying about him hitting on her, though. She was relieved, she told herself, but her stomach twisted, telling her she was a liar.
Antonio dragged her into the alley. His fingers tightened around her wrist before he released her abruptly. He ran his hands over his hair as he sucked in the night air, mussing it in a way she’d never seen. In disarray, he was even more attractive, especially with his chest heaving.
