Breaking the Bachelor (Entangled Lovestruck) (Smart Cupid) by Maggie Kelley Page B

chuckled. “You need to take a better look before you toss the darts. You’re aiming for the bull’s-eye—you know, the circle in the middle.”
    He stared at his friend. “Funny, Nick.”
    “Tonight’s date not a keeper?”
    Charlie shot him a look that said “shut the hell up”, and raised his bottle in a short toast. “One down, two to go.”
    Nick clapped him on the shoulder. “That bad, huh?”
    “Not bad, just…” Not the one he wanted to seduce into a blind frenzy .
    He threw off his thoughts and strode over to the board to pull his darts. “When was the last time I missed the board? Huh? That’s right. Never.” He came back and handed Nick a set. “It’s your sister. She’s driving me crazy.”
    Nick took aim and hit the center of the board. “So, what’s new?”
    Ignoring the comment, he said, “She bolts from the Caymans without a backward glance.”
    His friend winced. “Yeah, that wasn’t good.”
    “Now, all of a sudden, she’s on my doorstep dragging me out of bed, talking about her bet and my bachelor status. Driving me freaking crazy.”
    Nick sipped his beer, whether in solidarity or to hide his laughter, Charlie wasn’t sure. “Hang in there, Bachelor Number One.”
    Yeah, right. Jane’s kiss-off napkin had fucked him up so bad that for months he’d wanted nothing to do with dating, or hooking up, or playing the stupid head games people played under the guise of looking for love. Now I’m Bachelor Number One.
    Nick nodded toward the board. “Jumpers? Winner buys the next round.”
    “You’re on.” He pushed back a stab of guilt.
    Nick knew about the bet, but not about the plan to show his sister what she could do with her compatibility matrix. If he did, he’d kick his ass. Settling his six-month-old score could cost him. He ran his fingers across his jaw. “Maybe it’s time to bail.”
    “On Jane’s bet? Don’t be an asshole.” Nick threw his next dart and missed. “Roll with it. Or better yet, be honest, and tell her you love her.”
    The line of his body tensed like an over-tightened guitar string. Charlie hadn’t spoken the words “I love you” since the day his mom took a wrong turn down a one-way street. He wasn’t starting now. Nick could think whatever the hell he wanted, but love? No. Love was not part of the current plan.
    He tilted his bottle at Nick. “I never said I loved her. I said, ‘she drives me crazy.’”
    “There’s a difference?” Nick unloaded the rest of his darts into the board before flashing a brash, you-can’t-hide-from-me grin. “If that’s how you want to play it. We both know you’re not capable of the whole emotional honesty thing.”
    “You did not seriously just say emotional honesty .”
    Nick tilted a beer in his direction. “Prove me wrong. Tell her you own Temptation. Tell her you found the place, restored every piece by hand, and let me buy into the deal for fun. Tell her about the organization you run for kids in the old neighborhood.” He aced his last shot and walked the length of the bar to retrieve the darts. “Let somebody besides me know you’re a good guy, and not just the hottest catch in the city. Not my words, by the way. New York Magazine .”
    “I read the article, Nick.”
    Nick started quoting from the article. “Heir to the Goodman fortune, our pick for this year’s hot bartender keeps busy mixing top shelf martinis in Tribeca.” He pulled the darts off the board and turned around. “Women love that kind of a mystery.”
    Charlie rolled his eyes. “Not a mystery. Just a bartender.”
    “An Ivy League bartender with an Upper West Side address.”
    He shrugged off the comment. “Maybe that checks a couple of boxes on a few eligibility lists, but it’s all bullshit.”
    “Bullshit that lands you on the cover of New York Magazine ,” Nick pointed out with a smile on his face. “I sent Jake a copy of the magazine, by the way.”
    “Great. Wasn’t he the one who invited Jane and me to