Page 41 of The Risk Taker

He smirks. “Good. I’d hate for you to forget.”

I grab the last dart, aiming carefully, determined to shut him up. But the second it leaves my hand, I know it’s off. It hits the wall with a sad littleclinkand falls straight to the floor.

Fuck.

Austin whoops so loud the music can’t drown him out. “Hell yes! That’s what I’m talking about!”

Maisie laughs from the couch. “You beat him by two points.”

Austin grins, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend’s waist. “Details. Don’t ruin my moment.”

She tilts her head. “Someone’s gotta keep your ego in check.”

He laughs, leaning down to kiss her cheek before turning back to the table. “God, I love her.”

“Yeah, we know,” Ryan replies with an amused smile on his face.

I shake my head, watching them. They’re ridiculous. And disgustingly in love. And if I didn’t like Maisie so much, I’d probably make fun of him for it. But she makes him so fucking happy, and I can tell he does the same for her. So I lay off the jokes.

The music cuts between tracks, and that’s when I hear the opening guitar riff ofMr. Brightside.

Austin freezes, his eyes going wide.

“No,” Maisie says immediately, cutting him off before he can even open his mouth. “Absolutely not.”

Austin turns toward her, a grin already spreading across his face. “Come on, Freckles. Sing it with me.”

She blushes instantly, shaking her head, which makes her hair slip forward around her shoulders. “I’m not getting up there and singing in front of people.”

“Why not? You know every word.”

“Yeah, and I plan to keep it that way… in private.”

Austin laughs, shaking his head, clearly not deterred. He glances around the table like a man on a mission, his eyes scanning for the next victim.

They land on me and I shake my head immediately. “Not fucking happening, bud.”

He pouts, then turns toward Ryan. “Reed?” he asks, doing that creepy eyelash flutter thing that I fucking hate.

Ryan doesn’t even glance up from his beer. “Not a chance.”

Austin sighs, then lets his gaze slide toward Isabella. “Baby Hayes?”

She laughs, shaking her head at the stupid nickname, then pushes herself off Ryan’s lap and grabs her drink. “You know what?” She shrugs. “Screw it. Why not?”

Austin cheers, pumping his fist in the air. “You’re my favorite Hayes, you know that?”

Isabella rolls her eyes but she’s smiling as they head toward the small stage setup in the corner of the bar. It’s not even a real stage, just a corner cleared out for karaoke nights and some cheap fairy lights strung up over the mic stand. Austin flashes Maisie a wink before he grabs the mic, already buzzing with way too much confidence.

Maisie groans, covering her face with one hand, but I catch the tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She’s pink-cheeked, pretending to be embarrassed, but I can tell she’s watching him like he hung the damn moon.

The music starts and Austin’s voice follows immediately. Loud and so fucking off-key it’s hilarious.

Isabella laughs and joins in, her voice just as bad but at least she’s clearly having fun. When he spins her during the chorus, the whole bar cheers. People start clapping along and taking out their phones to record them.

Maisie’s laughing, shaking her head at her boyfriend up there. “He’s going to lose his voice.”

Ryan snorts, leaning back with his beer. “Good. Might get some peace and quiet for once.”